Yes, I got onto the 'Awesome Authors' Newsletter which went to... who knows how many people on the 12th of January 2021. Did you see it? No? Okay, well, here it is! (I have a few more things like this coming soon).
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an English teacher and proofreader living and working in Hungary and love to write. I’ve written 10 novels and many novellas and short stories with an extensive list of publications.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is ‘Reif’s Return’, the fourth (and final) book in my sci-fi ‘Humanity H2O’ series. I was inspired by the genius (and craziness) of my students at the High school I work at to continue on and write after over 10 years of being in the ‘wanna-be’ writer desert of obscurity, and now I’m finally getting some recognition and success.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Due to lack of time and too much life, I write where and when I can. An idea can come at any time, and one usually creates another or more. Once the ‘scene’ is set in my mind, it flows onto the ‘paper’, so to speak.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
While doing my BA and MA, I studied British and American literature, as well as the classics, way back to the Greeks and the Bible. I have a soft spot for anything Aldous Huxley, Douglas Adams and John Milton. However, both TV and film have their influence on me, too, as any of my readers can tell you.
What are you working on now?
At the moment, I’ve just finished working on an anthology of short stories called ‘Worth 1,000 Words’, the fourth collaboration of 100+ authors, and I am thinking about writing a spin-off of my new successful sci-fi book series.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method would be an email list, if I had one, though with the help of some acquaintances’ email lists, I was able to use this method to gain some success. I also have a blog which has a regular readership, and I use both Facebook and Twitter to announce any news.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. then write some more. I read the beginning of a new ‘wanna-be’ author’s manuscript the other day, and it was awful: POV was everywhere, tenses, thought, dialogue, imagery all bad, but saying that, there was a story. Once you have a story, everything else can be learnt and worked out.
Also, create a readership before you finish your first book… yes, it sounds crazy, but get an email list as soon as possible, collect those who wish to read your books.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As I said above, “Write, then write some more.”
What are you reading now?
I’m reading ‘Studies in Shakespeare’ (Oxford Paperbacks 1964). I love to get into the nitty gritty of 17th/18th century literature.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Promoting my ‘Humanity H2O’ sci-fi series and trying to increase its readership, on all four books. And writing that spin-off.
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?
Complete Works of John Milton, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and Aldous Huxley’s ‘Crome Yellow’.
Humanity H2O! Going well, going well :-)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H8GNYKP
