Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am originally from the UK but living in New Zealand now. I am married with 4 almost grown up children, who are all over the world doing marvellous things. I began writing seriously about 8 years ago and have written 5 books in the adult mystery series ‘The Waikato Presbyterian School for Boys Mysteries’, which is centred around the Du Rose family. The novels each have a mystery element but also explore the relationship between an Englishwoman and her Maori husband. I have also written 2 books in the ‘Teen Mayhem Series’ which is aimed at young adults.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book was the second in the teen series and is called ‘This Too Shall Pass’. Although I write about characters that are in my imagination, a lot of their troubles and circumstances are either things that I have experienced or seen. During a particularly difficult period in my life recently, a good friend kept saying, ‘This too shall pass’ and I decided to use it in my novel, when my teenage character faced dreadful circumstances. When it came to naming the book before I put it up onto Amazon, it just seemed right.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always use my laptop because I can type faster than I can hand write. If I have that, I can write anywhere – at the bus stop, in the car at the beach, at the kitchen table or in bed. The oddest place I have ever written was in the greenhouse on a deckchair. I wanted to write outside in the sunshine but it was too windy, so I climbed in there with all the veggies and the seedlings.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have enjoyed the Rebecca Shaw Village series. I love how she revolves each new book around a different family in the village. I would love to do that with my school series but I think that I would miss my characters too much if I had to look at them from a distance, whilst writing about someone else at the school.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the sixth book in the adult series. I took a wee break from it to write the teen book, but then was under pressure to write the second teen book. I have got back to it now and am hoping to have it published on Kindle by Christmas. I know that there are people waiting for it and that makes me feel guilty.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome Gang has been really good and Goodreads blogging. I’m not really that techno-savvy so find it a strain. Bad Doggy Productions is a great support site for Christian writers. I am a member of the Book Review Depot but only newly and having an Author Central page on Amazon has been useful.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t bother spamming your book onto sites or groups. It’s a whole big culture shock when you first put your book out there and nobody seems interested and there is a temptation to fling it into every conversation that you have. Now that I am a little further down the line, I get irritated if I am in a discussion group and someone pops up and says, ‘Hey I just wrote this and it’s really good blah blah blah…’ It’s quite irritating, a bit like butting in on a conversation, saying something really random and then running away again after. I’ve heard it likened to ringing the doorbell and running away, kind of like bad manners really I guess. But if you are having a free limited promotion, or get a great review, I don’t think anyone minds you sharing that. At the end of the day, most authors want to encourage others – we all know how hard it is.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write about what you know and if you want to take your plot down a route you don’t know much about – research it thoroughly first. There is always going to be that one reader that is an expert in some particular field that you paid a hurried lip service to, who has the power to discredit you completely.
What are you reading now?
I just finished ‘Remember Me’ by Dena Nicotra and ‘Scepter’ by Scott L Collins. I really enjoyed them both. Bizarrely I am just re-reading my own second book in the adult series as it is a while since I wrote it. I just need to periodically do that to make sure that the editing is perfect and nothing has been missed and also, to refresh my memory of my characters so that I don’t make mistakes further down the line and put in something that is wrong in a later book. It’s the silly things that trip you up, like people’s ages and the minor details that you throw in there, that someone with a good memory will pick up on if you get it wrong.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have no idea. Writing for me is a hobby although my family would argue that it is an addiction sometimes. I still work so don’t need to be quite so desperate about rankings and sales. I’m just thrilled when someone reads something that I’ve poured myself into and says, ‘Yeah that was good’. My goal is probably to just keep writing and hopefully enjoy more of that reaction.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Without a doubt, M M Kaye ‘The Far Pavillions’ which I have probably read about 3 times so far and will again. It is a huge book and took about a month to read, as opposed to a weekend, which is my usual rate of reading. But it is a book that has everything. It is a masterpiece.
Author Websites and Profiles
K T Bowes Amazon Profile
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Goodreads Profile
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