Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a high school teacher with a love of reading, writing and crime fiction. I got my start in writing working as a journalist at a small-town newspaper. I loved the writing, but hated the pressure and the “in your face” nature of journalism. However, one of my favourite parts of being a journalist was doing movie reviews. This got me free access to all the latest movies and I got to write what I thought of them.
I started writing crime fiction in 2017 and have two books out and a third on the way. I had a bit of a gap between the first two books when I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I was extremely lucky to catch it before it was too late and I’m currently in full remission.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
THE LEWIS PASS was released at the end of 2020. It was a follow on from my first book which was in turn inspired by a road sign. I’d been past that sign many times before, but one day I suddenly released the sign was alerting travellers to a dark and forgotten piece of history that is still there in the mountains nearby. I instantly knew there was a story there and there years later I had finished two books.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to listen to music while I write. This is mostly to block out the distractions of our busy house (I have two young children) and also for inspiration. One of the things I do which might be slightly unusual is, if I hear an interesting musical lyric, I’ll write in down and then craft it into some dialogue or description. In fact, the title of my third book, THE NIGHT BELONGS TO HER, came from the 10,000 Maniacs song BECAUSE THE NIGHT. In the song there is a lyric that goes “because the night, belongs to lovers. Because the night, belongs to us.” I loved how it sounded so I changed it slightly to get my book title.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Raymond Chandler would be the biggest one. His style is so beautiful and poetic and the way he paints the outline of a scene and lets the reader fill in the rest is just fantastic. Michael Connelly is also a fantastic storyteller. His book, BLOOD WORK, when it first came out in the late 90’s really got me back into reading after not having read much in the preceding years. I’ve now read almost all his books. I pretty much tried to copy Connelly’s style when I wrote my first book DEAD GROUND, and then with my second book, I’ve begun to establish my own rhythm.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my third book, provisionally titled, THE NIGHT BELONGS TO HER. It’s about a detective who receives a phone call late one night from someone who tells him a murder is about to take place. It’s set in a small town and the detective knows one of the residents is the killer and is phoning to tell him just before each murder takes place.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Book promotion is one of the hardest parts of being a self-published author. The truth is, all those sites only really work if you already have some sort of online presence, i.e. a blog post or a Youtube channel, or a podcast or something similar. If people have already heard of you, and they then see your ad/promotion, they are much more likely to click on it and buy your book. Having said that, Amazon ads tend to be the best bang for buck, just as long as you start with low bids and don’t get carried away with what Amazon suggest you should bid. I would put Bookbub in a similar category.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find a successful author that you like, i.e. has sold a lot of books, then read lots of their work. Study their sentence structure, the cadence of their words, the plot twists, etc etc, and then try to emulate this in your own writing. These people are successful for a reason. They write in a way and in a style that people enjoy. You don’t need to copy them, just try to use some of their techniques. If you do this well, then over time you’ll develop your own unique style.
The biggest mistake new authors make is they write in a vacuum. By that I mean they just write what they think is good and then they share it with their family and friends (who all say it’s great even though it’s not) and then they think they know how to write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write sentences that “sound good” when read aloud. Good writing has an easy flow/rhythm to it, almost like a good speech or a good song. If a sentence is difficult to read aloud or overly complex or something about it just sounds off, then it probably isn’t good writing.
What are you reading now?
One of the queens of crime, Dame Ngaio Marsh’s book WHEN IN ROME. I love to read books set in interesting places and this book is set in Rome. Ngaio Marsh was a New Zealand author who set most of her books in the UK but this one was set in Italy so that’s what drew me to it. I really like the way she describes characters and her evocative prose.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Luckily for us in New Zealand, we are still allowed to host events during the Covid pandemic so I’ve got a “murder in the library” talk coming up later this year. Apart from that, I’ll be finishing off my third book which I hope to have out by the end of 2021.
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?
Raymond Chandler: THE BIG SLEEP
Michael Connelly: BLOOD WORK
Ben Sanders: THE FALLEN.
Tana French: IN THE WOODS
Author Websites and Profiles
Justin Warren Website
Justin Warren Amazon Profile
Justin Warren’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile