Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Patrick M Cunningham and I am 40 years old. I have written seven books, three poetry books the Darkness of the Soul trilogy, and two New Adult Fiction novels The Devil and the Awesome Four. I have been a full time writer since 2008 but my writing began at the young age of nine and it’s been a passion of mine ever since.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I am working on the final book in the Awesome Four trilogy, and the style I write in although original, seems to have little hints of Stephen King, Alfred Hitchcock, James Herbert and Shaun Hudson mixed in. When I first began writing, I did try to emulate my heroes in my earlier attempts and maybe it’s how my own style finally shone through, but to have people compare your writing to your heroes is amazing, and it did feel a little strange at first as I thought I was being completely original.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I’m writing, my day starts at three in the morning, as I feel at my most creative upon waking, but I will not strike a single key on my laptop until I have at least two cups of strong coffee to help get me in the zone I need to be in to reach my daily word quota which could range from one thousand to five or eight thousand words in a single sitting. Once I’m in the zone and the words are flowing I won’t quit until either my eyes pop out of their sockets from tiredness or the words dry up. Only then will I hit save and call it a day. Being a writer takes commitment and awful amount of patience and perseverance. Some days the words just seem to fly out, and other days you struggle to even write a single page or paragraph and believe me those days really suck and you feel like saying screw this I can’t do it. I always find when writers block sets in, I will either head to the gym and hit the weight room for a while, or get the gloves on and pummel the punch bag or I just go for a long walk. It usually works 🙂
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There’s no denying I absolutely love Stephen King, and Salem’s Lot was a major influence for me to begin writing all those years ago, and along with that was Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigator series that I read for much of my teenage years and that inspired me to create my own characters that would eventually become the Awesome Four. People are under the illusion that I wrote these books in my late thirties. Not true. All the stories that form the backbone of my series were written when I was between the ages of ten and sixteen, by that time I had accumulated close to seven hundred stories featuring these four characters and I wanted to keep that kind of teenage vibe when I decided to publish them 2011 and 2014. I was never really happy with the results so only a few weeks ago I decided to get the books re-edited and the book covers re-designed and I now believe that they are ready for the public at long last.
What are you working on now?
I am almost finished the final book of the Awesome Four trilogy which should be ready for print sometime in 2016.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best advice I ever got came from two books I received as gifts. John Kremer 1001 ways to market your books which is one I really recommend to all writers self published or traditionally there’s something in this mammoth book for everyone. Next to that The Complete Guide to Self Publishing by Tom and Marilyn Ross again a huge reference for me when I’m trying to figure out which direction I want to take my marketing efforts. Also I use VistaPrint for all my marketing materials such as business cards, flyers etcetera. One more book I want to mention is Guerrilla Marketing for writers by Jay Conrad Levinson which is again designed to help you the author do most of the marketing work yourself.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
As a fairly new author myself, I feel it would be hypocritical of me to try and offer advice to new authors when I am still learning the ropes myself. If I could give just one bit of encouragement it would be, never give up, just believe in yourself, because at the end of the day, most of the marketing for your books is going to come from you, so you really have to believe in what you write and most of all you definitely have to believe in yourself, because eventually you will have to become a salesman next to being an author and if you don’t believe in what you are selling then nobody else is going to believe in you either. So write the best books you can possibly write and make sure the book is something you are proud of because when you show pride in your work, when it comes to telling others about it, then that enthusiasm will shine through and then people will be interested in what you have to offer.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
People are always offering advice, be it good or bad. I have learned the hard way to keep doing what I love the way that I’m doing it and make my own luck and choices along the way. That way if things go wrong I can’t blame anyone but myself for making the wrong choice, as opposed to following the advice a friend or someone else, have it go wrong then turning around and saying “You told me to do it, I followed your advice its your fault,” so that’s why I choose not to listen to anyone but the pros that I listed earlier on.
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading part six of James Patterson’s The Women’s Murder Club. I got the first book of the series as a gift from my wife, and I was a little sceptical at first, but when I began reading, the story just hooked me right from the start and after that I just had to have the entire collection. I love James Patterson’s style, fast paced with twists and turns galore. N.Y.P.D. Red 3 I cant wait to read either, having read the previous two novels another brilliant collaboration with Marshall Karp.
I am looking forward to Stephen King’s latest offering Finders Keepers the second of the Mr. Mercedes trilogy.
What’s next for you as a writer?
When I have completed the final instalment of my Awesome Four series, I have another series of New Adult books that I can’t wait to start work on. At the moment I have a few ideas banging around and finding it hard to settle on just one, but I’m sure that by the time Awesome Four Vol. III comes out I should have settled upon a concept for the new series.
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?
They would definitely have to be, Kill me if you can by James Patterson, Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot and Dan Brown The Lost Symbol. These are the most gripping, addictive books I have ever read. Once you pick them up it’s impossible to put them back down. I love a great story where the pages just seem to turn themselves.
Author Websites and Profiles
Patrick M Cunningham Website
Patrick M Cunningham Amazon Profile
Patrick M Cunningham’s Social Media Links
Pinterest Account