FAQ

Q. Why did you start writing?

Some writers will tell you they do it because they love it and some believe they can ‘get rich quick’; I was no different. However, whether successful or not, writers continue to pursue their craft and I’m not sure why. Isolation, frustration, and sometimes elation, are the cornerstones of the business. If you can hack it, you’ll grow to love it.

Q. Where do you get your ideas?

All over. You might see an advertisement on a billboard, meet somebody for the first time, read an article in a newspaper (or on the net) that sparks the imagination. I just allow myself to dream and then try to assemble the puzzle.

Q. What other writers do you admire?

I admire anybody who has the courage to sit in front of a computer, typewriter, or notepad and suffer the aforementioned ‘cornerstones’. It doesn’t matter if they get published or not. Writing is a hard slog and don’t let anybody tell you any different. Somebody told me that its like having homework every day of your life. That pretty much sums it up.

Q. Okay then, who do you like to read?

That’s better. I love thrillers, so David Baldacci, Nelson DeMille, Jeffrey Archer, John Connolly are my literary staple but my kids are reading some classics in school so every now and then I pick up one of their books and read the odd chapter.

Q. What’s your writing day like?

It differs from day to day, but could be anywhere from ten minutes to ten hours. Sometimes I can spend an hour writing a page, other times I might be lucky to get a paragraph down on paper. However, I find I work best to an advertised deadline which provides the necessary drive to ‘get it done’.

Q. What are you reading now?

I was presented with a host of hardback classics for Christmas and given the ’emergency’ in which we find ourselves, I decided to start with ‘The Catcher in the Rye’. Have to say, struggling somewhat with it, but will persevere. Unsure what’s next, though. Like most readers, I’ve too much choice on my bookshelves.

Q. How’s the writing going at the moment?

The latter half of 2019 was busy that saw the republication of ‘Into the Lions’ Den’ and the release of ‘An Act of God’. I took a couple of months off to recharge, but am fighting fit once again. I spent quite sometime thinking about the opening line of the third in the trilogy ‘Where Angels Fear to Tread’ and am pretty happy with the result; more on that later in the year, but for now it’s parked because… I’ve decided to enter a competion and have the opening sections completed and stored for safe-keeping. I can’t give too much away at the moment, only say that it’s a modern day crime thriller set in Dublin’s northside. Again, more on that later in the year,