Here's a guy I don't think I'd like to hang out with. I don't fancy rock climbing, 1,000km strolls, or sleeping in a campervan.
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?
Well,
I don’t have much choice at the moment – being a memoirist can be tough on the
creativity! Luckily, there are people out there who want to read about the
crazy sh*t I get up to, so I’m writing about that. I have to admit though, I’m
yearning to write a bit of fiction – something where I don’t have to tell the
truth all the time! And of course, writing fiction probably won’t require me to
injure myself quite as much…
What excites, attracts or
appeals to you about the genre(s) you write in.
I
love that I’m writing the stories of my life – people reading my books aren’t
discovering new worlds I’ve visualised, they’re reading directly about me! That
can be a little nerve-wracking, as any negative impressions they get are also
directed at me – and I have to admit to every short-coming, every embarrassing
action or habit… Sometimes my readers know more about me than my closest family
and friends. And more than they’d ever want to know… This is the only genre
that legitimately allows me write about my testicles. I’m told I take advantage
of this fact way too much.
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?
Because
I’m always traveling, I have drawers full of notebooks on both sides of the
world. Sod’s Law works well here; the ones I need most always tend to be the
furthest away…
I
quite often get a flash of inspiration while I’m out and about, so I make
urgent notes on whatever comes to hand. I never transfer them, and often completely
forget about them, which leads to me discovering bus tickets with cryptic
messages and snatches of dialogue on them in jackets I haven’t worn since last
winter… Yeah. I should probably get a better system!
How do you manage plot
bunnies (ideas that invade your mind that aren’t usually helpful to the story
you’re writing but breed like...er...bunnies)?
Rather
than plot bunnies, I get story bunnies – ideas for fiction stories I’d love to
write, but can’t until I’m done with my memoirs. I haven’t the time to devote
to them, but I have a sneaky habit – I indulge them at night, when I’m laying
awake, my mind racing. I’m an insomniac, and often get only three or four hours
sleep, but my wife hates it if I don’t come to bed – so I lay there, staring at
the ceiling, constructing plots for epic sci-fi novels – most of which vanish
with the first light of morning. I still feel a bit guilty though, about
wasting all that precious writing time! But I draw the line at bringing the
laptop into the bedroom. Well, my wife does…
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 ?
My
characters ARE me! Well, except the ones that aren’t. I wouldn’t want to be
anyone else… because then, someone else would have to be me. And that’s not
fair on anyone!
Do you become so wrapped
up in your writing that your spouse wonders if they're married to you or one of
your characters?
I
DO get wrapped up in my writing – to the point where my wife often has to send
me text messages reminding me to eat! She does this roughly three times a day –
otherwise, I wouldn’t. As for being married to my characters… conveniently
enough, I am! The downside of this is, after I reveal a particularly intimate
or embarrassing part of our journey together, I have to a) let her proofread
the offending chapter, and b) live with the fall-out…
I
still suffer daily for writing that she ‘gave a snotty burble’ – according to
her, this is completely untrue and was ‘accidentally’ deleted from my
manuscript several times before I managed to publish it…
What type of book do you
like reading? Is it the same genre as you write?
No,
not at all. I love reading sci-fi and fantasy, something with lots of
ass-kicking and noble sacrifices! I DO read a lot of memoirs, however, mostly
out of loyalty to other authors in a similar position to me – and I also read
them for, ah, comparison purposes… Of course, if someone else’s new book is
better than mine, I have to know about it! I’m only human J
What lengths do you go to
to convince us readers that your book has the X factor?
Normally,
I try to let people discover that for themselves. I’m a terrible publicist – I
hate pushing my work on other people and trying to convince them to read it.
More often than not, I direct people to the free samples on Amazon, in the hope
they’ll read those, and suddenly become addicted – and so far, that seems to
work quite well. I think it’s the ‘idiot factor’, rather than the x-factor,
that appeals to people – everyone loves to laugh at other people, whether they
admit it or not!
How do you feel when a
reader points out the spelling mistake(s) you have made?
I
decapitate them. No! Joke! I love that
readers pay enough attention to my work that they spot mistakes. I thank them
profusely, and correct the mistake right away, often uploading a new version
within the hour. I want my work to look as professional as possible, and
readers are helping me to do that – it’s invaluable, really. Several of my
keenest readers are now my beta-readers, as well as becoming close friends.
What do you like most
about visiting KUF/GR/forums?
It’s
weird, really – I never have any idea what to say on forums! I don’t want to
plug my book, because that’s rude, and I don’t feel like I’ve earned the right
to give people critique. So, I mostly just read what everyone else writes, and
try to pick up tips for marketing and promotion. What I love most though, is
when people get in touch with me through the messages, to let me know they’ve
enjoyed my books. It gives me a nice warm glow, and it’s cheaper than buying
wine…
What is on your near
horizon?
A
big-assed metal fence! I’m house-sitting in Perth, Australia, looking after three
gigantic dogs. So I’m kind of glad of that fence, or neighbourhood children
would start going missing… After this, I’m planning another epic adventure –
this time to the States! I have a Secret Plan about what I’ll be doing when I
get there… but suffice to say, there’ll be a book about it! In the meantime,
I’m writing about my six-month trip around Asia – where I got kidnapped by a
mafia taxi-driver, received death-threats from a tour company boss, and nearly
blew up a hotel in Mongolia. NOT MY FAULT!
Where can we find you for
more information?
