Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I work in what is (to me) a very exciting field – Predictive Analytics. That takes a lot of my energy and creativity.
As to books I’ve written, let’s see… Published one (Superfacial) with another (Prodigal Star) due for release in April. They’re Parts I and II of the Purgatory Field series. I’ve written Parts III and IV as well.
I started out as a Research Physicist so a lot of the scientific background for my writing comes from that.
I’m a ‘technology optimist’ – I love the fast pace of change and the ever widening scope of human endeavor, even as it makes writing Sci-Fi that lasts all the more challenging. Still, William Gibson did it so it can be done.
I live in South Australia with my wife, step-daughter, two cats and a labradoodle.
Oh, and I trained as a poisonous snake handler, so there’s that to fall back on if the whole writing / analytics thing doesn’t work out.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Superfacial
Purgatory Field Part I
A Dystopian Sci Fi Romance
My inspiration tends to be visual. I get a strong image in my mind – like an internal movie – and I write that.
As for Superfacial, I saw a picture (part of a writers group exercise) and got this internal imagery thing going – the darkness, rain, the way the water reflected small points of light. That became the climactic scene in the book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m new to this so I’m not sure what is usual. But here goes.
Sometimes when I am deep in the imagery of a scene I may zone out. If I am walking then phone poles and other obstacles become a potential issue.
I often write from the end or middle. Its the scene that I write first and then expand into a full narrative.
I start out as a pantser with no plan. Then I go into planning (normally still with pants but not always). Timelines, continuity and the physics behind what I have imagined. So the spreadsheets come out and I start to research all the aspects of whatever ‘future’ I’ve built. I try to avoid a lot of exposition but readers can be sure I have thought about the how and why. In Superfacial the Citadel has buildings seven miles high. So how do they handle the thin atmosphere? What powers the place?
Is any of that unusual? No idea. Maybe I should cultivate some more weird behaviors?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My most recent influences (in order of impact) are
Fiona McIntosh (Awesome Masterclass)
William Gibson (timeless and visionary)
Iain M Banks (the scope)
Max Barry (Lexicon – how to rip into the action on page 1)
Michael Moorcock
Philip K Dick
Ray Bradbury
J K Rowling
and the list goes on and on
What are you working on now?
Mainly, I’m editing the rest of the Purgatory Field series. Part II comes out in April so time to check those last details.
I have the beginning of another series ‘The Machinists’ and one more concept work centered on cloning that is looking very promising.
When I saw that Graeme Simsion had successfully combined his technical and fiction writing that was a catalyst. So now I’m also working on a ‘How To Guide’ for implementing Predictive Analytics in the Energy Industry.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang definitely 🙂
But I’m just starting out so I really have no idea what is going to work better. It’s a big learning experience. I’m sure that in another few months I’ll be able to answer that one hopefully with a ‘Awesomegang got my book to lots of people who enjoyed it’. Sounds good to me.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Hmm. I’m barely a writer myself so this is an awkward question. I don’t feel qualified is what I am saying.
But okay…some of the things that helped me were as follows.
Go through an remove any ‘ly’ words. If you need them it means you are telling not showing.That’s not absolute – especially where dialogue is concerned but it is a useful technique.
Get into the action from page 1 if you can. As I mentioned, Lexicon by Max Barry is a great example of that.
If you are doing Sci Fi then try to get outside yourself and the current world. Iain M Banks and William Gibson are the best I know at that. I was reading a book recently. It was written in the 80’s. But I had a problem with it that I couldn’t pin down. Then I realized, the far future protagonists were facing challenges finding information. But I could do what was causing them all sorts of problems, right there on my phone. So it lost me. It had space ships and blasters, but the vision hadn’t extended the rest of the world to match – it was still the 80’s, with aliens.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Find a way to paint the scene in the readers imagination. Make them feel it, taste it an especially smell it. Smell has a deep connection to emotion and that’s where you want to be as a writer.
What are you reading now?
Just started Pattern Recognition by William Gibson.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Fiction-wise. Finishing the Purgatory Field Series. Then onto the next. I have them already, a few thousands words here and there, just waiting their turn. The Machinists is the one I have the most completed for, but the ‘clone’ series is peaking my interest.
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?
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time – not sure which one out of the series.
Neuromancer
Neal Stephenson – The Diamond Age or Matter by Iain M Banks
Harry Potter (again not sure which one)
Author Websites and Profiles
Nuah Belleton Amazon Profile
Nuah Belleton’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile