Written by Jess McCallum
Alasdair Beckett- King is a comedian, games designer, podcaster and children’s book author. Amassing 295k subscribers from his witty sketches (and luscious locks), Beckett-King has established a name for himself in every creative field he could.
Alasdair's books ‘Murder at the Museum’, ‘Death at the Lighthouse’ and ‘Mystery at the Manor’ (which he will be speaking about at the Isle of Wight Story Festival) have earned him a cult following among both young and older readers.
The Montgomery Bonbon series takes us into the world of an infamous detective, with a wobbly accent and an even wobblier moustache.
Guised as a middle-aged man, the 10-year-old girl finds herself in some unlikely situations. In her latest venture, she is called to Adderstone Manor to uncover the theft of a prized diamond, only to find herself in the midst of a murder investigation.
Despite the success of the series, Alasdair hasn’t always got the recognition he deserved. Having graduated from film school, he found himself with few opportunities.
“I made films, but nobody wanted to watch them”, Alasdair joked.
Still, the jack of all trades explored another field, stand-up comedy. Alasdair built up a strong community of fans, however, as for many in the creative sector, the COVID-19 pandemic exhumed a host of challenges. With the world coming to a standstill, he had to find another way to put food on the table.
Having worked on the idea for Montgomery Bonbon for a while, Alasdair was faced with an opportunity to start something new.
“I started working on [Montgomery BonBon] during COVID when it was illegal to be a comedian, it was completely unexpected”.
At first, he was unsure where to take the idea, he explained that he was torn between developing it into a comic book, a game or a book. However, seeing the potential to play with the traditional conventions of the medium, he decided to explore the world of crime and mystery novel writing.
Detective tropes are popular amongst authors and audiences, but what sets Alasdair apart from other writers is his unique outlook and approach. He explained that there are many missed opportunities for social commentary within the genre.
‘Most writers from the 1930s are quite right-wing and the irony is that in rich, tight-knit communities, where everybody is trying to murder each other, it’s often missed’
‘‘I thought [Inspector Calls] was an interesting idea in that a working-class police officer got to tell upper-class people to shut up,” Alasdair added.
Drawing inspiration from Charles Dickens and J.B. Priestley, we spoke about how he liked the dynamic of adults having their morals questioned by a 10-year-old girl.
However, Alasdair’s journey from idea to paper wasn’t clear-cut. Feeling a lot of pressure to improve, he struggled with bouts of writer’s block.
This was especially the case for Mystery at the Manor, where he found it difficult to find a balance between making the story satisfying for existing readers and doing things differently.
“I found myself staring at a screen for most of the day, but it's fine to sit and do nothing for hours when you’re a writer.”
The transition from comedy to book writing was challenging, “feedback from comedy is quick, whereas writing is not”.
This didn’t set him back though, in moments where he felt at a standstill, he forced himself to read around.
“I allowed myself to get inspiration from other things, like books, sketches and music”, Alasdair said.
He emphasised the need to not tie yourself to a certain approach and to have fun with it.
Having just completed his third book in the series, it’s clear that Alasdair’s dedication to his craft has paid off. He joked that “most people might say that I can’t stick to one thing”, but creating such a big impact, within so many fields, makes him the perfect role model for the young readers of today.
If you’re interested in more insight into the tribulations of being an author and comedian, Alasdair is speaking just across the Solent at the Isle of Wight Story Festival on the 16th of February at Quay Arts. Featuring the likes of Monty Python editor, Julian Doyle and Horrid Henry author, Franchesca Simon (17th), it’s an event not to be missed.
The festival spans over three days (15th-17th) and tickets can be purchased HERE.
Who knows, he may even give us a glimpse into his hair care routine….
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