Queensland Writers Centre Blog Tour

I'm very fortunate to have been asked to be part of the Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) Blog Tour Oct – Dec 09.

The wonderful team at QWC would like to know the following of me:

Where do your words come from?

Experience and imagination. I suppose being an ex-interrogator adds a level of 'authenticity' to my thrillers. Imagination comes into it when I turn my previous life into fiction. Almost all of the interrogators I know are great storytellers - comes in handy for the job. So, although I don't have any advance creative writing courses under my belt, my previous career has certainly helped. Generally, I have a concept for the story and just write. Seems to be working OK so far.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

Started out on the north side of Brisbane and that's where I've come to settle now. I've spent plenty of time in other locations during my military career, but there's really no place like home.

What’s the first sentence/line of your latest work?

This is from book two which is about to hit the editing stage with my publisher (so may change). For clarity, I'm gonna cheat and give you the second line as well.

Sixty-four thousand years ago last Monday the final dinosaur succumbed to the ‘extinction’ vogue. Jay Ryan theorised that his legacy continued though through the idiosyncrasies of the habitually annoying employees of Byron Bay’s Road Transport Authority.

What piece of writing do you wish you had written?

I'm always dreaming along these lines so here's a few - Thomas Harris 'Hannibal', Michael Connelly 'Harry Bosch series', Lee Child 'Jack Reacher series', Robert Ludlum 'Bourne series', and I would love to have had my name on the cover of The Da Vinci Code (and the royalty statements).

What are you currently working towards?

Book two is completed and handed into the publisher. Now I'll work on book three to continue the Jay Ryan series.

Complete this sentence… the future of the book is… in the hands of our very talented Aussie authors.

This post is part of the Queensland Writers Centre blog tour of 09. Queensland Writers Centre connects writers with advice, training and professional opportunities. They promote Queensland books and authors throughout Australia.

Book Signing

Recently, I did my first book signing at Angus and Robertson, Brookside, Queensland. I wondered beforehand if I would be able to shift one or two copies. Somehow, I managed to sign 24 copies in a couple of hours and met some fabulous fellow authors who dropped in for support. One, Lynn Priestly, blogged about it - http://lynnpriestley.wordpress.com/

Thanks to Lynn for dropping by and sharing the experience on her blog. Also, thank you to the wonderful satff at Angus and Robertson of Brookside.

Cheers,

JJ