1. Tell us about your current work.
Have just finished “What Makes You So Angry Vince” http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054YG79U Blurb:
Many people have written insightful autobiographies and heart-rending stories of their own tragic lives, tales of heartbreak, hardship and redemption that leave the reader emotionally captivated and gasping for air. In a world full of millions seeking meaning in their own lives, these books stand out as beacons in the dark.
Angry Vince has read none of these books.
He is vaguely aware of them and, after someone explained the basic concept to him, thought that this would be an easy gig and could help pay off his Nigerian ferreting debts.
Through a collection of half-remembered episodes and gently constructed lies, Angry Vince explores what has taken him from a young boy contemplating suicide over a library book to an ex-world-traveling ex-karate instructor with a (former) drinking problem and children of his own. His careful exploration of his memories through a combination of hypnotherapy and rubber mallets have slowly revealed the bizarre events that have made him who he is today.
2. How did you come up with the idea to write this book?
“What Makes You So…” was devised as a means of deconstructing my own nostalgia through revisiting the events of my youth. The premise is that Angry Vince is so because grown-up life pales in comparison to his earlier years, the stories told give lie to that.
3. How long have you been writing?
Off and on for decades, published long ago before having to find a ‘real job’ and only now publishing again.
4. Is this the first book you ever wrote, or do you have more (published or unpublished) that you wrote before?
I have two unpublished works which I will be updating in the near future, but in the meantime I am finishing off “Hans and Stefan: Space Panzer Commandos” and “Have Sex, Will Travel”
5. Describe your writing process.
Day dream, make mental notes and then write at a hundred miles an hour when I get some free time.
6. Who are some of your literary influences?
Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, both for their unstated British wit and their view on the absurd.
7. What kind of books do you read, and is it different from what you write?
I tend to read a lot of Pratchett, re-read Adams (unfortunately there will be no more books there), but also science fiction (Turtledove) and plenty of Frederick Forsyth. Forsyth has been going for decades and has a relatively simply flow to his writing which belies the incredible amount of research he does.
8. Where do you come up with your characters? Do you base them on people you've seen or met? My not-quite-biographical works are based on real people, but caricatures of them.
For my fiction I start with the concept / sketch of a plot, build a character to fit and then see what they do.
9. Do the names of your characters reflect anything or mean anything in particular? Is there a reason behind the names you choose?
My protagonist in “Hans & Stefan” is named Hans Witzblattname – it’s a joke name ;-)
10. Is this part of a series, and if so, when will the next book be available?
“What Makes You So…” is being followed by “Have Sex, Will Travel” which is a not-quite-biographical novel regarding a dozen teenagers working in Japan. It contains murder, romance, suspense and lost train tickets.
Angry Vince
I haven´t read it but I´m gonna. It seems fun and interesting, and I always like to have something to read, especially when I travel. I´m going to Argentina next week, and I will be staying in several Buenos Aires apartments. Even though I have been told there is much to do there, I still wanna devote some time to the art of reading!
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