Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I spent 40 years in the advertising and market communications sector, happily writing anything that I was given; brochure copy, advertisements, press releases, speeches for other people, scripts for industrial films, videos, and copy for websites. In 1988 I started my own media company until retiring a few years ago.
My only venture into fiction was in my early twenties writing teen romance stories for DC Thomson’s Jackie magazine. It was just a part-time addition to my real work, but it taught me how to build characters in as few words as possible and just how enjoyable writing fiction was. I always promised myself that when I had the time, I would return to fiction again.
Just over two years ago, I started on my first novel, Murders of Consequence, which was followed by Murders of Necessity and Murders of Misfortune. Then I wrote The Croxton Project J293, a cold war thriller set mainly In Cambridge, UK, the university town about 20 minutes drive from where I live. All these are available in eBook and paperback versions on Amazon.
All three books are set in the nineteen-sixties when the UK and the USA were going through a significant transformation of social outlook. Young people were making their views known through fashion, music, attitudes, and public protests about the many different causes that concerned them. The reasons were not frivolous; all they were asking for was nuclear disarmament and world peace. For me, the 40s, 50s, and 60s were decades that changed people’s lives and attitudes just as much as the tech revolution of the 80s and 90s.
I live in Peterborough, UK, with my wife Sheilah, who acts as editor, proof-reader, and critic of my work. We are both avid readers, enjoying mainly thrillers.
I also love music, particularly jazz. When I was young, I played tenor sax in a rock/blues band, and more recently, Sheilah and I formed a Jazz duo to raise money for charity. We both enjoy traveling, watching cricket, and football.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My new book, The Night Drop, is a story of two British agents working with a French Resistance cell in the marshlands of Northern France. Their heroic work helped the Allied forces to drive the Nazi army out of France and onward to ‘Victory in Europe.’ The inspiration for the book was a visit a few years ago to the La Coupole (The Dome) museum in St Omer, in the Pas de Calais, France. The museum has been created in a vast dome that, during WW2, was used to house and launch V1 and V2 rockets. These were Hitler’s last-ditch secret weapons that he thought would turn the tide of the war against the Allies, leading to the final great Nazi success. The main targets for the rockets were London, because of its importance and proximity to the French coast, and Antwerp, the large Dutch port that had, in the late summer of 1944, become the main supply port for the Allied forces fighting to bring freedom to the rest of Europe. The devastating rocket attacks had resulted in 6,000 people killed and 32,000 houses destroyed. Allied leaders needed to know if their massive bombing campaign had managed to stop the rocket attacks. The La Coupole museum is well worth a visit and brings home to us why a united Europe is so important today. St Omer is surrounded by many beautiful lakes, rivers, and canals. It is a landscape dominated by huge trees and small villages and is extremely quiet and remote. In addition to La Coupole, many other things that feature in the book are real. The tiny war cemetery on the top of a hill, the cottage, and chain ferry where Jack and Sophia lived and the cottage where Steve and Emily stayed are all real; the rest is imagination. I read many civilian recollections of the war, in and around St Omer, and hope that it showed the resilience and bravery required by ordinary people to survive in a country that was occupied by a ruthless army.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, being retired means that I have plenty of time for writing, Also, working so many years in marketing and advertising taught me that deadlines have to be met, no matter what time of day or night.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Graham Green, Eric Ambler, Len Deighton, John le Carrie, Raymond Chandler, Lee Child, and many more.
What are you working on now?
I am just finishing my next book. It is a historical adventure thriller set in the UK, North Dakota, and the Florida Keys. It should be nearing publishing in about six months. For some reason, I feel uncomfortable if I don’t have a book nearing its first draft when I’ve just published my current book.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t have a great deal of expertise in Book marketing yet. I have read a lot about it and tried several different things but can’t say that I know the answer to this question at the moment.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you want to be a good writer, read good books. I read that advice somewhere, and I have generally followed it. The big selling authors who go on getting best-sellers would seem to be the ones to learn from.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I can’t really think of any single thing. I’ve had so much good advice. I just wish I had acted on some of it!
What are you reading now?
I am 80% through the complete works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It has taken me over three months but has been worth it. It is surprising that the English language has changed so little in one hundred years. You come across words that have dropped out of use, but it’s enjoyable finding out their meanings and sometimes how much these have changed.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Write another historical thriller.
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?
It’s too late for me now, but the complete works of Sherlock Holmes would have been ideal!
Author Websites and Profiles
Ian Wright Amazon Profile
Ian Wright’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile