Next in my sights is Nick Spalding, an author who is often found hanging out in Amazon's charts. If you have read one of his "Life ....." books, then you'll probably know him as much as he knows himself.
How do you strike the balance between writing something you want to write and writing something that people want to read, in terms of the compromises you make, if any?
I'm lucky. I tend to write commercial fiction so I always try to write what I hope people will want to read. If that isn't something I also want to write then I guess it doesn't get written!
What excites, attracts or appeals to you about the genre(s) you write in.
There's nothing quite like making a person laugh. If you can do it from several hundred miles away weeks after you cracked the joke, then it's even better.
Do you have a box, drawer, folder etc where you keep thoughts and ideas for future stories? Such as names you have come across, bits of dialogue, ideas, characters - even if you have no idea when you might use them?
Nope. I fly by the seat of my pants. I trust my caffeine addled brain to come up with the goods when I sit down to write. Things tend to get stick in the drift nets of my memory, ready to pop up when I need a good gag or plot point.
How much of you is in your characters? Which of your characters is the you that you’d most like to be? Or be with ?
A lot. I write observational humour (for the most part) and I guess my characters have to share my observations, because I'm the one putting the words in their mouths. I suppose I'd most like to be Max from The Cornerstone, but only because I'd get to be a teenager again. I'd try to make a better job of it second time around.
What type of book do you like reading? Is it the same genre as you write?
I read a lot of different genres, but my favourites are fantasy, horror and humour. Funnily enough, those are the genres I also write in, which makes sense, I suppose.
What lengths do you go to to convince us readers that your book has the X factor?
No way you can do that. Ultimately it's up to them to decide whether your work has the X Factor. The best you can do as a writer is write the best book you can and hope it captures the imagination of the reading public. Being as professional as possible with your editing, blurb and cover will see you a long way, but there's an alchemy about guessing how hot a book is going to be which is impossible to understand. Even those big, bad publishers don't know for certain what makes a book have the X Factor, otherwise they'd only put out hits themselves.
How do you feel when a reader points out the spelling mistake(s) you have made?
On the one hand disgusted with myself. On the other very thankful that they noticed and took the time to tell me about it.
What do you like most about visiting KUF?
The links to hardcore pornography they hide at the bottom of the forum page.
What is on your near horizon?
I'm currently writing a sequel to Love... From Both Sides, which should be out in the early summer.
Where can we find you for more information?
You can visit my Amazon author's page here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nick-Spalding/e/B003M4DLXO and you can visit my blog here: spaldings-racket.blogspot.com
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