1. When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
About the age of 15 - I think you have a lot of frustration with things - parents, teachers, companies, even governments - when you're in your teens and you just think "what are they all doing?". That's when I realised I could really make an impact and influence people by writing (mainly fake sick notes to get out of school, but I progressed as you'll see!).
2. What authors have inspired you the most?
Stephen King - He's the one I feel taught me my craft, his technique is just so so good and something I studied for years to get to the standard I reached today. Terry Pratchett too - there's underlying jokes and humour in Cyberfreak Debt which all stem from my love of reading his stuff and laughing my head off. I think writing is really about sending a good message in an entertaining way, so that's the main aim of my book.
3. Is Cyberfreak Debt your first book?
No. I've spent a good few years writing others but they're all locked away in the recesses of my hard drive. I thought each one would be my big break, but really that was all just honing my skills, sharpening my claws for this one. Cyberfreak Debt is all my best ideas rolled into one mind-blowing tale. But I couldn't have written this out of the blue. I don't regret all the time I spent working on other stories because that was what made this the story it is today!
4. What was your inspiration for Cyberfreak Debt.
I wanted to create a modern-day Harry Potter - a book with the same fun feeling that anyone could get lost in, but one that people can really connect with today. It had to be fantastical and mysterious, but at the same time up to date in terms of the internet and social networking. This created a bit of a problem because whenever any of my characters ran into trouble they always could have just "googled" an answer to get out! ... I got round it though ;-)
5. What is your favorite thing about being a writer?
Speaking to people who have read my work - it's honestly magical. It's the readers who bring stories to life. When they talk about it with the same enthusiasm I had when writing it I know I've done my job. It's a great feeling.
6. What is your least favorite part of being a writer?
It takes such a long time to produce a real quality piece of work - Cyberfreak Debt for example took two years of writing pretty much every day. It's normally hard to hold the vision of the end product long enough to stay motivated, but in this case that was never a problem so I was lucky. It's been a slog in the past but with this one I was pretty much flying over the keyboard. I think that enjoyment is evident in the story.
7. Are you currently working on any other projects?
In my head I'm always working on something; there's post-it notes all over my house with ideas on (it looks like a crazy person lives here, and if you read the book you might just agree with that!), but at the moment I'm focusing totally on promoting Cyberfreak Debt since it's got the potential to make a real impact on people and I want to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to read it!
8. What was the best advice on writing you have ever been given?
Every writer needs a mentor. Do your best to find one, and always be able to take their harsh criticism and learn from it. If they don't critique you harshly enough, then you need a new mentor to bring out your very best!
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