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Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Chatting UK Author, Sherry Gloag about Her Books


Hello Sherry, can you tell us about yourself, I am sure the reader's like to know the author behind the book.  How about a short bio?

Oh boy! I can wax lyrical about my books and my characters but to come up with an ‘interesting ‘bio’?  That’s something else again.

I describe myself as ‘a transplanted Scot’.  Born of Scottish father whose grandfather started a ‘famous’ whiskey company and then added five more ‘famous’ brands to his stable; I’ve spent far more of my life in England than the country of my heart. Now I live in the beautiful English county of Norfolk, not so far away from the Queen’s private estate of Sandringham.

I enjoy gardening and took it up initially because I maintained the plants ‘didn’t answer back’ and combined that interest with my love of garden birds by creating a ‘bird friendly’ garden.

Walking is an equally important pastime for me, and when on my own, is often spent in ‘brainstorming with my characters.  I do make sure, first, there’s no one else close by.  DH enjoys spending time on eBay, and last summer came across what are called ‘gum cameras’.  They are video cameras, no bigger than a packet of chewing gum, hence the name.  As there is no viewfinder on these, it can be quite a challenge to get the intended pictures, but the results are often so funny, you don’t care.

Reading is important to me; and books become friends that are visited and revisited often.  In the last three years I have combined my love of reading with reviewing and been blessed with discovering many new authors I would never have encountered otherwise.

Crystal craft is another of my interests and I specialize in working with Selenite, which, although classified as a crystal, truly is not.  It is beautiful to work with, and rather like writing a novel, it has its own idea of what the end result should be, and so often does not come anywhere near what I originally anticipated. It is something I find incredibly therapeutic.
And then, of course there is the writing…
Tell us about the genre of your work. 
Like many before me, I discovered Mills & Boon, now part of Harlequin and discovered a world that used romance to take me round the world to see places I’d never visit, to learn about jobs and opportunities that would never come my way.  Then I widened my horizon and came across even more and different writers of romance.  I even tried my hand at writing one, but that was confiscated by the English teacher!

After life and several previous attempts at writing romance, in the late 1990’ I began tinkering with writing again.  Around 2006 I began a romance novel I described as mainstream contemporary romance. It finally saw the light of day in October 2010 and was described by several reviewers as romantic suspense, and it seems that all my novels and novellas contain suspense as well as romance.

My short stories are all romance with little suspense at all.

My current WIP is an experimental Regency, which has been on the go since 2008.  Just a couple of days ago I finally discovered how the story will end!
Why did you choose this genre?

Romance touches almost every aspect of life.  It gives, it takes it shares, it isolates, it’s believed, it is mistrusted.  It is manipulated, squandered, treasured, cherished.  There are so many facets to love and the implications for those it touches.  Not so long ago, Romance WAS the genre, but now there are as many sub genres as there are individual genres. Why?  Because love and romance touches almost every aspect of life.

What are some of your books, stories that have been published?

Since 2009 I have had two novels, two novellas (at the time of writing,) with another due out in February, and seven short stories published.

Can you tell us about your books? 

From Now Until Forever
ISBN 978‑1‑936852‑82‑6

Blurb
For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom.  Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot?

Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?

EXCERPT:
Liam Fitzwilliam Gasquet stared in amazement at the blooming patch of red milliseconds before the pain exploded in his arm. Some trigger-happy idiot had fired in his direction. Indignation didn’t have time to take root before another bullet kicked the dust at his feet.
Not ‘trigger-happy’.



Intentional.

The rebels had found the fourth and youngest son of Jean-Phillipe Gasquet, ruler of the tiny kingdom adjacent to the Swiss border. When had they discovered his whereabouts?
With a reluctant sigh, he faced the truth of it. They hadn’t ‘found’ him at all. They’d followed him.






His Chosen Bride (Released Feb. 2012)


The workaholic prince, Henri Gasquet, is ordered to take a complete break away from his royal duties and comes face to face with the woman who’s haunted his dreams for weeks now.  But is she interested in him or his position and wealth?

Monica Lattimer knows all about rejection and when her friend and business partner’s brother-in-law turns up for a prolonged stay at their riding school for disabled children it is love at first sight for her, but can she trust that her love, will not be rejected yet again?

His Chosen Bride

Blurb:

            Prince Henri Gasquet is happy to let his father, the king, choose his bride for him until he meets Monica Latimer.

Monica Latimer is not prepared to risk letting any man close enough to learn about her Gift. A gift that normally has men running for the hills when they find out about it.

Excerpt:


She lost track of time until the flames caught her attention once more. They flickered from orange to gold, to silver, to white.

A flurry of snowflakes masked the flames and for a second Monica watched the most beautiful, pristine snow-scene she’d ever seen. Her lips curved in longing. How she’d love to get a toboggan and slide down that slope. She knew where it was, and had done just that many times in her childhood, first with her parents and then, in clandestine manner, with her brother. Sneaking an old tin tray from the back of her mother’s walk-in pantry, she’d then grabbed Billy’s hand and they’d rushed out the back gate, heading for the lakeside track that led up into the hills.

Darkness, dense and thick with grief dropped over the scene. Startled and disconcerted by the strength of emotion emanating from the vision Monica shifted to her knees, ready to stand, when a voice, a deep male voice, sharp with fear called out her name.
“Monica!”

She knew she’d never heard the voice before, and yet—it was as familiar to her as the image she saw in her mirror each morning.

“Help me, Monica.”

Desperate for more clues, she searched the darkness within the flames until it sputtered and faded. With a curse she jumped up and ran for the phone. With her outstretched hand hovering over it she halted and let her hand drop to her side once more. What could she say? What would the police or rescue team think of her if she called them and told them she’d seen a vision of a man in distress?

They’d laugh in her face and classify her as a lunatic. Well, maybe not. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d contacted them with positive information but something—an instinctive gut reaction told her what she’d seen this time hadn’t happened yet. 




The Wrong Target
ISBN: Vendor: Brand:

Blurb:

Headmistress, Tina Blackberry and business tycoon, Ryan Thomas can't control events after Ryan's daughter steals his coveted golden arrow and takes it to school, But put Cupid on the job and nothing can go wrong, or can it?

Excerpt:

“Goddamit,” he exploded, “Can’t you stand still for one second? I have something to say, but I can’t while you’re jogging round the room.”
She halted toe to toe in front of him. “You have me dismissed from a job I loved, because I upheld the safety of my pupils, and still have the audacity to stalk me to my holiday destination and demand I listen to you because you have something to say?” Flapping her hands at her sides, she spun away and back again, planting her hands on the chair arms, she pinned him in his place and snarled, “Let me tell you something. I’ve come here to enjoy myself and your presence isn’t part of my plan.”
 “What is your plan?” he demanded.
“To get laid!”  Astonishment pushed her away from the chair, her eyes wide, her lips curved up in a defiant sneer. “I intend to find myself a man and screw the living daylights out of him. And,” she paused deliberately, “I don’t need you for that.”

eTreasures
http://store-67a3d.mybigcommerce.com/categories/Cupid-Gone-Wild/ = http://tinyurl.com/6dyen5a





Duty Calls
EBook ISBN: 978-0-9832681-0-9
She’d saved his life…


Rafe Hawk refuses to accept the inheritance, of a large English estate, and the title that goes with it, after his birth father’s death because the man chose duty over the woman he loved and their son.

So when he finds himself temporarily living at Kinsale Hall, he’s not prepared to trust anyone associated with the place, including Trudi Delaney and her daughter.
So why, when he looks into their eyes, does he suddenly remember a woman who vanished without a trace after saving his life one stormy night ten years earlier?


Now he could destroy hers.
Instinct warns Trudi Delaney the arrival of the contemptuous American architect at Kinsale Hall will change her life forever. Especially when she discovers he spends so much of his time in areas of Kinsale Hall off-limits to visitors.

Eleven years after escaping from her psychotic husband with a stranger, she’s still plagued by nightmares of events she can’t remember. Events such as, who fathered her beautiful daughter?
Now, more than a decade later, she is confronted by another stranger. Will this one destroy everything she holds dear?



Excerpt
“Stop the car!” Rafe Hawk swung round to face the driver. “I recognise this road. You never said the commission to build those retirement units was at Kinsale Hall. You know damn well I swore never set foot in the place again, eleven years ago.”



Rage hazed his vision. “You knew I’d refuse the commission if you’d revealed the location, and because you withheld that vital information, Arthur, this contract is null and void.” He shot forward in his seat when Arthur tramped on the brakes.


His friend from their Uni days skewed round in his seat. “How long have we known each other?”
Startled by Arthur Clifton’s question, Rafe hesitated. “What’s the length of our friendship got to do with anything? Other than the fact you’re stretching it very thin, if you think I’ll set foot on Kinsale territory again.” He swung open the car door and leaped out, his fingers tunnelling through his windswept hair.

Brilliant blue skies overhead offered a large playground for the early summer sunshine, and the fluffy white clouds sailing by. He saw the high chimney-tops through the trees.


“Do you really think I’d bring you here without a very good reason?” Arthur remained in his seat, his hands on the steering wheel, watching Rafe pace up and down the soft verge beside the open-topped car.

“I can’t think of a single reason good enough that justifies you resurrecting events that nearly cost me my life, and possibly cost the life of an unknown woman.”

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-dutycalls-513942-149.html    http://tinyurl.com/5vujr53







AT the time of writing, Duty Calls is up at Amazon.com for 0.99$

The Brat
Print ISBN 1-60154-825-7(this is on the ebook version)

The Blurb:

Gina Williams has a secret and prays it is buried with her childhood persecutor, Anna Kouvaris, as discovery will ruin her reputation as a famous children’s author. She soon discovers the son, Ben Kouvaris, new owner of her publishing company, has uncovered her past and is making demands. Will he ruin her career if she doesn’t comply?


Ben kouvaris is blown away by the unknown beauty at his estranged mother's funeral, and when his father demands he marry, immediately, to secure the family business, he knows just who he wants as his temporary bride. But can Ben persuade Gina to trust him?

Excerpt:

“You’re no better than your mother. I was a child when your mother ordered my life, but I’m a grown woman now and won’t be ordered around by you or anyone else. So don’t stand there sanctimoniously telling me it is your right to control my life for the next ten months. And when they end, what then? You drop your control, just like that? I doubt it. There’s not a Kouvaris on this planet that isn’t a control freak.”

She drew in a deep breath, glared at him when she came to a brief stop in front of him. “You’ll keep tabs on me, tell me what to do and when…”

“Why would I do that?” Cold as steel, Ben’s voice cut across her tirade, but it didn’t stop her.
“Because you’ll tell me it will impact on your reputation, or the company profile, or the value of the shares. How would I know? You’ll have a reason and expect me to abide by your ruling.” She spun away from him and back again. “Oh, I nearly forgot. As your ex-wife, someone may use me to get to you. Wasn’t that how you put it when we arrived in Greece?”

Hands fisted on her hips, her hair plastered against her fiery cheeks, she watched the colour climb up his neck and into his face. Until she heard the words hang in the air, she hadn’t known they were there. But she knew they’d hit their target head on.

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/sherry-gloag-m-862.html  (The Brat is currently discounted at TWRP)






How do you come up with the names of places and characters in your books?


In the strictest sense, I don’t come up with the names of my characters or the places and settings. My characters turn up and tell me their names and then give a picture of where they are.  It develops from there.  This can be a curse and a blessing.  I am not a plotter, so I can go off at a tangent any time – the downside of that is I often find myself at a dead-end.

Occasionally I recognize the scene I am given, and when that happens, as it did in Duty Calls I can either visit the place/area or troll the ‘net for information.
How did you develop the character of your protagonist in this book?

Melanie Babcott, in From Now Until Forever turned up ‘fully formed’ and knowing exactly how the story would develop.  I have to admit her use of a garbage truck had me almost crying with laughter!

What about an antagonist…is there a unique “bad guy” or a recurring nemesis of any kind?

Charles deBonet was totally different, he arrived, his intention very clear, but I couldn’t ‘see’ him and he morphed and re-morphed a couple of times during the writing.  He became more evil, and dark than I first anticipated or ever intended.

What’s your favorite thing about your books?

There have been a couple of occasions when I have not enjoyed the writing process of a book, with From Now Until Forever I enjoyed every second of writing it.

How is writing in the genre you write, different than other genre?
I’m not sure I know how to answer this one, but will give it a shot.  While staying within the romance genre, you will also find Fantasy and Sci Fi.  These are genres I will never attempt.  I have a huge respect for authors who can create new worlds and make them totally believable and enjoyable, but sadly do not have either wit or the talent to try either of them. 

Why and when did you begin writing?

As a child I read a lot, and at times I thinking I could have made a better job of the book.  Eventually I kind of dared myself to put ‘my pen where my ego was’ and see what happened.  Of course I soon discovered writing demands much more than putting pen to paper, there is so much more you have to know about the intricacies of writing and of the story you intend to put out there.

What is your writing schedule?

I could say ‘what schedule?’  And while circumstances mean I do not manage a regular writing slot every day, I do find I get more writing done late at night.

What projects are you working on now, or plan for the future?

(At the time of writing) I am about to enter the world of ‘edits’ for my Valentine Story, His Chosen Bride, which is the second of what looks like turning into a four-book series about the Gasquet Brothers.  All princes, who have to overcome many personal hurdles and beliefs before their find the other half of themselves.

What kind of advice or tips to you have for someone who wants to write and get published?
First, in today’s environment, decide which kind of publishing/publisher you are aiming for and then research as many as possible, read their authors, study their style and get your butt on the chair and write.
Find your own voice and be true to it, but remain adaptable enough to fit in with your chosen target’s house-style of writing.
Believe in yourself and enjoy the friendships you will make in the worlds of writers, authors and readers.


Are there any other comments, advice or tips that you would give to beginning writers?

Don’t give up – ever.

What do you do when you are not writing?
I covered this is my bio, but briefly, I enjoy reading, and now do reviews for several online sites.
I enjoy walking and gardening and crystal crafting to recap on a few.


What “Made It” moments have you experienced in life?

Meeting and holding my son in my arms for the first time.
And in the writing world in the writing world, receiving my first book contract followed by seeing it up for sale, and reading the first review I ever got.
Acceptances of all my other books are close behind this first elation.


My personal links:
My Website: http://.www.sherrygloag.com




Other links for my books:






Note from Sylvia: You can visit my other blog at: http://love-faith-and-guts.blogspot.com/that features a preview to my new book released in 2012, Traveling a Rocky Road with Love, Faith and Guts.

He found his soulmate and got married  H

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Insight into English author, David Mathews Writing Career and His new book, O My Days

I did not get a photo of you for this interview, but could you tell us about yourself so the readers will know more about the author behind the book?

I was born in a small town to the north of London, and I developed a love for writing and reading very early. Forty years later, I live in a different small town to the north of London, but it is not far away from the first one! That said, I went the long way around to get here, having lived and worked (in the field of education) in Australia, Egypt and Poland. I started submitting stories when I was in my teens – my very first submission was to a magazine called New Visions – and it sold. I was all of seventeen, and of course I assumed that this would happen from now on. Needless to say, it didn't. And so began my lifelong bittersweet romance with the rejection slip…

I wrote a couple of vast novels in what would now be called the genre of 'urban fantasy'. At the time, I wasn't aware of what I was writing having a genre label; all I knew was that I was deeply influenced by (and will continue to acknowledge my debt to) Stephen King and early Clive Barker. The novels I wrote didn't sell; in fact, I don't actually remember sending them out – I have always had a case of what my writer friend calls 'submitter's block – and so to me these remain live projects, some seventeen and fifteen years respectively down the line. In fact, I plan to go back to them in 2012. I'll need to cringe, I'm sure, but it doesn't hurt to read one's earlier work. Or not much, yway…
In 1997, I broke a publishing silence that had forced its way upon me and treated me ingloriously. Much to my own surprise, I started to write journalism. If you had told me a year or so earlier that that was what I would be doing, I would have measured you up for a straitjacket; but there I was, whizzing up and down the M1 doing interviews, and keeping my postman physically fit with the sackloads of review copies that were delivered to my door almost daily. It was a tough life, with very little money to spare, but it was fun. I have published approximately 600 pieces of fiction and non-fiction, including articles in reference books, academic articles, a book of short stories (Paranoid Landscapes, 2006) and a novel, O My Days (2011).  
Tell us about the genre of your work. 
I most enjoy writing about scumbag criminals who receive their comeuppance and somewhat neurotic professionals who are thrust into weird and dangerous situations. I've been called – or rather my work has been called – Paranormal Crime and Supernatural Thriller. And I'm happy with either, but the stories in Paranoid Landscapes veer from crime to horror to comedy to science fiction. There's even a modern-day comedy of manners in there!
Why did you choose this genre?
I suppose these things happen as a result of early influences. When I was 15, on the morning of my birthday, I received Stephen King's IT as a present. I was hooked. I have been a fool for King ever since. So I suppose the horror influence is on me like a rash, even if I don't actually write much horror anymore. The most important thing to me is the creation of good language, spicy dialogue,  deft characterization and suspense. Whatever genre I am working in – and I should confess at this point my much-loved Western under a pseudonym – I aim to give the reader these ingredients.
What are some of your books, stories that have been published?
A selected bibliography is available here and up-to-date references are here. Some of the work I did for Infinity Plus is here.
Can you tell us more about your book?
The novel, O My Days, is out now from Triskaideka Books. Click here for information.
Hardcover, paperback or e-book versions available.
Great review here!
Paranoid Landscapes orders here or here or the e-book is here. Review here.
How do you come up with the names of places and characters in your books?
  
Well, the names of places are usually real places, so that one's easy enough. For example, I published a novella called Mia and Zoe in 2008 which was set in one of the parishes of Milton Keynes. I happened to have worked there a few years earlier, and had been struck by the difficult, challenging circumstances in which many people lived. So what did I do? I set the story in Netherfield but just imagined it a few years from now, in an environment in which everyone is terrified of the common cold and buses have three deckers to cope with the extra people who can't afford transport or even petrol of their own. Tiny extrapolations, in other words. I've never predicted far future science fiction, but something in the league of Geoff Ryman's Child Garden seemed very interesting.  

The novel that is doing the rounds right now – The Parry and the Lunge – is set in Leighton Buzzard, a smallish market town near where I live. I do like to write about places I know and then twist them like wet rags. Holidays to new locations are especially fecund as material, though rarely at the time when I'm there. It's only when you're writing something about (say) ice fields and an unlikely romance between a tractor repairman on vacation and a woman who drives the snowbuses (as I am at the moment, a side project) that you suddenly realize: Wait a minute, this is Canada – this is where I was outside Banff…

Names just occur to me and I am keen never to make a name suggest a character. I don't like that technique, you know where you've got a character and his/her name tells you too much about them. If he happens to be a lugubrious fella, don't call me Mr Grump or whatever. You can work harder than that! My leader character in O My Days was always going to be Billy. The surname – Alfreth – was a gift from fate when I was driving near Buxton in Derbyshire. It was then that I also understood that my prison had to be shifted to the north of England. I needed hills.  

How did you develop the character of your protagonist in this book?  

He's intelligent, witty, linguistically dexterous… and violent: superbad violent. This kind of Venn diagram was interesting to me. I He's an amalgam of a number of prisoners that I taught while I was working in a prison. was careful in the early stages to make him not too similar to any real person, but then later I understood that I needn't have been so cautious. From the beginning he was completely his own man. He doesn't resemble anyone I worked with in the nick. He had taken on a life of his own, and this is one of writing's joys: when you learn that you can let them go and say their own things without your authorship (or mediation). This is bliss. The character has learned to breathe – to walk, talk, fight… but especially breathe.  

What about an antagonist…is there a unique “bad guy” or a recurring nemesis of any kind? 

The main antagonist in O My Days is Ronald Dott – or at least that's the name he starts the book with (it is not his only handle by a long chalk!). He is the closest thing I think I have ever had in print to pure evil. Which is by way of saying that he is not pure evil – there is no such thing as pure evil – because he honestly believes that, despite the crimes he has perpetrated, despite the damage his appetites have caused, he has acted for all the right motives.  

It is up to the reader to decide if Billy is such a good guy and Ronald is such a bad guy. I hope it will not be an easy decision, whatever the reader goes for.

What’s your favorite thing about your book?
Writing in prison language was amazingly liberating! Much of the dialogue is authentic prison slang (but easy to pick up), and the rest is what I invented for the book. Someone very kindly described O My Days as being like Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange. Far too flattering, really, but thanks anyway!
How is writing in the genre you write, different than other genre?
I write in so many different genres that it's hard to answer this question. The only thing I've never tried is a straightforward romance. I'd like to one day. I even wrote a Western once, believe it or not. I loved it! It feels like a vacation when you write in a different voice; this is one of the reasons I love writing about psychoanalysis: you are forced to change your tone, your voice, your angle of attack. It's something similar (I imagine) to how actors feel when they are getting into character.
Why and when did you begin writing?
I remember writing 'What I did at the weekend'-type compositions on Monday mornings on my return to school, in Mrs Gill's class! I suppose the bug bit me then. To put it bluntly, there is nothing that I'd rather do, most of the time. And if your brain is telling you that nothing is likely to be written today, don't believe it! Move on to a different project and you'll clear the fogs.
What is your writing schedule?
I write every day, as much as other things will allow. I don't have a schedule as such. I wish I could have one, but hey ho – if wishes were changes we'd all live in roses, as Nancy Griffith once wrote.
What projects are you working on now, or plan for the future?
I've nearly finished the first draft of a novel entitled Ventriloquists. It is not about ventriloquists. It is about kidnapping, kidnappers… and the people who love them. Every character in the book is either an abductor or an abductee, of sorts. How will the one live without the other?
What kind of advice or tips to you have for someone who wants to write and get published?
Read as much as you can. Learn your craft by making mistakes. Develop a thick skin. Keep a clean nose, watch the plainclothes, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
Are there any other comments, advice or tips that you would give to beginning writers?
Seriously, it's a craft or skill like any other. Pick up a violin, why don't you, and see if you can make it through 'Three Blind Mice' without making a mistake. Oh, you did? Right, now try Vivaldi… Do you see what I mean? It's vulgar, really, to assume that you can pick up a pen and a pad of paper and write London Fields or the Aegypt quartet. You have to treat it seriously, not fanny about.
What do you do when you are not writing? 
Read, research, play jazz, watch films, go to the pub, meet friends, eat nice food, cook, try not to smoke and usually fail.
What “Made It” moments have you experienced in life?
Every day should be a 'Made It' moment!


You can visit my other blog at: http://love-faith-and-guts.blogspot.com/that features a preview to my new book that will be released in 2012, Traveling a Rocky Road with Love, Faith and Guts.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Professional Freelance Writer, Mike Gerrard, Publishes First Crime Novel - Strip till Dead

Mike Gerrard has added another notch on his writing belt by writing and publishing a (as he calls it) crime novel.  I think you will enjoy reading about his journey into the world of publishing as I did interviewing him.

I was born in the north of England, in St Helens, which is a few miles outside of Liverpool. I am old enough to have seen the Beatles live on stage, at the Liverpool Empire. After training as an accountant, and changing my mind, then training as a teacher, and changing my mind, I ended up in London working for a literary agent before becoming a freelance writer. I have concentrated on travel writing for about the last 15 years, and have written for people such as National Geographic and American Express. I have authored dozens of guidebooks. I now spend half my life in the UK and half in Arizona, “the winter half”.

Tell us about the genre of your work. 

I would say that Strip till Dead was crime writing rather than mystery. There is a mystery at the heart of it, as two people try to track down the killer of a stripper, but I was more interested in portraying the world of striptease in London, and the people involved, than in trying to write a mystery puzzle book.

Why did you choose this genre?

This is my first novel, and the story had been in my mind for a while. I knew someday I would do something with the story, so as it is a crime story and I also read lots of crime writing, it is inevitable what it would be.

What are some of your books, stories that have been published?

I have published a lot of travel writing, including guidebooks for publishers including the AA, AAA, Fodor’s, Dorling Kindersley, Insight, New Holland, Michelin, Thomas Cook, and National Geographic. Strip till Dead is my first work of fiction, and I have never written any short stories. I love short stories, I wish I could write even one good one, but the ideas that come to me (and I have tons of ideas, far more than I have ever time to write) are always for full-length stories. That said, I have had an idea for a short story featuring the two main characters from Strip till Dead that would act as a kind of interval between this book and the next one that I am thinking about - but at the moment it lacks a vital element: a crime!

Strip till Dead is only at the moment available for the Kindle in the USA (http://tinyurl.com/4fv32zf)
and in the UK (http://tinyurl.com/48vgygc). However, I am getting the print edition ready through Amazon’s CreateSpace, and that should be available sometime in April.

How do you come up with the names of places and characters in your books?

The places are all real, so that bit is easy. The names of characters are really important, I think. In my first draft, I just gave the characters combinations of names of people I knew. That made it easy for me to remember them. I was more concerned in the first draft with working out the plot. The characters developed as the story moved on. Then for the next draft, I had a better grasp of the characters, as I had not initially based them on any particular people I knew. So, by then the names were not right. They were just holding names anyway, as if you might give something a working title, even though you are not planning to use it. (The book was first called Stark Naked, by the way, but I never really liked that as a title.) I did then spend a lot of time working on the characters’ names, trying different ones, writing down lists of possibilities, until I hit on names that seemed right. You usually know it when you have it.

How did you develop the character of your protagonist in this book?

In order for the plot to work, I had to have someone who was slightly naïve, but not shy about becoming a stripper. She had to be new to the world, so she could investigate it, and learn about it along with the reader. For a while, she was American, partly to make her an outsider and partly a cynical move to try to make the book appeal to American readers. However, I am not really a cynical person so she had to revert to being what was right for the book. I made her from the north of England, where I am from, and a student, so she would seem more young and vulnerable, and would learn a lot about the city, stripping, and most of all about herself as the story unfolds.

What about an antagonist…is there a unique “bad guy” or a recurring nemesis of any kind?

There are several bad guys hanging round the stripping world, where of course you do find some sleazy characters on the fringes… and sometimes not on the fringe but right in there. It is a colorful world, all right. However, to say any more would reveal too much - and like the skillful stripper, I will not reveal all.

What’s your favorite thing about your book?

I am pleased with two things in particular. Three if you count the fact that I managed to finish it. It is one thing to write a guidebook of 60,000 words or so, because you are working to a format and a page plan - and also to a deadline! With Strip till Dead, I was doing it in my spare time, never knowing if it would be published, and never having written a novel before. So, the simple fact of getting it done - after several drafts - was to me an achievement.

However, the first thing I am most pleased about is the way I hope I have portrayed strippers as real women. People tend to make assumptions about them, that they are all tarts or have no morals, or whatever. In fact, they are all different, doing what they do for different reasons. Some are working class, some are posh, and a lot of them are just ordinary women doing an unusual job.

The second thing I am most pleased about is the final chapter, and in particular the ending. I did have a rough idea of where the book was headed, but not the specifics of how it would work out. I was very happy with the way the last chapter was written, and especially the last few sentences. I did not know that was going to happen, but when it did, it seemed absolutely right.

Why and when did you begin writing?

I knew I wanted to be a writer from the age of about 8 or 9, when I discovered that some of my favorite comedians were not making things up as they went along, but had scriptwriters who wrote the jokes for them. From then on, I knew I wanted to be a writer, preferably a sitcom writer, but any kind of writer really. It has been a circuitous route. The first things I sold were some poems to Lancashire Life magazine when I was in my early 20s. Then I sold them a few articles, did some general feature writing for newspapers and magazines in the UK - in my spare time, that is. I was in my late 20s and working for a literary agent in London when I decided to have a go at full-time freelance writing. I finished work one Friday, and on Monday morning sat down in my flat with a typewriter at the kitchen table and thought: OK, what now? Having all day and every day in which to write was both liberating and scared me stiff.

What is your writing schedule?

It varies enormously, depending what I am doing. When I was writing Strip till Dead, I was doing it alongside my regular travel writing. I have been lucky in that I have always made a living from travel writing, which a lot of people do not do. They have to have another job or source of income to support their travel writing, as it is not a very well-paid profession for most people. So, when I started my novel I would get up early, maybe 6am or so, sit right down at the desk and work on it for maybe 2-3 hours, before switching to my regular paid work, the guidebooks and so on. It was extremely hard, having to get up like that every day, but if you do not do it, the book is not written. And, I really wanted to write it. So, you do get up, day after day after day, until it is done. It is a long, hard slog, and I respect anyone who has written a book in their spare time.

What projects are you working on now, or plan for the future?

Right now, I am working on publicizing Strip till Dead, which is vital if you go the indie-publishing route, as I have. I got tired of waiting for publishers and agents taking 4-5 months to get back to you, and sometimes never getting back to you at all. I can take ‘no’, you have to be able to do that as a writer. What I cannot take is the bad manners of asking to see something and then never, ever, responding to you again.

Anyway, I am thinking about a short story concerning the two main characters of Strip till Dead, which would take them into the next novel. I know where I want to set it, and have been doing some background reading for story ideas and atmosphere. However, while I was trying to sell Strip till Dead to publishers and agents - and failing - I did start another crime story, and have the first couple of chapters written. That is set in Alabama, and very different from Strip till Dead. Nevertheless, as with my first one, it was just a story that came along and I felt compelled to write it, or at least make a start.

What kind of advice or tips to you have for someone who wants to write (especially mystery)?

Whatever you want to write, I think it is vital to read examples of some of the best writers in that genre, whether it is non-fiction like travel or fiction like mystery, or romance, or anything else. You cannot be a writer if you do not read. The only other thing you have to do is sit down and write. That is the hard part for many people. You often hear people saying they would like to write a book but they do not have the time. Well, people like John Grisham and Scott Turow did not have the time either, but they made the time and did not stop until they had finished. I think it was P.G. Wodehouse who said that the secret of writing is applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.

Personally I am a sucker for ‘how to write’ books. I do feel that if I only read just one more ‘how to write’ book, I will find the secret and be successful. I know I am not the only one. Nevertheless, I have learned a lot from reading those books, and there are some very good ones about mystery writing. I have read them all! I especially recommend the books by Lawrence Block and David Morrell; both fine crime/thriller writers who know what they are talking about and have written books that are full of great advice.

Are there any other comments, advice or tips that you would give to beginning writers?

I have had countless emails over the years from people asking how they can become travel writers. I used to give them all long, individual replies, trying to help them. I did until a travel writer friend of mine said he now summed it up briefly - travel as much as you can, write as much as you can, and send it to as many editors as you can. And, I think that is very simple but sound advice.

What do you do when you are not writing? 

My wife says I would be happy to sit at the keyboard all day, every day, and write. She has to drag me out to do the garden, or go shopping, or anything else. Then, when I am not writing, chances are that I am reading - books, magazines, newspapers or listening to music. Then again, I may be cooking, eating, and enjoying the alcoholic beverage of my choice. Being travel writers, we do of course travel a lot too.

What “Made It” moments have you experienced in life?

Does any writer or any artist ever think they have made it? Maybe you do if you really have made it, but I think no matter how successful you are, you never feel you have made it. In fact if you write something that is brilliant, and well received, is praised to the skies and sells in millions, you probably think - oh ****, what the hell do I do next? I will let you know if I ever feel that I have made it!