What is your writing style or schedule?
Well, the easy answer here is: every chance I get, but sadly that isn’t anywhere near as much as I’d like. So, I make time every morning because I work sixty hours a week, but then, there’s also family stuff too and writing is quite a selfish act. But these days, the thing that takes me away from writing new stuff most, is promoting the current releases. A necessary evil, and I love doing it, but I just wish there was twenty-eight hours in a day
Where do you actually write?
Mostly sitting at the dining table, which is in our family area. That way, in the evenings, while my wife, Jacqui is watching the TV I’m at least with her in the same room and can have conversations – even though sometimes I wish she would shush – don’t tell her that though.
Do you write linearly or not?
Hmmm, did I mention I left school at fifteen? LOL, if that question means what I think it means, yes. For me, when I have an idea, the only way I can explore it is to start writing. Sometimes it’s the most bizarre, random thought that pops into my head, and tries to escape. So, from that point I start writing and just let it flow. I never plan – especially an ending, I write my way towards it, and I find that then I want to find out what’s going to happen next. Then when I get to the end, then I self-edit like a madman, and that can mean major re-writes, changing the order of chapters etc etc. I have a saying which I will tell anyone who wants advice on writing: write from your heart, but edit with your head.
What sort of other activities keep you from actually writing?
We renovate houses, and at the moment, we are helping my son and daughter in law get their place finished and on the market. I also play poker twice a month, have done for years with the same group of guys and love it. Once a year I go game fishing for a week, and the rest of the time its family stuff. I’m blessed with grown up children who actually want to spend time with us – we must have got something right.
Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?
I don’t have a writing group. I know it works for some people, but for me I begrudge the time. My eldest daughter from my first marriage has been a constant source of support, and the first person to read what I write. My wife doesn’t read anything I put out, but she is a great listener and patiently lets me bounce ideas off her. One memorable occasion I woke her at 4am to discuss an idea and she didn’t yell or throw something at me.
How long does it normally take you to write a novel?
Well it used to take much less time when I didn’t do any promotional work. That’s not a whine, I’m living my dream of being a published author, and with it comes the responsibility to my publisher for assisting in getting the word out there. It’s a crowded market place out there for authors. For me, probably four to six months to finish a first draft, then three months to do my minimum of five re-writes. The it’s into editing, another three months. It doesn’t happen overnight. I dream of when I can retire and so this full time.
Who or what are your inspirations?
Different for different books. Sometimes it’s a random thought, sometimes it’s a definitive idea, once it was a very vivid dream, and for Glimpse, The Beautiful Deaths it was a lady I met who offered me an idea for a killer at a time I was looking for one (not literally, of course). She asked me the question: “when is a serial killer not a serial killer?” And so, this book was born.
If there’s a single aspect to writing that really frustrates you, what is it?
Jennifer, I’m living proof that no matter how old you are you can achieve your dreams. There isn’t a single aspect of being a writer I don’t LOVE. I know it’s a cliché, but seriously I wonder if one day I won’t wake and realize it was all a dream.
Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?
A bigger laptop, a desk facing a window that overlooks the ocean, a beach with palm trees, hand maidens peeling my grapes and keeping my coffee mug or wine glass – depending on the time of day- filled.
Tell me about your latest book.
Glimpse, The Beautiful Deaths is book 2 of a trilogy that explores desires between two people who both have their own marital problems. They are thrust together to investigate three serial killers, and they are instantly attracted to each other. Do they, don’t they, should they? If they were single it would be a match made in heaven, but they aren’t.
The book itself brings our protagonists together for the second time to find a man who is addicted to beauty, because his life is far from that. He is a collector of beautiful things, but when he tries to capture a stunningly beautiful young woman, she ceases to be what she was when he abducted her, and she dies. So, after he grieves, he tries again, and again and is determined to keep going until he gets it right.
Do you have a favorite character and if so, who and why?
Patricia Holmes in this book is my all-time favorite character, and because it’s a trilogy I have around 300,000 words to explore her, and the man she is working with, Rick. She is beautiful, intelligent with two university master’s degrees, who shares his drive for using her intellect to catch serial murderers. She is at times funny, sexy, flirtatious, but other time gracious and deadly serious. She is the ideal character to create, and in many ways, I am so sad the trilogy is finished.
What are you working on now?
Haha, well its NOTHING like Glimpse. I wanted a break from deranged killers. It’s called Winter at the Light, and is a romantic thriller set on a lighthouse in 1952 when a 21-year-old woman looks after the light when her father is injured to save him from losing his job.
After she falls for a man who is washed up on the shore in a lifeboat, two armed men come looking for him, and she discovers there is nowhere to hide on a lighthouse.
Glimpse, The Beautiful Deaths available on April 10that Amazon:
Rick McCoy of the Major Crime Squad is trying to repair his marriage when he is sent to the South of Western Australia. A young girl's body has been found in a cave, with flowers on her chest. A search finds five more bodies.
Beautiful criminal psychologist, Patricia Holmes, has recovered from her stab wounds inflicted by the serial killer PPP, and is brought in. Pat believes they are hunting a man who is addicted to beauty. When another school girl goes missing, they have only days before she too will die.
As their desire for each other grows and the pressure on their marriages increase, they close in on the man responsible for the beautiful deaths. Meanwhile, in the high-security wing of the mental health hospital, PPP plans his revenge on Rick.
Beautiful criminal psychologist, Patricia Holmes, has recovered from her stab wounds inflicted by the serial killer PPP, and is brought in. Pat believes they are hunting a man who is addicted to beauty. When another school girl goes missing, they have only days before she too will die.
As their desire for each other grows and the pressure on their marriages increase, they close in on the man responsible for the beautiful deaths. Meanwhile, in the high-security wing of the mental health hospital, PPP plans his revenge on Rick.
Stephen B King
Australian Author
www.stephen-b-king.com
email: stephenk8@me.com
Twitter: @StephenBKing1
Facebook: @stephenbkingauthor
Australian Author
www.stephen-b-king.com
email: stephenk8@me.com
Twitter: @StephenBKing1
Facebook: @stephenbkingauthor
