Plot comes first for teen writer

Kevin Brooks, whose début title Martyn Pig was shortlisted for the 2003 Carnegie Medal and won the 2003 Branford Boase award, has quickly established himself as a writer of fast-paced teen novels. His latest work, Kissing the Rain, is published by Chicken House in January 2004 (£12.99, 1904442196).

Brooks' varied career has included music (he plays the guitar and writes music), sculpture and a variety of odd jobs to pay the bills, but he has always seen himself as a writer. While he only started to write seriously in his late 30s, he has a sure touch with teen issues and, at age 44, says he still finds it easy to get under the skin of this age group. "I don't feel that much different to how I felt when I was that age--that's not useful for someone growing up and having to manage things, but it is useful for what I'm doing now.

"A lot of what is in the books is what I was doing during my 20s and 30s. I lived in lots of different places, met all sorts of different people and I think I was still approaching things in my 15-year-old manner. I always found things a bit scary and confusing, and still do."

Kissing the Rain is about a fat and unhappy teenager (Moo) and a short, ugly and angry teenager (Brady), who become involved in a crime incident when a well-known and very nasty criminal is set up for murder by the police.

The story is narrated by Moo and mimicks his mode of expression by using capitals, italics and misspellings. "I normally spend a lot of time thinking about a book before I start writing to get a feel for the characters and voices, but with this one I just sat down and wrote the first page. It felt right that it was in the first person, although I hadn't planned it," Brooks says. "I had spent a long time reading about people with weight issues on websites, and how kids express themselves through the written word, their strength of expression, and that was how it came out."

Moo's issues--being oversized and isolated--never overwhelm the story, though. Brooks says: "I don't mind the issues because they create the conflict that makes the story exciting and people need to think about them. However issues are not the main thing."

Even so, the novel gives a sympathetic insight into how Moo and Brady's lives are affected by being seen as "outsiders", and follows their developing friendship. But Brooks adds: "I don't want you to feel sorry for these characters. You can imagine what Moo feels like but also why other people feel how they do towards him. They are not totally loveable characters." The novel provides insight, but no easy answers.

Brooks' next novel, which will also be published by Chicken House, will be a love story for teens focusing on desire and intoxication.