Interviewing myself about Spooking

This went out of print last month. I’ve reedited it and I’m now going to self-publish it, both as a Kindle edition and a hard copy.

Here I interview myself about the novel.

1)      What is Spooking about?

It might be described as a paranormal romance. In fact, it has been described as such. However, there isn’t a vampire to be seen. The supernatural elements are quite gentle. Arguably it also a story about grief and mourning. It does have a reasonably upbeat ending, however.      

2)      Did you start with the story or with the characters?

In some senses one always starts with the characters. Story always comes from the tension between the players. Having said that, I normally have a two-line version of the whole story in my head. I then flesh that out into a full story arc and eventually produce a chapter break down. As I write, however, I find I need additional or different chapters and the characters start to take on a life of their own. Spooking was no different.   

    
3) What led you to write it?

The idea came, as they do, out of the blue. I always have two or three ideas for other novels whilst I’m working on the current one. I dread the day I run out of ideas. So far so good.  

4)      What real-life events or people inspired events or characters in this book?

The novel is set in two real places – the south coast in Hampshire and Bangor in north Wales. We used to live in Hampshire and I studied for my PhD in Bangor. The little blue car that crashes into the river is based on the car that my son and daughter used to drive.  It was a blue Ford Fiesta. It was a super little car. It too was called Binky. I now own another Ford Fiesta – a bright red modern one. Both of them have been very nice to drive and very reliable.

The actual story is completely fictitious.

     
5) What authors or stories inspire you as a writer? (i.e., who are the authors or stories that, if I like their stories, I will probably also like your stories?)

There are so many. Here are a few:

Michael Morpurgo

Philip Pulllman

Maeve Binchy

Neil Gaiman

Aiden Chambers

Charles Dickens

Monika Feth

Kate Atkinson

Gustave Flaubert

Emile Zola

Heinrich Böll

If you asked me again tomorrow I’d probably come up with a slightly different list.    

 

Find your copy of the book here  

 

Producing books

It is actually so easy with something like Lightning Source around. You can produce a very professional-looking books quite easily. The distribution then becomes the most difficult factor, but even this is more a matter of visibility than anything else. Produce a good quality book and it will find its own customers. Word of mouth, in the end, is the most powerful tool.

Some of us too have been talking about the demise of the book and the possible demise of places like Waterstones. I think it may be no bad thing if a monopoly like that disappeared. It leaves way for the small independents again. And if they get the ebook-reader right, it could be a real boon.

Our publishing venture is sort of cash flow protected. We don’t give royalties until the book is in profit and then the royalties we give are very generous ones – the authors get 60% of the profits. We’re pretty well cash-flow protected, though I do risk, especially with bookshops, ordering up-front. However, I shill only do that if I have the cash in hand. Otherwise, people just have to wait. Interestingly, I’ve never made anybody wait yet.

I’m feeling at a slight loss at the moment, because I don’t actually have a book in production right now.