PDB: Can you pitch your latest publication in 25 words or less?
ORIGIN is an action adventure conspiracy thriller with a twist; it’s Dan Brown meets the X-Files!
PDB: Which books, films or television shows have floated your boat recently?
I’m a big fan of David Baldacci and Vince Flynn, so always read their new releases, and I enjoyed both ‘The Innocent’ and ‘Kill Shot’ very much. ‘The Wrong Man’, a debut thriller by Jason Dean, was also very impressive. I’ve also just read ‘Lonesome Dove’ by Larry McMurtry for the first time, and thought it was an immensely evocative depiction of the American ‘wild west’.
With two young children I don’t get out to the cinema at the moment, but still watch a lot of films on DVD, and I was recently impressed with ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’, which I thought was very well written and directed. ‘Harry Brown’ with Michael Caine was also good, and I thought ‘Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy’ was handled very well. The latest Mission Impossible and Sherlock Holmes films were also great fun.
I actually don’t get television reception where I live, and since my Sky box broke last year, have lived very happily without it!
PDB: Is it possible for a writer to be an objective reader?
Although I now have a much greater appreciation for the amount of work that goes into the planning, writing and publication of a novel, I do still read for enjoyment’s sake alone. I’ve always loved reading, and I still read in the same way – forget about everything else and just try and immerse myself in the story.
PDB: Do you have any interest in writing for films, theatre or television?
I’ve always loved movies, and would like very much to one day get a screenplay produced. It’s my dream to write a James Bond movie!
PDB: How much research goes into each book?
ORIGIN took three solid months of research, before I wrote a word of the novel itself, and the research continued throughout the writing process. This is a really helpful time, and one I actually enjoy very much. It also means that – when the time comes – the writing process itself is that much easier.
PDB: How useful or important are social media for you as a writer?
I certainly use social media a lot, trying to build up some online interest in ORIGIN before its release in October, so I see it as being a very important part of the publishing industry for everyone. I shall wait and see whether it’s been useful or not!
PDB: What’s on the cards in 2012?
ORIGIN is released in the UK on October 25th, as well as in most Commonwealth countries. The Australian release is November 1st, and it will be out in Canada on January 1st 2013. The next year or two will also see the book translated and released in France, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, China, Japan and Brazil. It’s being presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October too, so hopefully some more foreign rights deals can be negotiated there. My second novel – still under wraps at the moment! – should also be released around the same time next year.
