Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! My name is Eli Ingle. I’m a 25 year old author from Sheffield in the United Kingdom. I began writing when I was 15 after getting a typewriter for my birthday. Officially, I have released 2 books at the moment but I have written a lot more than that. I wrote 3 books before Rigel but never did anything with them. I am now glad about this as looking back they were rubbish! But writing them was very good practice. I also wrote a stage play based on an unpleasant camping experience in Ireland. The two books I have released so far are called Rigel and Frivlok. These are book 1 and 2 respectively in my Appointments on Plum Street series.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Frivlok. I released this on Halloween 2017. The title is named after the nemesis of the series. I’m not very good when it comes to thinking up character names or book titles so I chose to keep them as 1 word per book and relate each to a character or place in the series that was most relevant for each story.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes! I have a tendency to get easily distracted when I begin writing. Once I’ve started I’m alright, but up until that point I can write a paragraph before wandering off and doing something else. So I listen to white noise through my headphones. This helps me to block out distractions and really helps me to focus on the writing … I also drink excessive amounts of water!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
A lot. However my main inspiration has to be Stephen King. His book On Writing changed my whole outlook. I was never someone who could plan out a whole novel before writing it and everything I’d read before indicated that’s what I should have been doing. His method of just ‘sit down and get on with it’ was a breath of fresh air as that was what I’d been doing. He also writes the best stories.
What are you working on now?
Book 3 in my Appointments on Plum Street series. It’s quite a challenge as the interweaving story lines are getting more complicated, but I’m enjoying the challenge.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that out! But I think Awesome Gang deserves a special mention!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be prepared to do more hard work than you thought was possible in one life time! No-one really prepares you for the emotional side of writing – it’s a very lonely lifestyle. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed my own company so manage to deal with that, but doing the job of about 10 people (writing, typesetting, illustration, cover-design, marketing, social media and more) is very draining to work 8:30am – 10:00pm every day. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change it! But anyone considering doing it should know it’s more work than you realise – it was certainly a steep learning curve for me!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Only what Stephen King said: Read a lot and write a lot. There’s really no more important advice when it comes to writing.
What are you reading now?
I’ve just come back off holiday which was lovely and I managed to read 5 books while I was away. I’m currently on the 6th book of Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve just branched out into recording the audiobook of Rigel myself. It was quite a steep learning curve and a lot harder than I expected it to be. I’ve recently just finished narrating the story and I’m currently in the process of editing it. I’m looking forward to this a lot more as I’ll be adding all the sound effects which should hopefully make it quite ambient.
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?
The Stand by Stephen King
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
The Ninth Circle by Alex Bell
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome. K. Jerome
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