UnBiased Book Reviews: Author Interview

Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)? Now that I have a toddler, I don’t travel very much. But I spent three years travelling throughout Europe several years ago, so I base a lot of my location research on that. Nowadays, there are great online virtual tours you can take and a stack of information online that can really help writers get a feel for a location, but, of course, nothing beats actually going there—and hey, it’s a tax write-off!

What books have most influenced your life? I think poetry has had the biggest influence on my life. I love the wisdom it imparts and the beauty of the words soothes me. If I am feeling a little down, poetry is my go-to pick me up (well, wine and poetry, usually).

Have you ever considered anyone as a mentor? I have. Many years ago I was lucky enough to meet and work with a lovely author named Patsy Rowe. We became firm friends as I worked on editing her books, and she has been instrumental in encouraging me and mentoring me over my career. She’s a great friend as well as a mentor. More recently, I stumbled blindly into a fantastic group of indies, all of whom I’ve only ever met online. They have all been incredible sources of knowledge, support, and humour. They’re my crew, and I don’t know how I could have gotten through the tougher days without them.

Who is your favorite author and why? Mary Renault is my favourite author. I love the rich lyricism of her books and the attention to detail and to historical research.

Can we expect any more books from you in the future? Yes, you sure can. As long as I have Write or Die, you can expect a lot more books from me, probably in numerous genres.

Have you started another book yet? Yes, I have started Creche. A lot of my early readers and reviewers have said they cannot wait to read the sequel, so I better get to it. It reveals a lot more about Amedeo’s past and also some surprising information that even Amedeo was unaware of.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Making enough to write fulltime in a beautiful little cabin in the mountains, or in my Greek Island holiday home, or my villa in Tuscany, or my house on Sunshine Coast acreage while my partner quits his job to play daddy daycare to our brood of happy little kids. J

What are your current writing projects now? Right now, I’m working on several different things, but Creche is my priority. My other works in progress include:

Float, a YA Dystopian novel set in Australia.

Day of the Danae Shee, a YA fantasy trilogy.

From Memory, a half-finished romance novel.

The Phoenix Feather, another YA fantasy.

A book about self-editing (as yet untitled).

A free ebook about using indiereviewtracker.com and getting reviews or free or paid marketing (also not yet titled).

Are you reading any interesting books at the moment? Much as I have busy days, I always set aside half an hour before bed to read. That usually means sometime between 12 and 1 am, I am reading. At present, I am really enjoying Tony Slater’s new comedy Don’t Need the Whole Dog; Heather Adkin’s spooky The House; and GR Yeates soon-to-be-released young adult fantasy The Sword of Sighs. All are great examples of just how much indie talent is out there in different genres.

Are there any new authors that have sparked your interest and why? I’m a sucker for a success story, especially an indie one. I’ve grabbed a copy of Colleen Hoover’s latest book, Hopeless, and I was also really impressed with Carol Davis Luce’s latest Awakening: Story of a Brown-eyed Girl, and Charles Sheehan-Miles’s Just Remember to Breathe. And Wool, of course. There are loads of excellent authors out there.