Interview With Author Joe Murtagh
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a former British Army Commando and military technical specialist who served in Cold War Europe, the Far East and the Middle East on active service and in peacekeeping roles. I was the Communications Officer on the Trans America Expedition which took Range Rovers through the notorious Darien Gap in Panama and on to Columbia.
Post military service I entered the business world and worked my way to senior executive leadership roles in blue chip companies, in computer, manufacturing, soft drinks and food service retail industries. I rounded off my business career as an independent consultant specialising in Logistics, Supply Chain and I.T. arenas.
I am a Scot by birth, now living in Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire where I have now launched myself into a new career having just published my debut novel “Her Looking Glass.”
I’m a Mensan, who enjoys reading, travel, films and exploring historic sites.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My debut novel is “Her Looking Glass” and was inspired by the details of a cold case murder here in Stratford in the 1950s, where a nurse was found dead in the river Avon after a night out in the town.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
None that I would consider unusual, but others may disagree !
My writing ensues when I am in the zone, and is abandoned for a while when the flow peters out.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hemingway- the old man and the sea.
J D Salinger- the catcher in the rye.
John Steinbeck-the grapes of wrath.
Terry Hayes-I am pilgrim.
John le Carre – the spy who came in from the cold.
Jeffrey Archer- kane and abel.
Joseph Heller – catch 22.
Aldous Huxley – brave new world.
James Joyce – ulysses.
George Orwell- animal farm.
What are you working on now?
A follow up to my debut novel involving a small, elite crew of lawmen working under cover to identify and bring down a group of anarchists and communists intent on destroying a US nuclear submarine on the west coast of Scotland.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook, Amazon Author Central and independent sites such as this one.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Publishing your book is only half the battle. Getting it out there and bringing it to the reader’s attention needs planning and concerted effort. And most of all perseverance !
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If at first you don’t succeed, freefall parachuting is probably not for you.
Prior planning and preparation prevents poor performance.
What are you reading now?
The Future of Geography, by Tim Marshall.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To determine a successful path for promoting my debut novel, and using it for my next book.
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?
War and Peace Tolstoy
Long Walk to Freedom Mandela
Decline and Fall Gibbons
SAS Survival Guide. Wiseman.
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