Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written one book that is being published under pen name of Roger Rapel but have 3 others in the wings with a 4th underway as we speak.
I served for 30 years as a police officer in the UK mainly in CID as a detective sergeant where I dealt with serious criminal issues including rapes, murders and all kinds of sexual offences.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
There have been many issues which I dealt with which I couldn’t be directly written about but, have always wanted to put pen to paper so have fictionalized ‘Cindy where are you?’
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
That’s an ambiguous question, I try to be factual where I can and not go off on fantasy (nothing wrong in fantasy) as I want to portray how it was then.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Chris Ryan
What are you working on now?
Having said I don’t right about fantasy well tongue in cheek this latest book ‘Gift or curse’ is total fantasy well most anyway I can’t tell you which bit isn’t.
It revolves around a Tarot reader her daughter Michaela is a psychic. The daughter has the uncontrolled ability to see visions of things which she touches. She shakes the hand of a stranger she meets on a coach trip where she gets the vision of a woman falling to then ground as a knife is pulled from her chest. She finds out that man is on his way to meet his estranged wife as they are going through a really messy divorce. Is the woman she see’s in the vision his wife?
Not everything is black and white because as the story evolves it reaches into the the corridors of MI6, CIA, KGB and MOSSAD. Where it will end I’m not sure but still going strong with some 38 chapters already written
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As a novice writer I am being advised on the best way to proceed with great assistance from Kitty Honeycutt
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep plugging away, although I nearly gave up hope then I sent an email to Kitty who asked for the first 5 chapters and offered me a contract based on that. So she must have see something. So keep sending emails to publishers. Some never replied all the others were thanks but no thanks.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I read an article and cannot remember who by now but it always stuck with me ‘don’t write a 100 words about something where 10 could have said the same thing.’ I have read some books where the ramblings go on and on and by the time you get to the end of the paragraph you can’t remember what the subject was about. That’s what I’ve tried to achieve
What are you reading now?
Sorry I have been so wrapped up in the current book that haven’t had time to look at another book
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have two other scenarios all based on my previous experience but again will have to be fictionalised
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?
Probably a couple by Chris Ryan and then one factual one by David Attenborough