Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 75 years old, British, married with three children.
I studied at the University of London (Queen Mary College) and was awarded a First Class Honours degree in Physics in 1965, and a PhD in solid state physics in 1969.
I was a Senior Lecturer in the Physics Department at the University of Salford from 1970 to 2002, and continued to work part time at Salford University until final retirement in 2012.
I play badminton and tennis on a regular basis, representing local clubs in league matches. I have a private pilot’s licence and enjoy flying, including touring in this country and abroad.
I have just written my first novel. Previously I have written, co-authored and edited seven non-fiction books on various aspects of microcomputers and development of physics software simulations.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is my first novel, a science fiction story ‘Stowaway to the Stars’. It is a story that I have had in mind for a long time. I had the idea I wanted to explore of what would happen if a woman from Earth accidentally encountered a human from another star system. I had certain elements that I wanted to include, but it took a long while, thinking about it in spare moments, to develop a full plot.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I suppose what was slightly unusual was that I developed the plot entirely in my mind, slowly over a long period, so that when I had the idea fully fleshed out, and semi-retirement gave me the time to start writing it down, the first stage of writing was relatively quick. But the writing needed a great deal of polishing before it was suitable for publication, and I joined a critiquing group, critiquecircle.com, which was very time-consuming but which improved my writing style enormously.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always been an avid reader of science fiction, particularly hard science fiction and space opera. I started on my favourite classic authors, such as Robert Heinlein (possibly my long-term favourite author), Arthur C Clarke and Isaac Asimov. I have been less keen on the modern tend to hugely elaborate plots with many simultaneous strands, and the tendency to long series of books, and worst of all, series where individual books have no proper ending. My favourites among recent authors are Charles Stross, Julian May, Timothy Zahn and Lois McMaster Bujold.
What are you working on now?
I have another idea based on the milieu I developed in Stowaway to the Stars, where Earth discovers the existence of the Galactic Union, and the subsequent events as the protagonists of Stowaway help to smooth the process of Earth’s efforts to join the Union.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is what I am still struggling to find out. The site that has had most influence on me has been eBookBetty.com, but it remains to be seen how well that works out for me.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
All the articles I read stressed the importance of getting an agent for my book, and it was only after I finally managed to succeed in that that I realized it was only the first step. Agents are not necessarily able to place your book with a publisher. In the end I found a publisher independently. Then I discovered that a publisher does not necessarily mean success for your book, most of the promotion is still down to the author. I have now reverted to self-publishing to give me more flexibility in pricing and promotion.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I was ever given was nothing to do with writing or publishing, and was many years ago (and wouldn’t be so relevant today). The University I very much wanted to go to turned me down (possibly because I was not then attending a very prestigious school). I was resigned to settling for a more minor college, but one of the masters told me to ignore my rejection, and if I got good A level results (the British qualification for entry to University) to simply approach my chosen University again and tell them the results I had achieved. It worked like a dream and I got the place I wanted.
What are you reading now?
I have a large collection of books in my to read pile, by the authors I mentioned above and mnany others. I am also collecting books from writers I have not previously encountered to try and find new favourites.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To try and complete the development of the plot for my next book. Then I will reactivate my critiquecircle.com association to polish the text, and then self publish again.
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?
I suppose I would take my own book because it is a story that I like enough to re-read often. Realistically the other books would not be fiction (or that classic, the bible), but self-help and survival books.
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