Hi Sam, and thanks for your interest in being interviewed and featured on my blog. Before we start though, I understand that you’ve suffered a rather serious sprained ankle, courtesy of a football game with friends? This, of course, begs the question – was your injury sustained prior to a game-winning score, or after? (Teasing)! I am, however, hopeful that your recovery is moving along in as pain-free and expedient manner as possible.
Just to be clear the injury was toward the end of the game AFTER I had been completely dominating the opposition. Just so you know… 😛
*chuckle* Yes, I do believe I read that somewhere…
In doing my research, Sam, I did discover a tiny bit of information out about you. To recap some of the highlights: you live in the UK, you’re married with three sons, (two of whom are twins), you enjoy football, computer games, DVDs, movies and most any type of humor/comedy. Oh, and you also enjoy your privacy hence the initial aversion to having a Facebook author page…
Guilty…
Things I couldn’t locate were: where in the UK you called home growing up, if you enjoyed reading as a child, and if you ever had an interest in writing, (prior to your deciding that it was finally time to get the story that had been rolling around inside your head for years, out).
So, let’s start with the basics first. As a child, where were you born and raised? Since at least half of my readers are in the U.S., would you also share some additional details with us regarding the locale? What was the countryside like? Weather? Any, mainly-unknown-to-us, food specialties?
I was born and raised in Portsmouth – home of Charles Dickens – but now have moved a few miles out of the city to a village called Titchfield; which I now call my home. Despite the fact Titchfield is only a fifteen minute drive away; the difference to Portsmouth is pretty huge.
Portsmouth is a large city, (I could be wrong), but I’m pretty sure it’s one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. It’s noisy, busy and everything you would expect of a city. It’s also, as I said previously, home to Charles Dickens, it is actually an Island in itself and it is home to the Historic Dockyard.
Titchfield however is more rural, with some beautiful countryside; it is very quiet and friendly and spacious.
The weather … ha ha – I think British weather is self-explanatory. Since we are located at the bottom of the UK when it’s hot, (that does happen occasionally), it’s REALLY hot. And when it’s cold in the winter it can be below zero, but not by much. Personally, I prefer the cold purely because it’s easier to get warm, (extra clothes, hats, gloves, etc.), than it is to get cool in the heat!
As for the food, well, I don’t think there are any specialties unknown to you guys in America. In fact – ha ha – Fish and Chips is my personal favorite and I don’t care how stereotypical that is! Generally in the UK, we mainly eat food from other countries anyway: curry, Chinese, Indian, and Italian, etc., etc.
In one of your postings, you mention that you’re the typical UK guy… As far as your childhood, what did those typical guy things include? And, in your younger years, did you embrace book reading or not until you were older?
I guess that’s not very descriptive for anyone outside the UK, huh? Well, the typical UK guy that I was referring to, (there are other types, lol), is someone who loves his football and his favorite team. This is to religious standard of course, the football stadiums being our place of worship. I enjoy watching box-sets and other DVDs, playing football, and going to the gym. I play video games when I get the chance, enjoy going to the pub with friends and I like a night out to the cinema followed by something incredibly bad-for-the-hips to eat. Something maybe not so typical, is that I am hugely into WWE; watching it, reading about it and even pretending to be involved in it with my eldest son; much to my wife’s annoyance…
In childhood, I spent A LOT of my time outside with my group of friends. Playing football, playing computer games, running around and making nuisances of ourselves and once again wrestling! I don’t think I’ll ever really grow up…
I hate this next question, but purely because I hate my answer; it doesn’t sound very good for someone who wants readers to believe he can actually write anything worth reading. In my younger years I was not a big reader; even now I rarely read, unless it is to my kids – which I love to do. I wish I had embraced reading and writing sooner. I wish I could sit and read a book more often now, but it’s just not … me. I’d love to blame it entirely on a lack of time, (which is true), but reading just isn’t something I’ve ever been able to REALLY get into.
The Harry Potter books were the only books that really captivated me so much that I had to have them; and spent every waking second reading them. That is a testament to J.K. Rowling and the whole Harry Potter universe that she created.
Yes, when I was reading your bio, I did have a sense that reading came about when your children arrived; no doubt it included bed-time stories and the like. There’s nothing wrong with how your personal literary journey started; we each grow, evolve and try new things at our own specific pace or time.
So, when you’re not home with your family, and/or writing, I know that you have a career as an Architectural Technician. If I understand your job correctly, (as the technician), you’re the guy who gets handed those “amazingly beautiful” house plans from the designer/architect, and then has to verify that the Laws of Physics have been observed during their compilation?
I’m certain that no one really wants to wake up in the morning, only to discover that the roof caved in, because there wasn’t enough structural support provided when it was built… What prompted your interest in this line of work?
Excellent description! No, I don’t think anyone wants to wake up to that; and that is, as you say, where we come in. To be honest, this may make me sound lucky, or like an annoying Catman who seems to always land on his feet, but that is unfortunately how the story goes.
I left school at sixteen, like all others, and was about to venture into college purely because: “that’s just what you should do.” Long story short, I lasted three hours. I sat looking at our teacher/lecturer, (whatever you want to call that position- holder), thinking: I can’t take anymore school. I waited for the first break, got out my seat, and left for the bus home.
My mum was as understanding as she could be, and said as long as I found something else; which I did. I found a computer course, to tie me up for the time being until I could find what I really wanted to do. Amazingly, astoundingly, after a few more wasted weeks of my life the computer class received an advert. It was from a small Architectural Technician company looking for an apprentice…
No one else was interested, and since I spent most of my learning day sketching things – which were pretty cool – and I had a fairly decent past of being “Arty,” I stepped forward to apply. I went to the company; started with a three-month-probation and now ten/eleven years down the line, I am a Chartered Architectural Technologist. It was very lucky, and maybe somewhat unearned, but I don’t really mind how I fell into the job because I know that I enjoy it and that I am good at it. Not much else matters.
In one of your other interviews, you shared that the story for The Guardian and The Dream Crawler, (and its subsequent series), had been a “constant dream of yours for months and months.” Could you provide a bit more explanation? Did you mean that you dreamt nightly about the book’s characters and various scenes/situations? If so, what was that like for you? Were you a set-back-from-the-happenings observer, or were you smack-dab in the middle of it all? Does the dream aspect of you, (whether observer or participant), ever make an appearance in this book series?
I guess, going by the name of the book, it is influenced by the power of dreams to make you do things in real life; to fulfill your dreams. For me, when I talked about how the Dream Crawler book came to be, there were dreams, but I meant that the story was always on my mind. I was thinking about it a lot; forming the world, the characters, the plot and everything else with each day that passed. I was thinking up these things, but at this point I hadn’t even considered writing. I had no outlet; I just couldn’t stop myself from thinking about it all until I finally found out about this new, (at least to me), thing: Self-Publishing.
I then threw myself into it and just wrote. I wrote and I wrote; no planning, no constant re-writes – I just wrote. Then I plucked up the courage to let others read it and their approvals were just such a great feeling! Still, even now, seeing my books in paperback on the shelf is incredible; knowing that little-old-me did that; that I am an author, albeit a self-published one.
For me, I think the whole thing came from the fact that I watched a lot of TV, movies and have always had a vivid imagination. I used to just think that I could come up with better. That I could come up with a better story, plot, and characters, and fill those awful plot holes I notice! I guess it was in me the whole time. Had I noticed earlier, perhaps I would be a lot better than I am now which, by the way, any of you potential readers can decide for yourselves!
Thanks for your clarification regarding the “constant dream for months and months” aspect; that the comment was more of a figure-of-speech for you. Being that I, myself, actually dream the dreams that become my novels, I was definitely interested to hear about a possibly-the-same, yet substantially different, dream process…
Continuing on with my questions, as I was researching, I absolutely took an interest in your publication journey. You were especially forthcoming about the various steps you were taking, or considering taking. With that said, there are several specifics I’d like to touch on.
But first, I do want to congratulate you on the fact that your book, The Guardian and The Dream Crawler, made it to the quarter finals in the ABNA 2013 Competition. It’s a huge accomplishment that Book One of your The Guardian series made it all the way down to the quarter finals. (Readers: this competition started with 10,000 novels and The Guardian and The Dream Crawler made it through to the top 500).
How did you happen upon this competition? Is it something you will possibly enter again with another book from this series?
Thank you very much – this is a great competition for any indie author out there to get into. Even if you don’t win, your books will be on show to Amazon readers. I came across the competition through CreateSpace, that is the site I made my paperback books, (not personally mind you, I don’t want you to think I was involved in the ACTUAL making of the book. I just followed the directions and uploaded docs… ha ha), and they sent me an email about the competition. I threw myself in, expecting to get nowhere, ha ha, so, I was thoroughly excited with my final position as you can imagine! Would I do it again? Of course! I did miss this year’s, but I will enter next year’s if my third book is finished in time; 110% yes.
Moving on to my second, (publication-journey), question, from what I’ve seen, it seems that newer authors sometimes struggle with final the publishing choices. (To reword Shakespeare: to submit the manuscript to a publishing house, or to self-publish, that is the question). What made you choose the self-publishing route? If you could rewind time, knowing now what you didn’t know then, would you still make the same decision? And, out of all the self-publishing platforms readily available, what was it about CreateSpace that caused you to pick them?
That is definitely the burning choice isn’t it… Well, after I self-published, (and realized just how poor I am at marketing myself and my books), I did send my manuscript off to various agents, but found the whole experience to be very demoralizing.
Now, I could have been hindered by the fact that I had already self-published, but the more likely explanation was that they thought my books weren’t good enough, or weren’t what they were looking for. (The latter being the reason given on all my rejections).
If you can get a contract and be published, I would grab it with both hands. If you are like me, not very good at selling yourself, BUT you have the savvy to not only write a good book but also to build and to grow, then this author platform that all these sites talk about: self-publishing, will be a goldmine! You truly need to have the time, money and know-how to make it via self-publishing, and to be honest all of that supersedes writing ability in most cases too.
Personally, I still think Amazon and CreateSpace are the top dogs. Others may/will disagree, but I don’t think you can go wrong with them. KDP Select for your ebook versions, and CreateSpace for your physical copies; great platforms to use and very reasonable royalties.
Third, (and final publication-journey question), I saw on your blog that, (after many prompts and suggestions) you opted to run a free book promotion using Amazon’s KDP Select program. I understand that initially you were reticent to use this form of marketing, so what was it that changed your mind? Is this a tool that you would again utilize in future? And for questions, here’s the kicker… Would you recommend giving a book away, for free, to newer authors as a viable and effective marketing tool? (Now that the shoe, or in your current case, the boot, is on the other foot so to speak).
I would absolutely recommend doing this if you are a new author. And, just to point out, touché on the boot comment – well played, my friend.
I was hesitant in the beginning. I mean, for an author, you slog and slave over your precise book, pay for editors or book cover designers, and you spend YOUR money to make the book stand out. The last thing you want to do is give the book away … FOR FREE! But, you have to look past that; you have to consider this a promotional tool.
When I took the plunge, I went from double figure sales to shifting THOUSANDS of copies. You just have to think about that: thousands of people around the world downloaded the free book. They will hopefully read the book, enjoy the book and either recommend it OR go on to buy the next installment, (or even the physical copy of the first book).
Once the promotion ended, and The Guardian and The Dream Crawler was back up for sale; people were now buying it too. Hundreds of people in fact, and before I knew it, I had made back the money I spent, plus extra on top. This was the minimum I had hoped for. I think that because I had “sold” so many free copies, my book was at that point, now showing on the first page of Amazon search results, Top 10 in a couple categories, etc., (even Number 1 briefly). And, because it stays in those positions until others outsell it, (even AFTER the promotion), people still wanted it.
It was great; and yeah, I would recommend this as a great promotional tool.
And at this point, I cannot help but to ask… With regard to Facebook, <insert breathing sounds by Darth Vader here> what finally made you cross over to the “dark” side, and create a page? Was it as bad as you expected? More importantly, do you still have your soul? *chuckle*
Ha! Ha! Yes – it was awful. I hate it and have subsequently deleted it. I am sure if I had wanted it to work, it would have. If I had more of a desire to use it, it would have been beneficial, but I REALLY don’t like it. I don’t have a personal Facebook page for the same reason; it’s intrusive, (for me), and wants to know waaaayyy too much about you. Plus, the way I look at it, if I really wanted to know that person from Year 3 in school, (who I haven’t spoken to since), I would have … ya know, kept in touch in the real world… I think I am just an old man in a young man’s world when it comes to social media – and, enjoy retaining my soul! ;P
Alright, last question; I promise! The second book in The Guardian series, (The Guardian and the Rogue Shadow), has been out for several months, and you’re now working on writing the third installment. Are you able to provide any information about this upcoming book that won’t spoil the plot? Will this be the final book of this specific series? Whether yes, or no, what’s next on your writing horizon?
Huge shame as I have enjoyed this!
The sounds awful, doesn’t it: several months and still no third book! Well, (as you will know if you have researched me as well as Charline has), between work, family and the small amount of social life I do have, (not Facebook Social btw), and/or time to do normal things – writing time is hard to find. One day, hopefully, this won’t be an issue as, (fingers crossed); I can be a full-time writer. But I digress… Book Three will, if everything goes well, be the best of the series so far and it WON’T be the final book.
Book Three will pick up where Rogue Shadow left off, a nice cliff hanger, (ha-ha), and continue to follow Daniel, his friends, his family and his journey to becoming the greatest Guardian that ever lived. I don’t want to give too much away, but this book will be a … game-changer for Daniel and the world he inhabits…
From Dream Crawler to The Rogue Shadow, there has been a progression in action and drama and that will continue; the series will grow and grow. I know how the series will end, but I am not yet 100% sure on the amount of books it will take to get there. Five/six installments is my current estimation, but who knows. It will end when it needs to I think. If I were to decide now how many books it had to be, who knows; maybe some vital things would be cut out and nobody wants that!
Charline, I just want to make a point of saying: “thank you very much for the questions.” All were fun to answer, and made a change from the generic Q & A’s you see around – well done! And, it is a privilege to even be asked by you to do this. Hopefully some of your readers give my books a chance; I don’t think they’ll regret it!
You’re quite welcome Sam, and thank you for the compliment. I too, enjoyed this interview, and your answers.
However … while my questions are finished, I did want to take a moment to commend you on your desire to write and post the stories your young sons create. I firmly believe that allowing children the freedom of their creativity, (as well as nurturing it whenever possible), opens their minds further; this, in turn, provides them with the tools to better see and mentally problem-solve any challenges they may face in life as they mature.
Thank you – I really need to do this, now that I am trying to get back in-the-game, so to speak. Otherwise it was an empty promise. :s
Because of my children/creativity views, I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein
(Yes, I read a lot of fairy tales…)
Me too, ha!
Additional ways to connect with Sam, or to locate his books:
Personal Website/Blog, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon