Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m very new to writing – I got a degree in mechanical engineering funnily enough. This desire to write sort of came out of nowhere. I have just written my first ever book, which came out a lot better than I expected considering I wrote in two weeks – from the conceptual idea of the story to the final finished product. I hope that this book shows some signs of success so I can start to write more and better stories.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
So my latest book is my first – which is a book I named Dread. It’s a horror/mystery book set in a setting I’ve always wanted to write in – on a mountain covered in dark forest. The idea for the story actually came about while I was on holiday in Germany with my cousin. We sort of took some basic ideas and things we saw there, and came up with the idea of writing a mystery/horror book set in a secluded Sanatorium hidden in the mountains. I was immediately on board with the idea and less two weeks later we had a finished book to publish.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
In short yes – I tend to write sort of badly as I type the words of the story in the moment. So what I do is after every paragraph I go over what I’ve written and change a lot of the wording/expressions and I’m always surprised by how many mistakes I’ve made the first time around. I also require almost absolute silence when writing otherwise I write garbage…
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve read a lot of classic novels over the years which I think has had a major impact on my writing and the sudden desire to write. Some of my favourites are the Sherlock Holmes series, Treasure Island, Of Mice And Men, The Great Gatsby, and my favourite book of all time is Bram Stocker’s Dracula (you know the original vampire lord, not the lame ones you see in the movies now).
What are you working on now?
I am currently taking a short break after writing my first book to make sure I have enough time to think of a good story to write. I wouldn’t be fair for any fans I might gather with the first book to slap them with a terrible second book. I have been one of those fans in the past and it’s very disappointing to see the works of an author drop in quality as they rush to pump out more books too quickly.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Websites like this one where they have a large number of passionate followers who want to be given good books to read. It’s a huge bonus if they do it for free.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I can’t speak for non-fiction writers this early in my career and can only speak about what I know and experienced. Take your time to outline your story and never be afraid to change small details as you write. It’s important to have a clear direction of the story as you write the words, and a good way of doing this is imaging your story like a movie. Play out the scene in your head and write as naturally as you can. You can then scan over what you’ve written and fix any grammatical errors and change the wording of certain things, as well as change any details in the story. And ALWAYS read your book carefully before publishing it, from start to finish, taking at least one day off after you complete it, so that you can have a clear head as you read it over. Speaking from my experience, you might find that what you’ve written sounds very different as you read it from a reader’s perspective instead of the author. Finish cleaning up the book then, and only then, can you publish it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read your own book as if you didn’t write it to truly judge its quality.
What are you reading now?
I am currently re-reading Dracula believe it or not. There’s a lot of value in that book that I want fresh in my mind now that I write. After that I want to ready Moby Dick by Herman Melville as it’s supposedly a great classic. I find that the best novels were the classics that were written between 1840-1940.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To keep producing better stories than the last.
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?
1) “How to Survive on a Deserted Island” – it will probably help 🙂
2) Dracula – Yes I’m well aware that my obsession with this book is unearthly.
3) Treasure Island or Moby Dick – again both might be somewhat helpful…