Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, let me see… I started writing when I was 12 years old. That lasted a few weeks – it was SF, and ignored the realities of physics, and had very little in the way of character adventure although was full of adventure. My writing urges were then sublimated into other urges – so to speak.
I’m Australian, and when I determined my career direction, writing did not figure, unfortunately. In later years I worked as an independent contractor in IT – that role has resulted in my living in ten countries or so, with additional short-term consulting assignments in another five to ten. Some of my technology background seeps into my stories.
I started serious writing two years ago and I’m now two-thirds through my sixth book [second book in the Glass Complex trilogy]. My Mark Midway series is proving to be popular and I plan to write another two books in the series for 2015.
I self publish. I try to get very professional cover design and formatting expertise, and my books are always edited. Occasionally typos do sneak in – I’m sure they breed while I’m not looking.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, released in 2014, is Mark Three. It is the third book of the Mark Midway series. I was very creative with the individual book names – Mark One, Mark Two and Mark Three. I suspect the fourth book in the series will be titled Mark Four.
Nanotechnology is intriguing and I’m sure will cause some misadventures in the future. Genetic engineering – altering DNA – is feasible now – for example, there’s a new treatment where a harmless virus [what more can I say?] is engineered to insert corrective genes; the therapy costs over one million dollars – search for ‘alipogene tiparvovec’. Extrapolate from this starting point and begin engineering people, enhancing their intelligence, strength, reflexes, etc., and you end up with laboratory specimens who – in the Midway world – just want to live normal lives.
This is my theme for the protagonist – Mark Midway – in the Midway series. The guy is shot at, kidnapped, drugged, attacked, and subjected to other adverse events, while all he wants is to be normal. His attackers are rogue CIA agents, Russians, Chinese, Christian fundamentalist militia, British anti-terrorist police [when he travels to UK from US] and more will be added. His adventures continue!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Um – I sit at my desk with two large monitors in front of me and look sideways out at the snow and wish I was skiing? I’m a bad plotter, although I typically don’t start writing a story unless I know the ending. I use data flow diagrams [an IT modeling technique] to help progress the scenes in my books.
I have so many stories running around in my brain demanding attention it drives me c-r-a-z-y…
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Far too many… From H. G. Wells [War of the Worlds], Conan Doyle, Tolkien, Doc Smith, Agatha Christie, Lee Child, Jim Butcher, Shakespeare, Heinlein, Modesitt, Cherryh, Wyndham, Mitchener, Zelazny, to Charteris [Saint], Drummond… the list goes on.
What are you working on now?
I’ve been trying to work out the structure of the second book of my Glass Complex trilogy [the first book is Broken Glass]. I’m about two-thirds through the book, trying to complete in for release as soon as I can. I failed to plot out the trilogy at the beginning – a major error. I’ve since thought through the second and third books. So fingers crossed – Fracture Lines will be a suitable successor to Broken Glass.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Now that is definitely the $64 question. I’ve only recently – about a week ago – commenced to promote my books in a broad sense, so I’m on an interesting journey. Awesome Gang is one of my promotional test sites. Kobo ran some promotions late last year and that boosted my sales on their site, far above the Amazon sales. Now I’m trying to boost all sales.
I want newsletter subscribers! And reviews. And lots of sales. And ice cream.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Produce a quality product. With the Mark Midway series, I’m trying to achieve a brand – quality covers, consistent font, etc. Reader response is totally unpredictable and writers need to ensure they do their best to present a readable story to their audience. Keep writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Ignore all the rules!!
What are you reading now?
I’m sampling some different genres [I usually read thrillers and SF]. I’ll probably read Saint Odd [the latest in the ‘Odd Thomas’ series] and re-read Dracula and Frankenstein…
What’s next for you as a writer?
More of the same. Write and write.
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?
Lord of the Rings – because by the time you finish reading 1,000 pages of small print, you’ve forgotten how it started. I’d then add three books from SF and thriller genres. They’d have to be books I hadn’t read, and therefore cannot name!
Author Websites and Profiles
John Hindmarsh Website
John Hindmarsh Amazon Profile