By Keri Algar
“Who cares about money? You should do a job because you love it.” That’s the opinion Brisbane born author, Steven Herrick, gives on his website.
Speaking on Skype from Italy, Herrick elaborates on his career as a writer. “I haven’t had a real job since I was…I can’t even remember, probably in my twenties. And I’ve never wanted any other job. If you do something you love doing you’ll probably get paid for it,” he says.
It’s the kind of classic ideal running through his latest young adult fiction, Slice: Juicy moments from my impossible life.
“I like to write books about teenagers who have to make choices in their lives. I like to show that there are more choices to be made than just the obvious,” Herrick says.
The author remembers his teenage years well. “I had a great time. I think it was because my parents didn’t put any pressure on me and I was allowed to make my own decisions,” he recalls.
In Slice, Herrick takes this carefree position and mixes it with typical teenage angst. The result is a string of sixteen year old Darcy’s hilarious (laugh out loud on the train commute) anecdotes. Darcy’s take on the world is humorous, but Herrick doesn’t think it hides the fact that they are serious issues for a teenager.
“Being sick after drinking too much, getting caught masturbating…they’re all incredibly funny for us now, but not at the time,” says Herrick, from Italy.
Darcy has a big mouth, which is what lands him in trouble most of the time. Between Darcy’s “premature enunciations,” his infatuation with the girl next door and the acerbic sarcasm used to describe the world as he sees it, Slice is sure to amuse.
It is an accessible book, easy to read, and will sit well with young adults.
Herrick reckons that the best humour of all is self-depreciating. “Yes…if you can see yourself in that light, then you’ve probably got a good hold on the world. And I think Darcy does it,” he says.
The picture of Herrick with a mullet on his website speaks for itself.
So what about some of the greater, or more serious challenges in life, can they always be met with humour? According to Herrick it’s a matter of perspective.
“Turning 50 years old, there’s no humour in that!” he laughs. “I guess it’s how you view things. If it’s a challenge it’s got to be a positive challenge, it’s got to be a good thing,” he adds.
Herrick describes Darcy as a boy who is coming to terms with himself and realising the sort of person he wants to be, and the sort of person he can be.
Speaking from the land of passionate people, the author concludes the conversation by offering a word of advice for all the Darcys: “follow your passion, and your passions will keep you young.”
Keriruri's Point 