Ask the Author: Andrew Harris
Answered Questions (9)
Andrew Harris
I was researching the life story of Charles Lindbergh. He flew from New York to Paris in 1927 and won a prize of $25,000 for doing so. What would happen if a prize was put up - by the United Nations, for example - for the first commercial airliner to fly around the world non-stop, carrying at least 50 passengers and crew, without using fossil fuels? Human beings work best when there is competition. Could this unlock the technology to reduce carbon emissions? New readers start here...…...
Andrew Harris
There are plotters and pantsers. I'm a plotter. I have a 15 page synopsis of the story with character profiles, detailed plot development and the final scene all written up. My job as the author is to 'add water' and turn the synopsis into a hard-hitting thriller that will be provocative - informative - entertaining. What could be more inspirational than that? Usually the storylines come from articles I've read, speeches I've heard (Rotary is a great source of charismatic speakers) or an overactive imagination
Andrew Harris
I'm writing Book 4 in my Human Spirit Series. It's crime fiction and features the main protagonists from the first three books. Currently the story is in Africa where people have started dying from a mysterious illness. The book is named after the Swahili word for Hope. We all need some of that at the moment.
Andrew Harris
Start writing. That's it. Even if it's no more that 100 words per day, just do it. If you have a voice then express it. Self publishing has some advantages - you may not get rich but you'll not have the frustration of being told what to do.
Andrew Harris
Best thing is that I have full control over what I write. My ideas, my story, my characters. It's cathartic and exciting. It's only when other people get involved does it start to become complicated and hard work. Also I can get the characters saying what I'd like to say in the way I'd like to say it. Eventually they do take on a life of their own and start saying their own things which is amazing.
Andrew Harris
Thankfully not a problem I suffer from. Read through what you've written so far and revise the synopsis. If in doubt, create another character to move the story forward
Andrew Harris
A mad scientist creates a synthetic virus in a lab using DNA and RNA from previous animal viruses that have crossed over into humans. It somehow escapes into society - by accident or on purpose? - and spreads around the world because the authorities aren't alerted in time (and aren't prepared anyway). Pretty scary...
Andrew Harris
I'd go to the world of my first book, The C Clef and bang heads together until we find a cure for cancer. When I published the book in 2016, there were 13 million new cases of cancer in the world that year. The following year it had risen to 14 million. Last year it was 18 million and the number of deaths is rising. Are we doing everything we can to stop this? I don't think so.
Andrew Harris
The Russia House by John le Carre
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