#001 - Elvin James Mensah

Imogen's Interviews

Elvin James Mensah is the author of the novel Small Joys, an emotionally-charged exploration of friendship, queer identity, difficult family relationships, and mental health. My review of this book can be found here:

imogens.corner

A post shared by imogen ☕️🌿🌙 (@imogens.corner)

I: Congratulations on the release of your debut novel, Small Joys! What has been the most surprising part about the writing and publishing process for you so far?

E: I actually have a very specific answer for this. I thought I would have more control over the artwork side of things, but the cover was the most stressful part of the whole process. In the beginning, there was a meeting where my publisher asked for my ideas. Even though I had no experience, I had an idea of what I thought my cover should look like. They didn't take my ideas on board and what they came back with wasn't great… It's frustrating because a year later when we had what the cover looks like now, it was basically what my idea was in the first place. I love my cover now! The visual side of things was always gonna be my favourite part. Just seeing the characters on the cover was what I was really looking forward to.

I: For me, the real gem of Small Joys is the tangible, complex cast of characters. How did it feel to get inside their heads and what kind of process did you have for that?

E: At least at the beginning of writing the draft that became Small Joys, I was basically trying to give myself things I didn't have in my own life. I don't want to get too depressing for you, but at that time I didn't have the people who I consider my friends now. Harley is not me, but he's kind of like me in some ways; I was trying to create a world in which he had things I didn't have.

With Muddy, I was trying to think about what exactly I mean when I say someone is a good friend. Eventually, the definition I ended up with was someone who prioritises kindness above everything else, someone who only really cares about your wellbeing and the fact that you're okay. I was writing it with a sense of urgency because that's what I really wanted. It's gonna sound like I'm joking, but it felt almost like a dating profile because if I was looking for someone to go out with, it would be someone like Muddy.

As the drafts went on, I made new friends and new characters came in. Noria, for example, is based a bit on my best friend. I’d send her bits of dialogue and be like, “Would you say this?” and she’d say, “Yeah, but I’d say it like this.” That became the process for that specific character.

I: Some of your characters - such as Finlay - make questionable choices and the reader gets to see significant character growth. What do you think the importance of characters who sometimes ‘get it wrong’ is in literature?

E: I’m so glad that people like [Finlay] in the end because people always think he's a twat. I did want him to be problematic because I was going for a very specific type of person: the typical straight rugby lad who says problematic things. For the first three drafts, it was just Muddy and Harley, and because Muddy is so sweet, I wanted someone who is similar to Muddy, but masculine in a completely different way. He’s getting it wrong and being problematic. I love the different conversations that can come from that.

With Harley, when it comes to things like sexuality, he knows all the right things to say. He knows all the terminology. He knows how to be sensitive and Finlay just doesn't get that. It’s so easy for him to skew a conversation and just completely get it wrong. Then you have Harley, who questions that. It gives Finlay a chance to think, “Why am I saying this how I’ve been saying it all my life? Why am I suddenly getting pushback on it?” It’s not a magic spell; he doesn’t completely change and he’s still himself, but it makes him more considerate.

I guess that’s what I wanted to do in the beginning: prioritise empathy and caring about other people's point of view. That's why I love Finlay so much and why I'm glad I decided to write him the way I did. Characters who get it wrong definitely have a place in the literature I love. I'm going to keep writing more characters like that.

I: Friendship is a special kind of love that doesn’t always receive its dues in novels. Why did you decide to write a book that focuses so heavily on this relationship?

E: When you're writing such a closeness, there's always the expectation for a third act conflict. I was forcing a reason for Harley and Muddy to butt heads and argue, and when I was reading back over it, it felt really forced. There's no reason why they would argue because the whole point of the book was bringing them closer. So, in one of the more recent drafts, I took that out.

After this, I found out about something called a ‘romantic friendship’. That was on Reddit, actually. People were discussing how you can get the warmth, the closeness, but you're not in a relationship. You can get the things you can from your romantic relationships like always being there for each other or loving each other, but without the sex. That was what I wanted.

Most people tend to prioritise romance over friendship, and the thing is that friendship can be just as powerful of a relationship as any other. I truly do feel that because that has literally been my life. I would even go as far as to say that sometimes friendships are more powerful than biological familial relationships. I feel that deeply and I think it’s great to give that more of a platform.

I: Can we expect any future novels featuring the Small Joys characters?

E: Not a novel. There is something. I'm just gonna say it: I’ve written a short story that follows Muddy from his perspective! It's so fun to do because I know that people really enjoyed Muddy. I’m gonna leave it there for now.

I: A major theme of Small Joys is the idea of ‘failure’, with several characters returning to this concept from different perspectives. Do you have any advice for readers who may feel - much like Harley - that they have wandered off their pre-planned path?

E: I'm gonna be very specific about African households. University is almost overwhelming with the pressure to go, even if you don't want to. With me going to uni, I only really did it because English was the only thing I was ever good at and because you have to go for things like family and honour. When so much of your identity is built into achieving this specific thing and you fail at it, you feel a sense of crumbling.

It’s going to sound really cheesy, but you do have to follow your heart. It's basically finding a place to be like, “I'm gonna do whatever the fuck I want!” You have to do something that you can put your heart behind and for me that was writing something I would want to read.

It's never a bad thing [to wander off]. There’s the idea that the future is a destination you need to be at, but life just goes on. You can fall as many times as you want. You’re always gonna find your way back. It's never really over and you're always going to find yourself.

I: What does creativity mean to you?

E: Recently, I’ve been getting specific about this definition for myself. For me, it's having a space to create worlds I would like to see myself in. That's not necessarily saying a world peace kind of thing, but creating characters who I’d like to be friends with, who I’d like to date.

It’s creating relationships that I’d like to see on TV and that I don’t see at the minute. For example, with my second book we're following four male Black British friends and that's a grouping where if you do see it [on TV], it's usually very dark and probably drug-related. I want to create the space to make it fun and what I’d like to see.

I: Are there any writers or other individuals that have particularly inspired your work?

E: There are three main writers who I always come back to time and time again: Hanya Yanigahara, Sally Rooney, and Lionel Shriver. They’re kind of my literary heroes. On a technical level, I'm obsessed with how they construct sentences and paragraphs. When I was writing Small Joys, I'd always have Conversations with Friends next to me. If there was a scene I wasn’t sure about, I’d look at how [Rooney] might approach it, so she was an influence for me.

I wanted to be like Donna Tartt for a time, too. I was obsessed with the way she writes and has that very flowery language. I was substituting every word with a thesaurus, to the point where I wouldn’t even understand it or know what the words meant. It took me ages to realise that there are some things that just work for some people.

I: What are you reading at the moment?

E: It’s called Reach for the Stars: Fame, Fallout and Pop’s Final Party by Michael Cragg. It's an oral history on early 2000s pop music, so they've got S Club 7, Steps, all of them to talk about the music industry in that particular time. I've never found a book that was more me! I absolutely love it.