Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I published my first novel, the mystery drama Alternative Outcome, on the Amazon Kindle platform in March 2016. It’s the second book I’ve written, but I have held back the first one so that I can edit it and make it tauter. I plan to publish it on Amazon as a follow-up to Alternative Outcome when it’s ready. Currently I’m planning my third novel, which I will write during 2016 for publication later this year or next year.
I have spent my career writing, but not fiction. I’ve been a business journalist specialising in logistics, transport and home delivery (especially the mechanics of delivering stuff that people buy online – a fascinating subject in its own right). I have edited several magazines here in the UK and contributed to numerous others. It’s been a good grounding, but fiction is where I’ve always wanted to be.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Alternative Outcome is my latest and so far only published book. It’s a mystery drama with complex interwoven stories, but I’ve aimed to make it fast-moving and easy to read. The inspiration is simple to sum up – it’s the very process of self-publishing. The main character has published his own mystery drama on a platform very like Amazon, hoping to shake himself out of his apathy with his day job, and as the story unfolds he starts to suspect that this has had ramifications he wasn’t expecting. I’ve tried to inject all the ingredients I like in other dramas into mine – believable characters, lively dialogue and plausible backgrounds.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wish I could say I write my books standing on my head or something, but I all honestly I think I’m pretty typical. I sit at my laptop and rattle out my prose, then edit it endlessly until I’m happy with it. I seem able to write at any time of day, which is useful. I always plot my books in outline, but I often find that scenes seem to take on their own life as I write them, and new characters, conversations and events arrive on the screen almost without my participation.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like many of the mainstream thriller and mystery writers including Michael Connelly (wonderful transparent prose), Lee Child (idiosyncratic and full of character) and CJ Box. Reaching back into history, I am a great admirer of Dick Francis, whose best thrillers transcend the world of horse racing in which they are set, and in my view rank as outstanding examples of their form. A quirky British writer whose style has influenced me is Guy Bellamy, and my original favourite novel, arguably the funniest in the English language, is Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis.
What are you working on now?
I’m revising the first novel I actually wrote, the mystery drama Escape Sequence, for publication as soon as it’s ready, and I’m also working on a third novel, whose plot so far remains sketchy!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have high hopes for Awesomegang, of course! As I write this, I don’t have enough experience of promoting my books to be able to tell you anything about other websites that will be helpful. I plan to try a range of them and see which is the most fruitful.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
So far, my experience tells me you need to get the basic product right first. Write a good, convincing book that you can feel proud of and unafraid to promote for all you’re worth. Then you need to brace yourself for the long haul of telling the world about it by any means that you can find. Don’t rely on friends to spread the word – some will be amazingly helpful, but others simply won’t get the point. You need to have energy and staying power to go it alone. One positive lesson I’ve learned, though, is not to undervalue your own ability. If you know that you write compelling prose that stacks up alongside the work of well-known authors, believe in yourself.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In the realms of writing, the best advice is not to expect your book to sell itself. However good it is, it won’t. You need to make it happen. In life at large, my father’s adage was “Never refuse money”! I hope I haven’t.
What are you reading now?
The detective Jackson series from LJ Sellers. Tight, police procedural novels with a distinctive background in Eugene, Oregon. They run together over a fairly short timespan (much shorter than the time in which they were apparently written), and you can easily find yourself galloping through the whole series. I have! They’re not all terribly deep, but they’re fast-paced, efficient and well informed, and they raise some interesting social issues along the way.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More mystery thrillers, and hopefully a wider audience. Now that I’ve embarked on this journey to self-publishing, I’ve found it quite addictive – but I would like to move forward with it, and feel that people are reading and appreciating what I’m doing.
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?
First and foremost I would take Luck Jim by Kingsley Amis. I will never tire of the funny scenes, or the likeable anti-hero as he tries to make his way in a crusty and forbidding university environment, and tentatively trying to strike up a new relationship despite his own self-doubts.
I would take Blood Sport by Dick Francis. I love the succinct, pithy prose style, the vibrant characters, the vivid scene-setting in the US and the UK, and the extraordinary plot.
Then there’s The Secret Lemonade Drinker by Guy Bellamy: wonderfully aphoristic prose, with a striking initial proposition arising from an amorous encounter in a launderette.
Author Websites and Profiles
Peter Rowlands Website
Peter Rowlands Amazon Profile
Peter Rowlands’s Social Media Links
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