Q: In one sentence, tell me something that describes you as a person?
A: Getting crankier with each passing year but with a fun streak!
Q: How many books have you written? How many of those are published?
A: I have lost count! I do add them up from time to time. I think it’s fifteen if I include my short story collection and one that was reduced to a novella. They have all been published in one form or another. Fall Of The Flamingo Circus was the only one to be traditionally published in UK hardback, UK paperback and US hardback. Others were published by various small press in paperback, although they have all either ceased doing paperbacks or have ceased trading altogether. All of my books have been published or rereleased in digital format.
Q: Do you have an upcoming release? If yes, tell me the title and impending release date.
A: Not at the moment. I have one I’m working on which I started several years ago but it’s proving quite challenging!
Q: If you could “create” your own genre of what you write, what would you call your books?
A: Gritty or edgy.or maybe marmite books! A good chunk of them I might call retro or nostalgic books because of the era that the majority of them are set in (between the 1960s and 2000). Social Issues genre might also be another but it sounds a bit clunky, although many of my novels do deal with social issues eg drug addiction, homelessness, disability, mental illness and suicide.
Q: Without quoting your back cover synopsis, tell me about the last book you published.
A: That would be The Dead Club. This is a dark novel laced with dark humour and surrealism. It is told from several viewpoints and the characters do all impact on one another. But as the title suggests the novel deals with the impact of death and suicide on the lives of the main characters. The setting is also important, a lot of it taking place along the iconic south west England rail line which has spectacular views of the sea between Newton Abbot and Exeter. It is reduced to 0.99 until the end of the April, I may add!
Q: Tell me something about yourself that is separate from writing.
A: I love music especially from the late 60s through to the 90s and I love singing in harmony when I can get along to the local drop-in group. I am into nostalgia in quite a big way, not just music and fashions but photos and reminiscing about old times. I think now I am into my sixth decade I have something to draw upon. Sixth decade – oh my giddy aunt – that number sounds way too big. I have Fibromyalgia, anxiety and phobias. I’m also an online campaigner and I love cats.
Q: Who is your favorite Author?
A: I really don’t have one favourite. I can list many authors whose work I have loved, both traditional and indie. These include: John McGregor, Rachel Joyce, James Bowen, Chantelle Atkins, Gerald Hansen, Toni Morrison, Miriam Hastings, Margaret Forster, Robert Tressell and many more. I also like to read some non-fiction
Q: What is the last book that you read? (Not counting anything you wrote)
A: A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear Mc Bride
Q: When writing, do you have a system or something you plan, or do you just write?
A: I do make a sort of plan but that evolves all the time as I’m writing.
Q: Why do you write?
A: I can’t imagine not writing. I have written since I was small. I think it’s a vehicle for communication and I find it comes more naturally to me than speaking.
Q: Any final thoughts that you want to give to your fans or even future authors?
A: I would say to any new authors write because you love it, because it’s a passion, because you can’t not write. If you write expecting fame, fortune and shedloads of sales you will more than likely be sorely disappointed. You have to love the process. You need a thin skin for the sensitivity that drives you to write, but a thick skin for all those knockbacks, rejections and criticisms. Very few writers get the balance myself inluded! Most of us feel dejected and want to give up at some point. It is true what they say about the ten per cent inspiration and the ninety per cent perspiration. But there are many rewards: the unexpected positive feedback from readers, the good reviews, the people who get what you’re saying and your way of saying it but also getting to know the work of new writers and making connections and friendships with people you’ve never met.