Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Patrick McNulty I am from Ontario, Canada and I have been a life long fan of horror and supernatural fiction stories. I’ve had a lot of jobs over the years. I started out going to university for Neuroscience, and then dropped out to be a writer. Wrote a few screenplays and worked with Dreamworks studios for a bit. After that I joined the Canadian Military and served as a medical technician for five years. I left to become a police officer and have been ever since. I have been married for twenty-one years and we have three beautiful children. We currently live in southern Ontario. My hobbies include reading, writing, watching sports (football, hockey and baseball) and just hanging out with friends and family.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sleepers Awake is the story of a father and daughter that are tied together even after one of them dies. Bishop Kane is the father who after his death at the very beginning of the novel is given a chance to work for the Ministry of the Wraith, this super secret organization who uses ghosts or wraiths to hunt down supernatural threats, before sending in the hunters (Bishop Kane) to do the dirty work. The story is about Bishop getting sent to kill his own daughter in a small town in Alaska. I’ve always enjoyed movies that were scary and had lots of action and I wanted to create one for myself. Sleepers Awake was actually a screenplay first called Dark Season. When the movie deal fell apart I thought I would try my hand at transforming the screenplay into a novel and it was originally published by the now defunct Kunati Press.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I get the most writing done in the mornings. I find that if I get my word count in (4000) I’m in a much better mood to be around later in the day. I do find it easier to write my stories out long hand though. Maybe that’s weird that I choose not to use the laptop. Not sure.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, wow, so many. I love Neil Gaiman, John Connolly, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Blake Crouch, Clive Barker, just to name a few. All of them can teach you so much.
What are you working on now?
My latest book is called: The Last Reaper. Its another Ministry of the Wraith novel featuring all new characters from the first book. The inspiration was thinking about being someone else, even for a short time. About falling asleep and waking up as a new person. How cool would that be? To wake up as a rockstar? How scary would it be to wake up as a criminal on death row? Of course this is a Ministry of the Wraith story so there reason the main character goes through this torture is to destroy invading demons and save the world. Think of it as the old tv show Quantum Leap mixed with nightmarish monsters loose on a cruise ship (whatever that is).
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Not sure yet. I’m only new to this self-promotion thing and I’m trying a bit of everything to see what works for me. I’ve never been very social (online) so this is all a steep learning curve for me.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Write everyday and don’t stop. Don’t stop to edit or tweak or anything. Just keep going until you get to the end. Then go back and put the pieces in order. Its the only way.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
See above.
What are you reading now?
John Connolly’s Game of Ghosts. It’s fantastic.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Another book obviously. I have a taste for it now and I love it. I always have.
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?
Neil Gaiman: Neverwhere
John Connolly: Game of Ghosts
Dennis Lehane: Darkness, take my hand
Author Websites and Profiles
Patrick McNulty Website
Patrick McNulty Amazon Profile
Patrick McNulty’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account