Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an award-winning literary suspense, mystery, and thriller author from New Hampshire. I’m an active member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) Organization and the New Hampshire Writers’ Project.
I’ve written and have had five novels published. My sixth manuscript is done and in the editorial phase. My fifth novel, The Green House—a Bronze Medalist in the Adult Fiction E-Book category for the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards), a finalist in the Fiction category for the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and a finalist in the Mystery category for the 2020 Book Excellence Awards—will be released on 7/30/20.
My fourth novel, Plum Springs, won the 2019 New Hampshire Writers’ Project Readers’ Choice Award for Fiction. My first novel, Deception, was named one of the best thriller novels of 2017 by the Novel Writing Festival.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Green House will be release on July 30, 2020. It was inspired by truth. At the time I started it, someone who I was very close to was struggling with mental illness and I failed to understand it. As a writer, the best way for me to try and comprehend it was to put myself in their shoes and write from someone’s POV who was in a similar situation. That was the general inspiration. There’s another aspect to it, the green house and the flowers and the symbolism, that came later and wrapped it all together.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. I used to write every day, but that’s not the case anymore. I’ve learned what it takes to write one, so I can write in bursts now. I can write 10,000 words or more in a week when the story is coming, and other times I step away and wait for inspiration to kick in—which it always has!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
John Hart has been my biggest influence. He writes literary suspense—a beautiful juxtaposition of literary writing with fleshed out characters and descriptive writing, and suspenseful plots. I try to write like he does.
What are you working on now?
I finished my six novel a few months ago and will be starting my seventh very soon. For the first time for me, I have a three-book series planned (all my other books up to this point have been standalones). The first in the series is done, so I’ll be starting on the second soon.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try to stay active on social media (though I don’t love it). I’ve run social ads and have done book giveaways and newspaper/podcast/blog interviews, speeches, a television appearance, and the list goes on. My current publisher has contributed amazingly to the launch of The Green House, which I couldn’t be happier about. I try new strategies and tactics all the time to see what works. It’s still a work in progress for me to find what works and what doesn’t.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. The only way you’re going to improve is to keep doing it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
John Grisham once said that many new writers try to be too flowery with their writing—to try and prove how good they are. Often times (though not always, depending on the type of story you want to tell), a story can be told simply without all the unnecessary stuff that goes along with it.
What are you reading now?
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I finished my six novel a few months ago and will be starting my seventh very soon. My fifth book, The Green House, will be released on 7/30/20, so I’ve spent much of my time this year preparing that for launch. I did just recently finish editing a few manuscripts for other authors, which took quite a while too (for details, visit: https://www.danlawtonfiction.com/for-writers/editorial-services/).
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?
Great question. It’s a strange thing, but the truth is, I don’t have a favorite book. In fact, I’ve only read one book more than once—and that was The Last Child by John Hart. There are so many books out there, I prefer to spend my reading time exploring new books rather than revisiting the same stories. With that said, I’d pick the longest books I could find (so to not run out of material to read!) and go with it. I have a behemoth from Greg Iles on my bookshelf that I haven’t gotten around to, so that feels like one that would make the cut.
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