Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in a small town in Australia where I currently reside. I’ve been writing steadily for over a decade now, and as my skills improved I moved from writing shorter pieces to novel length fiction. This is my first book, or rather, the first one that’s fit to be published; my first attempt over a decade ago was terrible and deserved to die the slow death it received.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Weeds Grow Near Roads is my first book. It’s inspired by all the fantasy novels I grew up reading and is the result of the question: What would really happen to an adolescent on his lonesome in a high fantasy world where the technology level would see it approximate our Dark Ages period. As such, it is a dark, terribly violent and gloomy narrative that sees the protagonist stumble from one mistake to another.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think I have any unusual writing habits. I do plan what’s going to happen in each chapter and slowly expand the plot points as the work continues and other ideas come to mind.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
While it seems a bizarre nomination for a fantasy writer, Cormac McCarthy has inspired me with his bleak writing that fits the adage ‘show, don’t tell’.
I suppose that the popularity of the television adaption of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ has shown that fantasy is still a popular genre, despite the negative musings of agents and other insiders.
What are you working on now?
I’ve just dipped my toe in the planning stages of my second novel. It too will be fantasy, despite my earlier plan to switch between fantasy and novels rooted in the real world; I abandoned that plan when I found myself bored by an attempted second novel that would have been a narrative focusing on a character much like myself.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As this is my first time on the promotion merry -go-round I can only list sites such as awesomegang.com and similar sites.
Amazon themselves say they will promote your work more if you publish exclusively through them.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Revision is the most overlooked or, perhaps, under mentioned thing about writing. Your first draft will probably never be seen but anyone but yourself, so be prepared to trim and punch up the work. Also, since you’ll be the only one reading a, possibly, terrible first draft, new authors shouldn’t be embarrassed about what they themselves to be poorly written material. Not only will you be redrafting as the process continues, but others are often less critical of your writing than you will ever be. Also, joining a writing group in your local area can help your writing. It was during the live reading of one of my shorter pieces that I realized what I needed to change in my novel.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Redraft and revise your work is the best advice I’ve heard. There have been some movies – ‘Throw Momma From the Train’ and ‘As Good as it Gets’ to name a couple – that make it seem that writers simply sit down in front of a typewriter, word processor or computer and writing just ‘flows’ from them.
Also, writers should keep in mind that publishers don’t do a hard edit, in fact, they won’t accept work that’s improperly formatted and with typos galore. I found that out the hard way.
What are you reading now?
I’m rereading China Mieville’s ‘Perdidio Street Station.’ Probably my favorite novel of all time.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Onto the second novel I suppose. Also, since I’m still part of my local writing group I still continue to produce one short piece for each monthly meeting.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, The Scar by China Mieville, and both ‘The Crossing’ and ‘Blood Meridian’ by Cormac McCarthy.