Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I served for 28 years in the Royal Australian Air Force, where I focused on strategic planning. I have tertiary qualifications in engineering, information science and government, and a PhD in planning for uncertainty.
I’ve had several non-fiction titles published through academic and government publishing services. It’s only in the last few years that I’ve turned to fiction.
My hobbies include playing computer games badly and developing software badly.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is ‘Who Will Save the Planet?’.
It was inspired by a comment made by my first fiction teacher. She suggested that Young Adult fiction was a good market to strive for, and I asked what was different about stories for young adults. Her reply was that the protagonist should be a young adult who gets to save the world.
Although I didn’t say so, I thought that was pretty silly. Young people just aren’t in a position to save the world, unless you delve into fantasy. Fortunately, my subconscious wouldn’t let it go, and it nutted out a way in which a young adult could actually acquire enough influence to make a big difference to the world at large.
The other question is, ‘save the world from what?’. To my mind, the most realistic threat at the moment is climate change, and I know that many young people are quite worried about it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes: I’m an obsessive planner! (Since I have a PhD in planning, that’s perhaps not surprising.) My plans include very detailed diagrams showing the relationships between scenes, multiple spreadsheets, detailed character and setting profiles, and a thoroughly hyperlinked draft of the plot. The latter is approximately one-third of the length of the finished manuscript!
It’s a slow process, but it supports the development of fairly intricate stories and reduces the need to major rework during editing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like Tim Winton’s style and environmental themes.
McKee’s ‘Story’ taught me a lot about designing a plot.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a sequel to ‘Who Will Save the Planet?’ It’s tentatively called ‘Hot Quolls’. The first draft is finished, as well as three editing passes. I’m currently awaiting feedback from a bunch of reviewers. Hopefully it will be out there by Christmas 2014.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Don’t stop until you’ve finished.
What’s next for you as a writer?
If ‘Hot Quolls’ becomes popular, I could imagine writing a third novel using the same characters and themes. Otherwise, I might try my hand at hard science fiction.
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