Seeing as it’s a Friday, I thought i’d treat you to one last Meet The Author Q&A this month, plus everyone needs a last minute weekend book recommendation, don’t they? Well I have plenty for you today and they’re written by an author who has become a supportive friend through the blogging journey – one of the first to actually send me a copy of his book and it got me through January 2019 when I was poorly with the flu and both kids decided to get chicken pox one after the other. That book was Father of Storms and was impeccably written by Dean Jones! You can find my review here.
Anyways, welcome to you and thanks to Dean for taking the time to answer some of my questions that allow us readers to get to know the authors behind some cracking books. Dean has quite the bookish CV, some of my favourites and the three that I’ve reviewed on the blog include Father of Storms, A Final Farewell and The Magic Show. You can find my reviews here.
Imagine losing everything you loved as well as the future you’d wished for so long to come true.
Seth was born into an ordinary life. His father had high hopes of him becoming a warrior like him. Mercia needed more strong fighters to keep the kingdom safe and Garrett knew a son of his would be more than capable.
That was over 1200 years ago. Today Seth finds himself a prisoner in a place he doesn’t recognise. All he knows is that his captors are telling his family are dead but that something doesn’t make sense, if he could just get the buzzing out of his mind.
Luckily, Seth has two things on his side, the first are the Mara, spirits who have spent a millennium as his companions, the second is his ability to manipulate energy. Against him is the fact he doesn’t quite remember who he is or what he can do.
The Mara set about showing their Master his life during periods of unconsciousness and sleep in a bid to awaken his mind hoping that this will allow him to break free of this prison.Over the years, Seth has fought many battles, but this last one is the most important. Unlike the others, there are no swords or spears, as this time the battlefield is in his head.
Whilst Jessica was on holiday with her parents in Scarborough she asks her father, Robert, to take her to see a magic show in the town. She had never seen a live magic show before and her parents had promised her a treat since she had been very well behaved.
At the performance the magician, David, takes his audience on a journey through what is possible and shows them that sometimes your perception of the impossible is not what you thought. What Jessica doesn’t know is that sometimes the smallest things have the greatest impact.
Is David really magic or just a very good illusionist…you decide.
Sometimes two people are meant for each other and no matter what life throws at them they take it on the chin and carry on. Harold and Sarah Wood were this type of couple; married for over 40 years, loving parents and devoted to each other. But sometimes life gives you something that it’s incredibly hard to move on from.
Harold finds that the death of his wife is one of those things. A story about how grief can impact a life so incredibly that even the mentality to carry on is tested. With his children dealing with the loss of their mother in their own way, Harold is left to find out how to live alone.
Don’t these reads sound fantastic? Well, spoiler, they are and I may have cried at two of them so make sure you have tissues at hand. So, let’s get this Q&A party started!
Just for fun I thought we’d start with a bit of either or:
Tea or Coffee?
Tea, I can’t stand coffee
Morning bird or Night owl?
Night Owl
Bookmark or corner folder?
I was a corner folder but grew out of it lol
Tidily organised or Organised mayhem?
My job requires me to be tidily organised, at home however it’s a different story.
What makes you happy? Could you share a photo of something that makes you happy please? Whether that’s a pet, place, your favourite snack etc.
My family 😊
What is your favourite childhood book?
The Hobbit. It is still in my top ten favourite books today
What did you want to be when you grew up? Was it always an author?
No, wanting to write for a job came much later. I never really knew what I wanted to do. I had the standard Doctor, Astronaut, Fireman type thoughts but ended up just bouncing along until I stumbled into a career.
If you could choose only one season to last forever, what one would it be?
That’s a tough one…I would say the Super league season, I love Rugby League 😊
Okay, this is the best answer to this question that I’ve received!!
What is your current read?
I have been reading the Book of Enoch, as research for my latest story. Dry but fascinating.
What do you enjoy doing outside of writing? Hobbies etc.
We have 6 children between us, so a lot of my time is taken up with them. So, hobbies tend to revolve around family activities such as walks or playing Fortnite. Outside of that I do like to ride my bike (for the peace and quiet).
How many books have you written? Do you have a personal favourite? What is it and why?
I have written 6 stories so far. Favourite? Well that’s like picking one of my children! They all have qualities I love, and all contain a little piece of my soul so I couldn’t pick one over another.
When writing a series, how do you keep it fresh? Is the second in the series always more difficult than the first?
I have just released the first book in a planned series so I will answer that question if and when the second book is completed 😊
When researching for a novel, do you always have all the research before beginning or do you research as you go? What is the process?
I tend to research as I go. I am not an in-depth type of researcher so will only look at things that, if they were wrong, would spoil the story. Interestingly my first novel (Father of Storms) contains actual events from British history. The King (Aethelbald) was an actual person and the idea for the story was fostered by the reference to his death. It is believed he was killed by his bodyguard. I wrote a story around why that might have happened.
Describe your typical writing day
I don’t really have a routine and will generally write a few chapters as and when the motivation / inspiration hits.
Describe your publishing journey in 3 words
Harder than expected
Do you have any writing quirks / needs? What are they?
Not really…I do like to listen to music to get my mood to the same place as my writing sometimes. Rock music for fighting or ballads for emotional scenes.
If it gives no spoilers, what is the hardest scene you’ve had to write?
I have been quite lucky so far in that I haven’t really struggled to write anything, I just put myself in a characters position and write…saying that the fight scene in The Watcher’s Redemption between the angel (Jason) and the warrior demons was hard to get right. I had to ensure it was fast paced but not repetitive and also consider that humans were also fighting and to include their struggle…it was a lot to remember I hope it reads OK for people.
What do you find the most enjoyable / difficult thing about writing?
The most difficult thing is not being able to spend more time on the thing I love to do. Bills need to be paid and kids need feeding lol the most enjoyable thing is the writing, getting an idea from my head onto paper and adding a little piece of me to it. I especially like the scenes where it is so emotional that I am almost crying writing the words…A Final Farewell was like this…lots of welling up writing that story.
What is a publishing highlight for you?
Seeing my books available on Amazon etc. was an amazing thing but my highlight was my first reviews. Two people were kind enough to review Father of Storms for their blogs (not mentioning names) and when they sent me their opinions I welled up. Knowing you have written something that touched another person is an amazing feeling.
Can you give a one sentence teaser for anything you’re working on if you’re allowed?
I have three or four books on the go. Erm…one sentence…OK. “How can you provide support for your daughter when you’ve been brought up to believe that the way to deal with any of life’s problems is to man up, but the grief is so bad that all you want to do is curl up and die?”
Ah, see that’s what I adore about your books – they hold themes of humanity within their pages and they are always written beautifully and from the heart.
Isn’t it fun getting to know the authors behind the books? I’ve loved every second of it and as I’ve said Dean’s books are really special, tugging you in by the heartstrings and leaving you with a clearer sense of the world maybe? Definitely give this indie author a spin!
So, that’s it for Meet The Author this month, I have two guests visiting in September so keep your eyes peeled for more book and author recommendations!
Until next time,
Happy reading!
The Reading Closet 