Q: Please tell us how you came to be a writer.
In 2012 I completed Faber Academy’s Writing a Novel (online) course. It was a fabulous experience bringing me into contact with some interesting and gifted writers, and it launched me into the world of writing. Before the course I had vague ambitions, but afterwards I was quite determined to write novels and to make it part of my life long term.
Q: You generally write in the genre of speculative thrillers. What can readers expect?
Readers of this genre would need to enjoy a wide range of genres, I suspect. They can expect page turners which, at the same time, have a layered feel to them. A touch of supernatural runs through all my stories, but readers can choose to interpret these threads as metaphysical too. So my novels straddle the intersection between supernatural and science fiction.
Q: The protagonist in your latest novel is Dr Elena Lewis. What can we expect from her?
Dr Elena Lewis is a layered character whose motivations are sometimes ambiguous. If you like complex characters thrown into challenging circumstances which often contain some element of illusion, she’s an ideal protagonist for you!
Q: Which is your favourite fictional character and why?
I quite like Lisbeth Salander from the Millennium Trilogy! I like her strangeness and her strength.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently working on the third book in my series of speculative thrillers The Borderliners Trilogy, ‘WorldCult’.
Q: Some writers plot to the last detail and others let the novel develop organically. Which are you?
I’m a plotter but I don’t plot to the last detail. I do about twelve major plot points, divide those into four quarters, Act 1, 2 and 3 with Act 2 having two parts, and then put up the structure for my story using that structure to guide me. I won’t plot in any more detail than that as things come up as I go along, and I like that! After my initial draft I go back and layer up using the snowflake method. I see it as chiselling out a basic statue before going back to hew in the detail later.
Q: With the number of self-published books increasing exponentially, it is difficult for authors to make their books stand out? How do you go about this?
I’m still working this all out, but as a digital marketing professional by trade, I’d say it’s about content surfacing through collaboration with others. And it’s about building readership long term. I’ve always believed email is the killer app and this would appear to be as true of publishing as of any other industry, so collaboration and email are the two main avenues I’m working on in this respect.
Q: As a self-published author, how do you divide your time between writing and marketing?
With difficulty. I’m still trying to get the balance right. Ideally I’d want to set a stop watch to around 30 minutes a day on marketing and the rest of the time (the time it takes to write or edit 1,500 words) on writing. I’m quite disciplined about the marketing and I have a content plan of blogs, links and quotes which I publish to various different platforms on a regular basis. I would like to do more live events though. Maybe next year!
Q: You’re based in the UK, so what’s your readership? Do you have readers in countries outside of the UK?
Most of my readers are based in the UK with a smaller percentage of the majority based in the US. I have some readers in Pakistan due to a personal connection there promoting my books. I would like to promote my books in Italy as I have many friends and family there, but they need to be translated into Italian in order to do so. I would hope that my novels have international appeal!
Links:
Split Symmetry, available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Split-Symmetry-Borderliners-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00L19T4QU/
Facebook group:https://www.facebook.com/KHArcadio
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Lost meets The Poseidon Adventure with a hint of Sliding Doors!
It's 2015 in the notorious Gran Sasso mountain range of central Italy.
Quantum physicists in a lab beneath the ground begin an illegal experiment.
A landslide hits and a hiking group is stranded.
Every decision, every step of the way...changes reality.
Book #2 of the best-selling Borderliners series, this other-worldly adventure will keep you turning the pages to the very end!
Book #2 of the best-selling Borderliners series, this other-worldly adventure will keep you turning the pages to the very end!
'A
novel about what it is to survive and endure, what defines us, how it
is to be ruled by fear, to be a slave to the terror of nature and what
it feels like to love.' Five star customer review.
Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords
Genre - Speculative thriller
Rating – PG
More details about the author
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