Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, this is my debut novel, The Jracon’s Burden, but I can feel I have many books inside me, desperate to get out, so watch this space! I am in my early 40s, with a wife and kids, a fish, a hamster and a yorkshire terrier! I love anything to do with science and the natural world, reading and running.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Jracon’s Burden – I knew I wanted to write a fantasy story, and wanted to put a unique slant on it to make it stand out in a saturated genre, so hopefully I’ve managed to do this. I’ve always loved high-paced page-turners with cliffhangers at every turn (think James Patterson), so I have tried to recreate this.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure what “usual” writing habits are! I email myself the latest draft of my story as I go to try to ensure I have as many backups as possible, just in case I change my mind on a plot course, or flush my laptop down the loo!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
James Patterson, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Dean Koontz, Ian Fleming, Lee Childs, Terry Pratchett, David Eddings, Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, the list goes on!
What are you working on now?
A sequel to The Jracon’s Burden, and a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic survival story (again with a twist on the genre)
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new to the promotion game, but Awesome Gang came well reviewed!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t lose heart! Enjoy the writing while you can, because the promotion can be a real slog!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Live in the now, man!
What are you reading now?
Simon Pegg’s autobiography
What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep tapping away on the keyboard, see how The Jracon’s Burden does, use it as a measure and a guinea pig as I venture into the world of self-publishing…
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?
The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien, The Dragonlance Chronicles – Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency – John Seymour (to grow my own crops!)