Smashwords Interview with Stephen Gane

Interview with Stephen Gane

How did you first get the idea for you novel?

I had a very bad infection and my doctor prescribed some very strong antibiotics. I am not sure if it was the medication but I had a vivid dream about the beginning of the story. I just had to write. Seven weeks and three days later “A Questionable Hero” was 95000 words long and in it’s first draft.

How has dyslexia affected your life?

When I was a child a long time ago, dyslexia was not well know, so my school days were hell. It was the worst time of my life (so far). Reading and spelling have always been a nightmare for me. I have only read five novels in my entire life as I find it hard going. I read stuff that isn't there and I have to keep going over the same words to make sense of them. I have always had problems knowing my right from my left which over the years has caused a few problems when directing people. Now with word processors that have spell checkers and that dyslexia being recognised it is easier, also the popularity of audiobooks means I can now listen to stories.

What are you working on next?

I have just finished the first draft of my second novel "Consumed By Fire" This novel is No.2 in The Liston Pearce Series. The story is now being critiqued, I will rewrite and correct it. Then it will be edited and proofread. It should be published in the first half of 2015.

Do you find it difficult to write?

No, I find writing quite easy, I do not plan my stories at all. I just seem to become the character I am writing about and react to the situation he or she is in, sometimes I surprise myself when one of my characters does something unexpected.

What is the biggest lesson you have learned writing?

When I started to write my first novel “A Questionable Hero” I made lots of mistakes, the biggest was letting friends and family read each chapter as soon as I finished it. I would write a few thousand words then desperate for someone to read it and give me their opinion I passed it out. As you can imagine my friends soon became a little tired of this especially when I started to edit each chapter as I went along (another mistake). I would email people a chapter or two, then re-write parts and and send it off again. Friends were kind and tried to help but it soon became obvious after reading ten or twelve chapters over and over this was not going to work.
As I am new to writing I thought everyone would be as interested in my story as me but they were understandable not, I would tell friends about the plot and watch as their eyes glazed over with boredom. About halfway through the novel I listened to (on audio-book) Stephen King’s book “On Writing” this put things into perspective for me. So for the second half of the novel I tried to talk less about it, tried not to bore the pants off people with my new found addiction but I still felt frustrated because I wanted to talk about my progress.
This is when I started to feel lonely, not in my life but lonely with my writing. It was a hard lesson to learn but I now know this is for me anyway the only way forward. I have just finished the first draft of my second novel “Consumed By Fire” and I have hardly talked about it and nobody has read it. I am about to send it off to get it critiqued and am more apprehensive about it than the first novel, does it make sense? does the story come together? And it goes on and on.
This is why I feel writing is a lonely occupation but I need to do it. I need to get the stories in my head on virtual paper.

What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?

I have found marketing my book much tougher than writing it. I am stuck on how to market better.

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?

I grew up in Bath, Somerset in The UK. My novels are set in Bristol which is 12 miles away from Bath. I have visited Bristol lots of time over the years and it has had a big influence on my writing.

When did you first start writing?

I started writing when I was sixty five years old, so it is never too late to start...

How do you approach cover design?

I try and pick the main points of my novel and incorporate them into the design.

What do you read for pleasure?

I do not read as I am dyslexic so I listen to audiobooks, mostly detective crime stories...