I am thrilled to have interviewed author Conor Sneyd, who shared with us details of his writing life, his book ‘Future Fish‘, which was released on 9th February 2023, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

Conor Sneyd is an Irish author based in London. His debut novel Future Fish – a comedy about cat food conspiracy theories – was published by Lightning Books in 2023.

After graduating from university in Dublin and spending a few years teaching English in Japan, I found myself working my first corporate job in London. And I was miserable. I started looking for something more meaningful to do with my life and ended up getting involved in animal rights and environmental activism. On my way down this rabbit hole, I encountered some larger-than-life characters – the kinds of people who break onto fur farms and chain themselves to oil rigs.

I was fascinated by these people, and I began to wonder what motivates somebody to devote themselves so wholeheartedly to a cause (or a conspiracy theory). Is it always true conviction, or just an attempt to fill the void of modern life? I wrote Future Fish as a way to explore these ideas in a funny, light-hearted way, while paying homage to those unconventional characters who keep life interesting.

Writers tend to describe themselves as either plotters (people who plan out the story in minute detail) or pantsers (people who make everything up as they go along). I’m definitely a pantser – I like to set out with a rough idea and see where the story takes me. Unfortunately, this meant I had to do a lot of revisions on Future Fish, as the plot has a fairly complex structure, revolving around three different conspiracy theories woven together in an overlapping pattern.

For my next novel, which I’m currently working on, I’ve tried to plan things out a bit better from the beginning!

It was actually my publisher who chose the title Future Fish (referring to the mysterious new cat food flavour at the centre of the novel’s plot). I originally wanted to call it Animal, Alien, Antichrist (referring to the three conspiracy theories that spring up around this product), but my publisher said that sounded too much like a death metal album. As a death metal fan, I took that as a compliment, but I agreed it wasn’t the right vibe for the book!

There’s an art to coming up with character names that are interesting but not too outlandish. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to master that art! I was struggling to think of good names during the first draft, so I just used some generic placeholders – the main character is Mark, the guy he fancies is Kevin, etc. Five drafts in, and I’d grown attached to these names, so I ended up keeping them. But in retrospect, I wish I’d come up with something better…

Since the book was inspired by my own experiences, I didn’t have to do too much research. It also helped that Ashcross – the small town on the West coast of Ireland which the protagonist moves to to start a new job at a cat food company – is entirely fictional (it’s described as relentlessly depressing, and I didn’t want to offend anybody by using a real town!). The main piece of research I did do was reading up on UFO sightings and alien abductions, which earned me a few strange glances from my local librarian.

I always say I didn’t choose comedy; comedy chose me. I’ve tried writing serious literary fiction and tense psychological thrillers, but I can never resist the urge to throw in a fart joke or a stupid pun.

A long time! I spent nearly three years on the actual writing, including a year of lockdown during the COVID pandemic when I didn’t have much else to do. Then it took about six months to find a publisher, plus another year until the book was finally on shelves. It was a slow, painful process, but it was worth it in the end.

Fast, funny, freaky.

(Ok, I stole that from one of the quotes on the cover, but I think it’s the perfect description!)

It takes a lot of faith to write a novel. First drafts are always a hot mess, but you just have to keep going, trusting it will all come together eventually. But even if you do manage to finish, there’s no guarantee that your book will ever be published or that anybody will ever read it. I remember explaining the submission process to one of my old housemates and him looking at me in horror. ‘So you could spend years of your life writing a book?’ he said. ‘And then it’s all for nothing!?’

I’ve received all sorts of lovely compliments from readers of Future Fish. People say that it made them laugh out loud, that they finished it in a single sitting, and that they hope there’ll be a sequel. But my favourite reaction – whether it’s positive or negative – is when people say it was like nothing they’d ever read before.

So, if you’re looking for something a bit different – something that might make you wonder what the hell you’re reading – then Future Fish is the book for you!

I have a writing group who I meet up with once a week. We write together in a café for a couple hours, then go to the pub afterwards to talk shop and drown our sorrows. It’s great to have some camaraderie, so you don’t feel too alone in the crazy pursuit that is writing a novel.

I’ve tried writing in beautiful locations like the British Library or out in nature. But for some reason, I always do my best work in depressing chain cafés. Preferably locked away in the basement, with no natural light – just me, my laptop, and a cup of coffee the size of my head.

Aside from my writing group and the occasional café visit, I do most of my writing at my bedroom desk. I’ll spare you a photo – it’s an awful mess! (Some say that’s a sign of genius, although I’ve yet to see any evidence of that…)

In the opening chapter, the protagonist Mark asks a nun for directions. He tries to show her the address on his phone, but accidentally starts playing an adult video instead. The nun, outraged, begins chasing him down the street and spraying him with holy water. I’d like to play that nun!

‘All this talk of cat food is making me hungry! Where can I get a tin of Future Fish?’