1) What inspired you to start writing?

 I have always liked writing. Even at school I enjoyed English classes. Plus I have always been an avid reader. My first novel was actually inspired by Top Of The Pops 2 funnily enough. I was watching it one evening and there were songs from the 70s and 80s playing. From that I wondered what it would be like to be able to go back into my own body of 30 years ago. I sat down that very night and started writing my first novel based on that. It is funny where inspiration can come from.

2) What process did you take to get ideas for your book?

For my first novel as I explained above I loosely based it on myself back in the 1980s. My second novel started out as merely a philosophical piece about love and the heart. I turned that into a short story and then I used that short story as my base to enter NaNoWriMo which is an annual contest held every November (It is short for National Novel Writing Month. Google it). The idea of the contest is to write a 50,000 word novel during the 30 days of November. That sat around for a year before I turned it into a full novel. So in short ideas can come from anywhere. Just write and ideas will come.

3) How long did it take you to write the book?

My first novel took about 4 months.

4) How did you create a believable world for the audience reading your book?

I try to describe the world to readers using every sense. Describe the weather, the landscape even the time of day. Describe the characters. Remember that your readers need help to visualize what you see in your own mind. Don’t assume they can see into your mind. Even describe sounds and smells and the sense of touch. Plus I try to make my worlds believable by keeping them logical. Not too much fantasy or magic I suppose. I like my readers to believe they can be in that world and it isn’t too different.

5) Why did you choose to write in the fantasy genre?

I believe all novels are fantasy or they would be classified as non-fiction. It depends on the writer as to how far he takes that fantasy. Mine I try to keep as real as possible. No flying broomsticks or death rays…lol.

6) How did you create the characters in your book?

The characters in my first novel were based (very loosely) on myself and people I knew back in the 1980s. In my second novel the characters were totally fictitious although I do see some of me in the two main characters. Other characters I suppose I invented to fit the story line. I think of the requirements of the plot, invent the character and his/her characteristics, then add meat to the bones as I progress. A handy tip here is to keep a dossier of each character with all of their info as you write. It saves hunting through your story to remember what colour hair they have for example. Believe me, it happens. A brunette suddenly becomes blonde several chapters later… lol.

7) Did you use any stimuli from your everyday life? (e.g people, places etc)

The simple answer is yes. You use your experiences from life to write. My first novel was based totally on places I had been or people I had known.

8) What sort of books do you personally read?

All types. I read fiction and non-fiction. In fiction my favourites are Thomas Hardy, Jack Kerouac and J R Tolkien. I would suggest them all to aspiring writers. All three are such good descriptive writers. I also like David Baldacci, Lee Child and John Grisham.

I also love reading non- fiction and there I would find difficulty in describing my favourites. Everything from ancient history to quantum physics (not too hard quantum physics though) and rock group biographies. You name it I read it.