Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
• During my high school years I made a venture into the arts, appearing in Marlborough Repertory Society Productions of the day, and began my literary aspirations; I became a published poet and wrote two novels (both unpublished). One of them (an anti-nuclear tale) sufficiently impressed a NZ fiction publisher at the time to approach a British publisher to see if they would do a joint production. The British publisher declined.
• That rejection was sufficient to blow my confidence. I gave up my fiction writing aspirations. Instead, though I wanted to become a journalist, I concentrated on a public service career (with some non-fiction writing) and raised a family.
• Non-Literary career highlights have included the roles of Deputy Director of National Parks and Reserves in the Head Office of the former Department of Lands & Survey (1982-1987) and of a senior advisor in the National Office of the Department of Conservation (1987 to 2006). The various DOC jobs I held covered the policy fields of recreation, tourism, historic resources, land, and Treaty of Waitangi claims (including, in the latter job, advising on aspects of the Ngai Tahu claim settlement).
• Unusual travel opportunities became available to me during my non-literary career and included visits to islands that few people get to see firsthand, including Campbell and the Snares in the sub-Antarctic, White in the Bay of Plenty, Barrow in Western Australia, and Big Mangere in the Chathams, all significant wildlife sanctuaries.
• A counsellor (recommended by a friend at a stressful time of organizational re-structuring in the late 1990s and paid for by my then employer) told me he was sure I would return to fiction writing. Within six months I had. Publisher rejections began in 2001 but I persevered and completed writing several novels.
• My early retirement in 2006 let me concentrate on fiction writing, and better learning the craft, more or less fulltime.
• Early literary mistakes included encounters with two rogue literary agents, one in NZ and one in the UK, before I came across salutary lessons on web sites like EditorsandPredators.com. [My impression, from experience, is that you just about have to hire a publicist to persuade a reputable literary agent to take you on.]
• Literary competitions (in my early state of shell-shocked self-confidence) did not appeal to me until the first international Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) in 2006/07. I entered a thriller entitled Reversal Point. It got through to the semi-finals.
• An offer I could not refuse subsequently came from CreateSpace.com in the USA who offered all 2006/7 ABNA semi-finalists the opportunity to publish. Only the deadline got me through the self-doubt about whether accepting the offer would be a wise move or not. What helped in my dilemma was praise for Reversal Point and the realisation that, with my state of health (and at that stage with 7 years of part-time and full-time fiction writing under my belt) I might not live to see publication in any other manner.
• My published thriller/suspense novels are: Reversal Point (CreateSpace 2007), Tortolona (CreateSpace 2010) Relinquished (Xlibris 2011), Island of Regrets (CreateSpace 2012) Green Expectations (CreateSpace 2013) and Green Machinations (CreateSpace 2014. I’ve also written and published: A Halo of Strawberries (CreateSpace 2012). The book is a departure from my previous stories, being closer to literary fiction than a thriller. It deals with the controversial moral issue of abortion but does not slot into the genre of Christian fiction.
• I write because I enjoy the creative process and the challenge and satisfaction of making a manuscript as good as I can through dedicated hard work. I use the advice of professional manuscript assessors and editors. I get a thrill from knowing that people are reading my stories. I don’t dream of becoming the next Grisham or of appearing on something like The Graham Norton Show. I settle for the success of taking pride in my work as a fiction writer, improving it, and enjoying what I do.
• Although it is well outside my comfort zone I’ve come to live with the necessity of self-promotion as most writers must these days in a highly competitive market (with a million new books on sale each year in the USA alone).
• I am a Wellingtonian, having become a resident in 1974 after career moves from Blenheim to Invercargill and then Hamilton. I was born in Blenheim in1944 and left there in 1964. I now live in Wellington’s northern suburbs with my wife, Gabrielle, and with many of our children and grandchildren in close proximity. After the deaths of our last dog (Sam) and cat (Gizzy) we have no pets. I’m a volunteer part-time day co-ordinator with the Citizens Advice Bureau, Porirua and a former chairperson.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “Green Machinations” – a reader of “Green Expectations” thought it deserved a sequel. I had no idea in my head that was more appealing for a story.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m old enough to have done some of my writing long-hand and used to do it in bed before and after my day job. Now it is my day job and I use a computer.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve read a wide range of authors and a large number of books. They all influence me, I suspect.
What are you working on now?
Marketing of “Green Expectations”. And thinking about what story to write next.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If it’s worth it to you, you won’t give up.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Believe in God. But, to do with writing, it’s hard to separate out anything in particular – I’ve absorbed it all like a sponge.
What are you reading now?
“The Visitor” by Lee Child.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More of the same.
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?
Thick ones I wouldn’t mind re-reading.
Author Websites and Profiles
Thomas W Devine Website