Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been a journalist for over 30 years, have written and edited forests of non-fiction, mass-marketed magazines and books and, back in the mists of time, wrote for a clutch of national music papers. One More Squeeze is my first novel and I’m currently polishing my second novel. It’s quite different and so far untitled. I’ve also written drawer-fuls of drama, mainly for TV, and a couple of stage plays – all unproduced.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
One More Squeeze was actually written about 30 years ago and was inspired by the social unrest and polarization during Margaret Thatcher’s premiership. Having run through the gauntlet of rejections from publishers and agents, I put in the drawer. Last year, an unusually quiet spell on the business front coincided with a similar sinking feeling about the state of the world. I reworked the story and, having had a couple of false starts with my own publishing projects, decided to work with an author I could trust. Me.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Although I’ve enthusiastically embraced the digital world in almost every way possible I cannot throw off the habit of writing original material by hand, with an HB pencil on lined exercise books. I’ll then transcribe my scribbles into the ether, while making a simultaneous edit. I’ll then edit in small steps. For example, nail a timeline in one pass, sort the geography in a second, deal with chapters in a third, name and work up minor characters in a fourth, and only then dive in and start the rewriting process. That may take one or two passes. Then, I’ll put my proof-reader’s hat on and go through it all with a fine-tooth comb.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love to get lost in story and am happy to read anyone from Dick Francis to Cervantes. That said I have a weakness for stylists as diverse as Stefan Zweig and JT LeRoy. Memorable books include The Shadow of the Wind, Shashenka, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Doors of Perception: And Heaven and Hell.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a young adult fantasy novel, which sees the birth of a superhero, without lyrca. I’ll say no more but it should be ready for publication by Spring 2018. So watch this space.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still looking for it.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write. The selling bit is something with which I’m still grappling.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just do it.
What are you reading now?
On a recent trip to the Land of the Free I got to meet an ex-member of the federal intelligence service, who passed on Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard’s Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General. Truth, as they say, is often stranger than fiction…
What’s next for you as a writer?
Completing the second novel and learning how to sell the first one. I honestly haven’t thought beyond that.
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 Bible, Complete Works of Shakespeare, Oxford English Dictionary.
Author Websites and Profiles
Trevor Morris Amazon Profile