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One Book Interview #26 – CJ Harter (Author)

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Dead bodies. Libraries. Poetry. Bedbaths.

You don’t usually get them all in the same place or at the same time.

Except in this interview.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Manchester in the UK – CJ Harter.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Gosh, is there such a thing? If pressed, I choose His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. It’s got something for everyone: love, passion, betrayal, adventure, quest, weird gadgets, religion, atheism, witches, talking polar bears and angels.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Remembrance Of Things Past/In Search Of Lost Time by Proust. Never read it. I’d be hoping it’s as good as they say it is. If it isn’t, what a time to find out!

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Most recently, The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances. I usually avoid thrillers that have subtitles like ‘The most gripping psychological thriller since the last most gripping psychological thriller’. And I write psychological thrillers!

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

So far, my only published novel is Rowan’s Well, a psychological suspense. I’m very fond of it, especially as it’s just won a Chill With A Book Readers’ Award and been shortlisted in the Words With Jam First Page Competition.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Anne Of Green Gables by LM Montgomery. As a child, Anne Shirley was my hero and role-model. She faced the world bravely, with love and humour, and had a rich imagination. I confess, she’s still my hero.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

If you mean books about how to write, then Stephen King’s On Writing is a must-read. I also love Steering The Craft: A 21st-Century Guide To Sailing The Sea Of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

Rowan’s Well is out there and waiting for you.

Some friends you’re better off without.

‘A sophisticated, compelling thriller’ ‘I couldn’t put it down’ ‘Gripping to the last page’ ‘Extraordinary and uncompromising’ ‘Compelling family drama that wouldn’t be out of place as a BBC drama’ ‘Had me in its thrilling spell’ ‘Highly recommend!’ – Amazon reviews

I’m about to publish Fitful Head, a modern ghost story. Imagine you lose your mind, and something’s waiting to take its place. Widow Isobel Hickey thinks she’s being haunted by her husband, but she’s wrong.

Even before publication, Fitful Head has been runner-up in the prestigious Writing On The Wall Pulp Idol contest and shortlisted in the huge UK-NWC competition where it was placed 11th from 3,112 entries.

Keep an eye on my website for details of release date and pre-order. I’ll soon be publishing a taster short story The Haydock Haunting. Read it if you dare.

You can find CJ at: www.cjharterbooks.co.uk

I’ve dissected human bodies in Sheffield, shushed library-users in Wigan, shared poetry in Liverpool, organised bedbaths in Salford. Now I live in Manchester,UK, and help folk connect with their creativity through writing. I have a degree in Literature and Philosophy, I’m mother to two adults, wife to one and slave to two tiny dogs.

 

 

 

Please note I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon sites.

 

One Book Interview #25 – Leo Nix (Author)

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‘Writing fiction is the best therapy in the world.’

It’s official.

This is the professional’s opinion.

A man who has worked with psychopaths and their victims in prison and private practice.

A man who has been publishing articles and books on psychology and related subjects for over twenty-five years.

And, more importantly, a man who named John’s Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids as one of his book choices. For which, I almost vetoed his interview.

Why? I have an irrational fear of sunflowers, which I can only explain by watching that film at an early age.

(Considerate ‘friends’ have sent me postcards of sunflowers with ‘we’re watching you‘ and ‘we know where you live‘ written on the back.)

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Marree in Southern Australia – Leo Nix

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

I’ve read thousands of books since I was a kid but there is one that does stand out above the rest: Bryce Courtenay’s The Power of One. A story set in South Africa during the 1930’s and 40’s during those terrible apartheid years. It’s about a small boy raised by his single mother but spends most of his time with an elderly neighbour who teaches him how to live. He meets up with a native boxing trainer in the prisons and learns to box. Boxing is his entry into manhood and makes for a good backdrop to the various racial and social tensions in the country. It’s strongly character driven set against the violent background of those torrid years in South Africa’s history.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Well, I guess I’ll have plenty of time to catch up on my reading. If I was to take a book to enjoy I’d take Shike a two volume series by Robert Shea. Robert Shea writes the story of a young Zen monk, a Zinja, and the struggles he is put through by his religious order to escort a young princess across the country. It is a rites-of-passage adventure, some lovely martial arts and swordplay which illustrates Japan of the samurai era. It has powerful characters and a story backdrop of intrigue and violence, loyalty, love and honour. I’ve read the series quite a few times over the years and can easily pick it up and enjoy it all over again.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Chris Harris’ UK Dark Series – UKD1. A post-apocalypse series set in the UK. I fell in love with post-apocalypse books after I read John Wyndham’s The Day of The Triffids at school a long time ago. Since then I’ve been hooked on post-apocalypse stories. Chris’s writing style is easy to read and his stories simple, uncomplicated and highly plausible. I haven’t read all his books, I’ve only just finished book 1, but I’m looking forward to reading the rest.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

I write both non-fiction and fiction. I found that my writer’s ‘voice’ has changed since I started writing fiction. Now that I’m about to start writing another non-fiction book on psychotherapy for PTSD and anxiety, I’m actually looking forward to see how I write in the more formal format of a self help genre.

But to get to your question, the third book in my series, Sundown Apocalypse 3: Homeland Defense, I thought was slightly more aggressive and emotionally hard hitting than the first two. Homeland Defense sees one of my female protagonists run a mission into the middle of the terrorist township of Mount Isa, northern Queensland, Australia. She’s a tough girl but the events of book 3 lead to some PTSD of her own in book 4 which comes out on the 2nd July.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

The Red Chief by Ion Idriess, the true story of an Australian aboriginal chief passed down from generation to generation. It was recorded almost word for word from the last surviving full-blooded member of the Gunnedah tribe in the early 1950’s. A story of a young man who reaches warriorhood amid the greed and vindictiveness of his tribal leaders. Beautifully written by Ion L. Idriess, a prospector and bushman who write fifty odd books on Australian aborigines early last century. If anyone wants to learn how the Australian aborigines lived and loved before white settlement, this is a book they should be reading.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

As a professional author, Devon C Ford’s After It Happened post-apocalypse series. A friend suggested I have a look at his books and I fell in love with the series. By the time I’d read book 3 I was convinced I had to write my own post-apocalypse books. I look for strong character-driven novels with challenging settings which push the characters to face up to and overcome adversity, Devon’s books have that.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

Book 1 of my Sundown Apocalypse series, simply called, Sundown Apocalypse. It’s available on Amazon. Set in the harsh, central Australian deserts, the ‘red centre’. I like to spend time working on character development, pushing them through hell and back again to illuminate their growth as valuable members of their community. As a psychologist this is what challenges me most, to demonstrate how individuals can change and grow despite the horrors of a violent, psychopathic environment. Despite the difficulties they face they can still find time for love and deep friendships. If you like Australia and deserts wrapped into a post-apocalypse setting, this is for you.

You can find Leo at: www.leo-nix.com

Leo Nix is a psychologist who has worked with psychopaths and their victims in the prison system and in private practice. Through his writing he endeavours to bring to life real people in their struggle for survival against extreme adversity. He has a wife who actually enjoys reading his books, three children and two delightful grand children, plus a cat with no tail called ‘Piggy’.

 

 


Please note I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon sites.

 

One Book Interview #19 – Jason Parent (Author)

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Hot on the heels of last week’s 18th birthday celebration, the One Book Interview is back to business as usual. Today, I’m very happy to be taking part in a book tour for an exciting author by the name of Jason Parent. His new book  A Life Removed is out now. I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy not so long ago. You can find out what I thought of it tomorrow, but for now, here is a taste of what Jason likes to read when he’s not writing. (Interestingly, three of his choices made the top twelve list in last week’s 18th birthday book summary.)

Good people of the Internet – Jason Parent.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

The Stand, by Stephen King – It is a genre-defining tale of good versus evil that should be required reading.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

The Martian, by Andy Weir – I’d need some chance of being able to grow potatoes. Of course, I’d probably also need potatoes.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series. Historical fiction, not quite horror or my usual cup of tea, but altogether perfect.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

My books vary so much in genre and tone that my answer to this question changes daily. But so as not to cop out, I think Wrathbone and Other Stories is one of my best works.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Tucker Max’s I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. The book never answers the question whether beer is, in fact, served in Hell, so I have made it a life-long ambition to drink as much beer as possible before I get there. I’m guessing it’s all mimosas and umbrella drinks down under the earth.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Not Tucker Max’s books. Stephen King’s On Writing has made me re-examine my craft.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

That depends on how dark they want to go. I have a couple of novellas priced at $0.99 to allow potential readers to give me a try. But my novels are all stand-alones, so my latest, A Life Removed is as good a start as any (and happens to be set earliest chronologically).

You can find Jason at: www.authorjasonparent.com

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi named Calypso.

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s another story.

When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists in a knot or takes somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.

 

 

Please note I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon sites.

One Book Interview #12 – Garry Rodgers (Author)

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For interview #10 we had a crime writer, for #11 we had a best-selling author, this week we have both in one person: a bestselling crime writer and blogger (they’re great posts!) who has worked as a sniper, forensic coroner, and homicide detective. His books are based on his own experiences of true crime, and have been ranked up alongside Stephen King and Dean Koontz in the bestseller charts.

Good people of the Internet – Garry Rodgers.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Of all the self-help and motivational books, T&GR is by far the best work ever done on the science of personal achievement. The history of T&GR starts with Andrew Carnegie of US Steel/Carnegie Hall fame commissioning a young reporter named Napoleon Hill to research and write a book on the principles of success, no matter what your occupation or intention. This was in the early 1900s and Carnegie was in his later stage of life. He’d turned into a true philanthropist and wanted to leave the world with a formula on how people can better themselves – not just for richness in money but rich in spirit and accomplishment. Through Carnegie’s influence, Hill had access to the greats of the day – Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Presidents, Kings and entertainment stars. It took Hill over 20 years to produce the work – unpaid – but he produced a masterpiece that’s stood the test of time. Once you’ve absorbed the 17 principles of achievement laid out in T&GR, you live your life by them. It’s just that powerful a book.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Hmm… let me think. Besides T&GR that’d motivate me to try finding a way off, I’d say The Art Of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. In my opinion, the Dalai Lama is the most switched-on, in-tune spiritual leader alive today. Everything the guy says makes sense to me. I guess if I were marooned on Mars, I better decide to be happy about it and his guidance would sure help a situation that’d truly suck.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Wired For Story by Lisa Cron comes to mind. I stumbled on it in a book store and it entirely changed my writing mind. Lisa takes a scientific approach on how human brains are designed to respond to stories and how to write in the way that engage your readers’ interest. It’s not a technical book – it’s so easy to read and understand. I think every writer MUST read this book.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

No Witnesses To Nothing was my first novel. I still think it’s my best work. It’s not a book for most people as it’s long, drawn out and gets quite heady towards the end. It’s based on three true stories and is a ghost story disguised as a murder mystery. Deep down, it’s a search for the science and spirituality of the human soul.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Think And Grow Rich, by far. Otherwise, I’d say The Magic Of Thinking Big by David Schwartz, Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz and The Psychology Of Winning by Denis Waitley.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

The Elements Of Style by Strunk & White is mandatory reading for all writers. You need to know the rules of writing and this little book captures them all – composition and grammar that is. Once you know the rules, then it’s fair game to break every one of them in creative storytelling.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

I’d recommend reading In The Attic first if you want to get to know me and hear my voice. It’s a true story about a horrific double homicide I investigated. It’s told in first-person and takes the killer’s psychotic point of view as well. Warning, though, it’s extremely graphic.

You can find Garry at: http://www.dyingwords.net

Garry Rodgers is a retired homicide detective and forensic coroner who also served as a sniper on British SAS trained Emergency Response Teams. Now he’s an Amazon bestselling crime writer. Garry lives on Vancouver Island at Canada’s west coast and hosts the popular blogsite www.dyingwords.net.