Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Let me give you a kind of snapshot of my writing career, which is a hobby by the way. I had my first book (NORTH SLOPE) published by Macmillan in 1980. I thought that was it: I’d made it with a top publishing house. They rejected my next book (HELL’S GATE) and it was four years before SHADOW OF THE WOLF was published by Robert Hale of London. From that moment I was floundering, trying to get my work published but no-one was interested. I gave up, left manuscripts gathering dust on the shelf, became inspired and continued to write. Got fed up and let it all drift. Then in 2006, Robert Hale, who I had had no contact with for years, agreed to publish HELL’S GATE. This was 23 years after it had been rejected by Macmillan. Hale then published four more of my novels. Suddenly I was on a roll and now I have eight novels to my credit, the latest of which, THE BOY FROM BERLIN (December 2011) has been taken up by Harlequin Books. It has now been published in paperback in North America and Canada, January 2013. They have also agreed to publish another of my Hale books, THE EAGLE’S COVENANT. I launched myself on Kindle when the feeding frenzy happened earlier last year (2012) and managed to sell over 6000 eBooks. 40,000 of my books were downloaded during the ‘free’ promotion. I was up there with the best-selling talent and I enjoyed every minute of it. Now the dust has settled and the frenzy is over. My book sales have slowed to a low level, but I am at least selling more than I was this time last year.
What makes an author? And why so many? When I look at other writers, they always seem to be successful, cool, best sellers, prolific. They have that confidence about them that says how easy it is for them to turn out novel after novel; no sweat. But the reality is so different, and you can only get to understand this by experience, by sitting down and suffering writer’s block, knowing that you need another three or four thousand words for that day, and then just another seventy or eighty thousand to finish the book. How many times have I heard someone say they are writing a book and have written about ten thousand words? And you know that they are never going to finish it because of the hard work involved. All writers suffer this problem to some degree, although there are others who manage to find a way round it. Ian Fleming once said that it takes about six weeks to write a thriller; the editing and grammar corrections can be left to the professionals. Jack Higgins admitted that he wrote a thriller in the space of one weekend. He went into his room on the Friday and came out on the Monday with a best seller. Hard work though. Rejections are as familiar to most writers as sunrise and sunset, and I suspect that almost all writers have suffered this to some degree. I used to find my cynicism creeping in when I read of an author who was surprised that his/her first novel had been accepted with no problem at all, and then you learn that he/she was already connected in some way to the publishing world. It’s all about the market and what sells. Some of the most prolific best sellers over the years have been pure dross, but they served the market’s hunger for depravity, celebrity or whatever else had nothing to do with talent. I asked the question; what makes an author? I believe they are born with the talent. They are like musicians, artists, surgeons, scientists etc. They have something that cannot be manufactured: the ability to do something that comes almost naturally. I was described as a “gifted narrator” in the Financial Times (London, 1980). What happened with my gift? What happened with my talent? It didn’t go away; it’s still there, but probably too late now for me to become that runaway, best-selling, globe-trotting writer of blockbuster novels. Now I’m getting carried away (but it’s good to dream). I know how to write, but I probably have no idea how to market myself. And that’s the rub; not knowing how to market your work, or not being able to afford the services of a professional publicist. So now I can say, thank goodness for Amazon and Kindle. But finally things are looking up, and getting back to the subject of marketing; what is it I’m doing wrong, or not doing? I was advised to use Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google, Stumble, Goodreads and all those web sites that are supposed to be a gift for writers to get advancement. Oh yes, and I needed a blog. So I blog on my website and copy it to all those places. In three years of blogging I have had no more than about four contacts. My statistics are pretty painful. I know people are looking in, but I never get the kind of reaction I see when looking in on other writers’ sites. I suspect that it is probably the same for most of us. But I keep on writing. I must write. I enjoy it. And I believe I am good at it.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
THE BOY FROM BERLIN, published by Robert Hale of London, and by Harlequin Books (paperback). Also available as an eBook. Like all my books, nothing inspired this novel: it simply came from an idea running around inside my head.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I make up excuses for not beginning a session. I always find some little job to do before knuckling down and getting on with the main reason I’m sitting in front of my computer.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a youngster in the forties and fifties I enjoyed the classic writers like Enid Blyton, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain etc. Mickey Spillane had the biggest impact on me, I think, but my favourite writer was Hammond Innes.
What are you working on now?
I have resurrected two stories that have been collecting dust on the bookshelf on my memory. They were written but never saw the light of day. I am in the process of moulding them together into a family saga with a difference. It will contain romance separated by some years in the lives of more than two characters. It will also contain some harrowing periods of isolation for one of the main characters. There will be threats of violence, actual violence, blackmail and redemption. All I have to do now is put together a decent story.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far I have had success with the Amazon KDP proramme, which is diminishing now, and also a big help from promotion with ENT (eReader News Today)
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up!
What are you reading now?
The Book Of Books by Melvyn Bragg.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Impossible to say, but hopefully it will be completing my next project and seeing it in print. I am still under contract with my London publisher, so they will get first refusal on the book.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Difficult to say. I’ve read so many. The Bible is absolutely fascinating and takes a lot to understand. I enjoyed Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series as a kid. Dennis Wheatley’s satanic novels scared the pants off me. But maybe it’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Scrooge) by Charles Dickens. I was given that to read by my mother when I was ill in bed as a young boy recovering from pneumonia. I absolutely loved it.
Author Websites and Profiles
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