{"id":823,"date":"2014-02-08T17:07:12","date_gmt":"2014-02-08T17:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lynnenorth.co.uk\/blog\/?p=823"},"modified":"2014-02-08T17:07:12","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T17:07:12","slug":"823","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lynnenorth.co.uk\/blog\/823\/","title":{"rendered":"Author Interview – Dan Thompson"},"content":{"rendered":"

1)\tDo you write books as a career, or are you currently still juggling your author time with a full or part time job?<\/strong>
\nAs much as I hate to admit it, I still have a full time job. Working nights at a supermarket isn\u2019t fun or interesting, but it does pay the bills. Having a five year old daughter who, at the minute, is more like a teenager doesn\u2019t help my cause much either. But still, everyone has to start off somewhere. I\u2019ve been working nights for nearly nine years now, so I guess the routine has become second nature, but you have to give up a lot of luxuries that some people may take for granted. You tend to lose time with family and friends, as more often than not, they have normal, day jobs.
\nOne day, though, I will be able to call myself a \u2018real\u2019 author who writes for a living. Well, fingers crossed anyway!<\/p>\n

2)\tHave you always wanted to be an author, or did some time or event in your life set you on the path?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m boring I\u2019m afraid. I\u2019m sure my clich\u00e9d answer will lose itself in the vaults of unoriginality, but I\u2019ve always wanted to be an author for as long as I can remember. When I was seven, I wrote a collection of children\u2019s stories, which all followed a group of animals. I even did lift up flaps and colourful drawings to go with them! I didn\u2019t have an audience, but I used to read them to my baby sister. She spilled lemonade over the first one, Animals Hide and Seek. Thankfully, it wasn\u2019t ruined and I have all three books stored away in my filing cabinet. I occasionally bring them out, blow away the dust, and chuckle away to myself at how awful they are. Still, children are allowed to dream \u2026 and do you know what? Adults are too.<\/p>\n

3)\tDo you always write in the same genre, or do you sometimes like a change of theme? If you haven\u2019t already, is there another genre you would like to write?<\/strong>
\nIf you\u2019d have asked me that question a year ago, then the answer would most certainly have been \u201cyes, I always write in the same genre.\u201d I love writing for teenagers. I think a lot of people turn their noses up at YA (young adult) books, but they are fun and exciting, yet serious and realistic too. In fact, I know a lot of people that turn their noses up at YA.
\nThe very first story I wrote (full length) is a young adult fantasy novel and I\u2019ve been trying to get that published quite recently. But out of nowhere, whilst I was recovering from an operation in early 2013, I started to write something entirely new. It built up and evolved, which later became an adult novella entitled The Caseworker\u2019s Memoirs. I toured libraries and book groups with that book last year. I especially found that the over fifties loved it more.
\nAlso in 2013, I came across a genre I hardly knew anything about. Dystopia, which is exactly what my upcoming novel, Here Lies Love is. Actually it is a NA (new adult) book too, which is an extension of YA. I think it is important to test yourself as a writer. Build up your repertoire and the possibilities are endless.<\/p>\n

4)\tAs a writer, what is the best thing that has happened to you, and what is that most exciting thing that could happen to you?<\/strong>
\nThe best thing that has ever happened to me as a writer has ultimately got to be going on my library tour last year. It was exciting, nerve-wracking and scary, but enlightening too. I learned so much more about myself and what I was capable of. I had the opportunity to meet my readers in person, thank them, but also to listen to them. I\u2019ve been on radio twice too, which again was an opportunity most people don\u2019t have the chance to do.
\nThe most exciting thing that could happen to me would be to be published traditionally, with a real publisher. It is something I have always dreamed of, apart from being a writer that is. It is still hard work, tough to get noticed, but everyone deserves an opportunity to fulfil their dreams. I\u2019m hoping that my chance is just around the corner.<\/p>\n

5)\tHow do you view the promotion, book signings etc. Is it something you enjoy, or do you prefer the writing stage?<\/strong>
\nThe days of the hermit-like writer, locked away in the study or the shed even, scribbling away, with sticky notes pinned in every free space, old coffee mugs with mould growing inside, are long gone. As an author, you really have to be a saleable commodity. Book signings, school visits, book fairs are all part of the process. Now, I was (and in some case still am) a nervous person, but having to get stuck in and get out there in the public eye was something that was both daunting, but valuable. I honestly believe that I have grown as a person, more confident in my approach. Of course there are times when the talks could have gone better, more involved, but then there are the times where you get a round of applause, people queuing up to have you sign their own copies.
\nOf course though, we are writers at heart and the writing is the most fun. You have no critics, no expectations. You can boldly go wherever the hell you want, whether it be in some fantastical enchanted forest, the war torn back alleys of occupied France, up the sky, underneath the ground \u2026. The list goes on. Having the opportunity to tell someone\u2019s story, really step into their shoes and decide their fate, is one job I wouldn\u2019t trade for the world.<\/p>\n

6)\tCould you tell us something about your published books, and let us know what they are about?<\/strong>
\nWell my adult book, The Caseworker\u2019s Memoirs has been described by some reviewers as several stories in one, and although that is true, it is Malcolm\u2019s story that gels everything together. He is recently widowed, having lost his wife only a few weeks before. He is losing touch with the world, locking himself away – even his daughter can\u2019t get through to him. That is until, she gives him a leather bound notebook. As the days drag on, Malcolm starts to have these dreams, rediscovered memories about his former patients from when he was a psychologist. Malcolm had to treat these people with their numerous phobias, whether it be the fear of heights, the fear of time, homophobia, fear of terrorism \u2026 but he feels he has failed them.
\nIt is a very enclosed story, one that pulls you in and makes you feel for Malcolm as you progress with him trying to find himself again. Or so I\u2019ve been told anyway.
\nMy upcoming novel, Here Lies Love, will be out in the spring and it follows the story of Abbey as she tries to escape the awful man she was sold to by her father. But as Abbey is quick to discover, the cold and lonely world outside is just as terrifying. She is haunted by the abuse she has suffered and having to survive by herself is asking too much. Only by confronting her father will she be able to move on with her life. I love the tagline for this book: \u2018Would death be less painful than life?\u2019<\/p>\n

Author of Here Lies Love, The Black Petal & The Caseworker’s Memoirs<\/p>\n

Click here to go to Dan\u2019s website & Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to go to Dan\u2019s Twitter page<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to go to Dan\u2019s Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to go to Dan\u2019s GoodReads page<\/a><\/p>\n

Great answers, Dan. Best of luck with your career as a writer!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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