Who was your role model as a child?
When I was a kid, I loved Superman. He always stood up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves. But my real-life role models are my parents. They are strong, defiant and never backed down from anyone. Their values became my own. I always try to treat everyone with respect, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
Did you always want to be a writer?
No. I always loved to read books but it wasn’t until I had a religious experience in 2002 that I wanted to become an author. After that strange but beautiful event, it was like a vault containing all these stories was unlocked. They just came tumbling out.
As a teenager, what were you obsessed with?
I loved playing videogames. Reading comics was another pastime, especially Batman, Superman or X-men comics. Like many young boys in the 1990s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, soon became another obsession of mine 😉
What was your life's most meaningful religious experience?
In May 2002, I began to say a special prayer called, ‘The Holy Rosary’. On the very first day while reciting it, the whole room became infused with the smell of roses, despite there being no flowers near me or anywhere inside or outside the room! The smell was so strong it was amazing! A feeling of immense peace just washed over me. Soon afterwards, I started my journey of becoming an author.
Which was the first of your stories that was published in an international magazine?
One of my first pieces to be published was a poem about people with disabilities living in today’s world. That struck a chord with a lot of readers. One of my first short stories was printed in a well-known magazine called, Ireland’s Own.
How did you come up with the plot of your YA fantasy novel, "The Lost Son"?
One evening back in 2005, while I was sitting at home in my living-room, an image of the protagonist came into my mind. He was in a golden suit of armor with a red cloak billowing behind him. This fascinated me so I sat down and started plotting out the book.
What's the difference between a novel and a novella?
Novellas are less of a headache. Just kidding. Novels take much longer to write and after writing, The Scavenger and its sequel, Unlucky Charm, I’d prefer to work on novellas. That’s not to say that I won’t continue with The Zargothian Saga or epic fantasy stories. From a content creator’s point of view, however, you can churn out more books if they’re novellas, thus earning more royalties too in a year.
With so much written content produced in the web, how can writers still continue to produce original and unique content and not run into the possibility of unintended plagiarism?
The only way to avoid this is to be aware of what’s already out there. Know your market and competition. Think outside the box too and not just churn out another, Lord of the Rings clone. Be original.
How do you create a character? What is the most effective procedure?
When I create a character, I let it stew in my head for a few days. There are a number of questions I ask myself: 1) Is he/she unique and if not, how can that be changed? 2) Are they relatable? 3) Will the audience loathe or cheer them on? When the answers do come to these questions, an Excel sheet is created. In it, I put the following columns: Name, Age, Role, Traits, Likes, Dislikes etc. This always proves a great help because it does flesh out a character more.
Is it true that people who read more tend to write more coherently?
In my opinion, yes. Those who read more, have a far wider vocabulary. But you can only be a great writer doing the following: practice, practice, practice.
If you ever get writer’s block, where do you go to overcome it, or what activities help you overcome it?
Some authors suggest taking some time away from the computer; others say that pounding that wall until you break through is the best approach. For me, I combine both. One time while suffering from a bad bout of writer’s block, it took numerous walks and three days of relentless attempts until that wall was eventually destroyed.
What is one of the biggest mistakes you made as a new author and how did you fix it?
One of the worst mistakes an author can make, unless you’re a graphic designer/illustrator, is design your own cover. This is what happened to me when, The Lost Son, was first released. I used an illustration a friend did for me and inserted it onto the cover with a black background. I downloaded a cool font but the result was amateurish. So it was only after receiving feedback on the unappealing cover that a professional graphic designer was hired. I’m sure you can agree that it’s pretty amazing!
Which is the next book you are working on? Is it a series or a stand-alone book?
At the moment, I’m working on, Dark Secrets – book three of the Hopps Town series. Unlucky Charm - book two, will be released in February 07th, 2022.
When did you first come across the AllAuthor website and what were your expectations coming in? What are your thoughts now?
I came across it while browsing online one day. AllAuthor is a fantastic website which really does help promote its members’ books. New authors should definitely sign up.
