Interview With Author Maxwell Winshire
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi I’m Max! I’ve written three books in the “What’s your problem?” Trilogy, a dark dystopian TV satire set in 2084. Each book features a Patient vs Counsellor to either win a prize or do a forfeit designed for maximum personal humiliation. Book 1 is “Katy’s Loss”, and features Katy Lawrence, a former black beauty queen, vs Captain Boglosovic, a former military investigator. Book 2 is “Tony’s Cross”, and features Tony O’Brien, a former schoolkid, vs Odin Folie, a convicted pedophile. And Book 3 is “Matt’s Shadow”, and features Matthew Meaks, alcoholic schoolteacher vs Sister Mary Elizabeth Xavier. Yeah, pretty dark.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Katy’s Loss; A Dystopian TV Satire” and it was inspired by asking what would The Jerry Springer Show be like in a hundred years. It’s pretty bad already, but how bad could it really get in your worst nightmares? Needless to say the result is not for the faint hearted and contains profanity and graphic binary and non-binary sex. But I did an awful lot of research on psychology and psychotherapeutic techniques which I hope helps to challenge and engage the reader. Never mind, exploring the secrets of the Freakmasons!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I did a lot of throwing up while writing this series. Sometimes the worst thing I could imagine was too much for me to stomach! Lol! (But true!) Still I felt a moral obligation to be immoral! A passion to be discompassionate. After all, isn’t that what entertainment on these shows is all about? Exploiting the weak, gratuitous sex and violence, porn…
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love authors that challenge the status quo and I’m a massive fan of Charles Bukowski, “Notes of a Dirty Old Man”, Ken Kesey, “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest”, Tom Wolfe, “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test”, Martin Amis, “London Fields”, Julian Barnes, “The History of The World in 10 1/2 Chapters”, Stephen King, “The Stand”.
What are you working on now?
That would be telling! Expect the unexpected!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website is my name Maxwell Winshire dot com. And then if you add a foreward slashplus the name of any of my books, it will open a page dedicated to them with ‘secret info’! For example, if you want to read Katy’s psychiatric assessment you go to www.maxwellwinshire.com/katysloss, if you want to read Tony’s wishlist, you go to www.maxwellwinshire.com/tonyscross and if you want to know why schoolteacher Matt Meaks might drink so much, you go to www.maxwellwinshire.com/mattsshadow
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice for new authors is don’t care what anyone thinks and never apologise.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have ever heard is be yourself.
What are you reading now?
I just finished “Down and out in London and Paris” by George Orwell, which I loved more than his classics, “Animal Farm” and “1984”. It reminded me a bit of the excellent “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists” by Robert Tressell. I am currently reading “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky, which sounds highbrow (at least to me!) but is actually very down to earth – couldn’t be more down in the earth! Lol!
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am dreaming of the day when someone actually ‘gets’ what I am trying to do and gives me a a review of more than two or three stars on Amazon! I wrote a blog about it on www.maxwellwinshire.com/blog recommending burning effigies and the hiring of a private hitman!
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?
The Bible [New International Version], The Buddhist Bible by Dwight Goddard and The Collected Works of Mark Twain (If that’s not cheating!)
Author Websites and Profiles
Maxwell Winshire Amazon Profile
Maxwell Winshire’s Social Media Links