Ask the Author: Brian Salter
Answered Questions (9)
Brian Salter
The last thing I saw was my alarm clock flashing 12:07 before she pushed her long rotting nails through my chest, her other hand muffling my screams. I sat bolt upright, relieved it was only a dream, but as I saw my alarm clock read 12:06, I heard my closet door creak open.
Brian Salter
Mostly non-fiction on photoshop techniques. I am putting together collections of photos I have taken in China, Philippines, Saudi Arabia etc - especially using photo-manipulation techniques that simply weren't an option ten years ago.
Brian Salter
Not so much a mystery, more experience in one of the places I have worked. I have already written one (under pseudonym Sabrina Terl) about my time in the BBC; I have ideas that spring from my time working in Saudi Arabia and in China. Watch this space...
Brian Salter
Stop writing immediately. For me, my best thoughts often come to me around 3 in the morning, so I used to keep paper and pen beside my bed to jot down ideas. I don't do that nowadays. Instead I make myself do something completely different from what I am writing about, and when your mind is relaxed, ideas just keep popping up out of nowhere.
Brian Salter
For me it's a good way of clarifying my thoughts within a particular subject area. You can only write a good book if you're thoughts are logical; and that exercise often makes the fascination of a particular subject or topic come alive in a way that is difficult to explain. You also feel a great sense of accomplishment when it's done.
Brian Salter
Only write if you WANT to write. Do it because you enjoy it; but stop if it becomes a chore. Certainly don't even think about doing it to make a good income. The chances are you won't. But the sight of one of your books appearing on the shelves of a book shop gives a great buzz. (My greatest buzz in this respect was travelling to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and seeing three of my books in a book shop.) Don't worry about what others think. Do it because you have to.
Brian Salter
I am currently working on the second in a long-term series of books about tart (hooker) cards found around the world. Tart cards are an interesting subject on social history that came into their own in the 1980s and are slowly petering out now thanks in main part to social media. They are NOT pornographic, but instead give an interesting picture on how the world's oldest profession purports to market itself. My first volume looked at the tart cards in Macau. This second volume details cards and stickers found in Beijing. Future volumes will include London, Las Vegas, Barcelona, Dubai, Tel Aviv, and so on.
Brian Salter
I used to write business books based on what various publishers thought would sell well. But my later books, which are mainly travel related, get me fired up much more. Nowadays I will only start on a book if it is something that excites me as I tell my friends about the particular subject I am writing about.
Brian Salter
I worked in Beijing for 7 years and during that time took literally thousands of photos, not even thinking at the time that I'd use them for books. But so many people asked me questions about my experiences in China that a book seemed inevitable, followed by another... and yet another! So far I've written seven books about Beijing.
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