About
Q&A
What are your earliest memories of the world of reading and books?
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My father would read my sister and I bedtime story as kids. We loved anything by Roald Dahl - I think they have to be some of the funniest stories ever written for kids, I love reading them to the children in my class. Dad would put on voices and we would giggle away happily, not falling asleep at all and always ending by asking for just one more chapter. The Twits was our favourite - Dad did great voices for them!
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What about when you started reading for yourself?
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I think my earliest memory as a reader was the Adventure Series by Willard Price. The sense of adventure and thrilling excitement in that series just captivated me and I read the lot in under a month. They sparked my love for adventure stories and I would highly recommend them.
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Another early memory was reading Commando comics. I grew up in on a British Army base on the island of Cyprus. The barber on our base had a stake of these comics for patrons to read whilst they waited - he would let me borrow some too. Again, the sense of adventure, plus the action, appealed to me greatly.
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Would you say Action and Adventure is your go to genre?
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It certainly was when I was younger, and still plays a huge role in the types of stories I like to consume today (be it reading, films or video games). I feel Action and Adventure is a crossover genre - it can be combined with Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thriller - pretty much any genre really.
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Take Jurassic Park for example or A Game of Thrones; they both have strong elements of Action and Adventure in them.
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So yeah I probably have to have some form of Action and Adventure in my stories - it keeps them exciting!
What made you want to start writing?
I have always enjoyed making up stories. Writing was my favourite subject in school (along with Geography) and it has also been my favourite lessons to teach too. I am not artistic, or musical, so creative subjects have always seemed out of my reach. But having found creativity through writing I can see why other people love it (being creative), to be able to build something that is yours feels amazing.
Where has your inspiration for A Rogue Gunn come from?
I was playing a video game called Uncharted 3 (the whole series is great so check them out if you enjoyed A Rogue Gunn). In the second chapter, called Greatness from Small Beginnings, you play as a young Nathan Drake. It sparked an idea in me that I wanted to write an adventure story about a reluctant teenage archeologist.
You can't talk about archeology stories without thinking about Indiana Jones and these films play a part thematically in A Rogue Gunn. I also like how these two series take the viewer (and gamer) around the globe on the adventure (something that James Bond does really well too). So I knew I wanted my story to be a globe trotting adventure.
Music also has to be mentioned here. I am a huge fan of soundtracks and listen to them regularly when I write. The lack of lyrics allows my mind to focus on the words I'm writing, whilst the music sets a background tone. I create playlists to match each act and for characters too.
And finally, what next?
The ultimate goal is to be able to write full time, but in the meantime I will continue to teach and write in my spare time. I'm really looking forward to starting my literary journey with the Gunn trilogy, engaging with fans and learning more about the craft.
Lockie Gunn will return in A Lone Gunn sometime in 2023.
