Ask the Author: Brian O'Hare
Answered Questions (13)
Brian O'Hare
Yes, thank you, Mogan. I have several for each book provided by the professional artist who does all my covers.
Brian O'Hare
Having read thousands of fiction books, the only way to answer this question is to more or less go with the first book that popped into my head. If I tried to go back over all I have read to make a rational choice, I'd end up a gibbering wreck.
Oddly, the first book that jumped out at me was HG Well's The Time Machine. I would absolutely love to be able to go back to different time zones, not to dwell there and see what the place is like, but to meet some interesting people and bring them to my time in the Machine. It would be an absolute delight to study the faces of people who normally travel by stagecoach sitting beside me in a motor car travelling at 70 mph. Or to see their reaction when I switch on my colour television. Or to see them stare in amazement at an aeroplane in the sky many miles above them.
Our generation has so many wonders to offer. What would our time zone be to someone who has travelled back with me from some 400 years ago? How I would delight in guiding them through it.
Oddly, the first book that jumped out at me was HG Well's The Time Machine. I would absolutely love to be able to go back to different time zones, not to dwell there and see what the place is like, but to meet some interesting people and bring them to my time in the Machine. It would be an absolute delight to study the faces of people who normally travel by stagecoach sitting beside me in a motor car travelling at 70 mph. Or to see their reaction when I switch on my colour television. Or to see them stare in amazement at an aeroplane in the sky many miles above them.
Our generation has so many wonders to offer. What would our time zone be to someone who has travelled back with me from some 400 years ago? How I would delight in guiding them through it.
Brian O'Hare
Thank you for your very kind words, Sahani. It's always nice to hear that someone actually enjoyed something I have written.
There are two other books in the series that you haven't read ... The Doom Murders (that was Book 1) and The Coven Murders (Book 3) ... all stand alone reads like the others.
I couldn't really have given any hint about my next book in The Dark Web Murders because I had intended to take some time off after that. So, I had no idea what I would write next. However, I have had my six month rest and Book 5 is now well under way, The Shadow Murders is my current working title and it starts with the murder of a beautiful young Chinese woman.
Thank you for your question and I hope you will read the other books in the series while you wait for Vol. 5.
Kind regards,
Brian.
There are two other books in the series that you haven't read ... The Doom Murders (that was Book 1) and The Coven Murders (Book 3) ... all stand alone reads like the others.
I couldn't really have given any hint about my next book in The Dark Web Murders because I had intended to take some time off after that. So, I had no idea what I would write next. However, I have had my six month rest and Book 5 is now well under way, The Shadow Murders is my current working title and it starts with the murder of a beautiful young Chinese woman.
Thank you for your question and I hope you will read the other books in the series while you wait for Vol. 5.
Kind regards,
Brian.
Brian O'Hare
How I don’t know, but perplexed and unaware, I found myself wandering, at dusk, through a rough, untended cemetery. Dread stopped my heart as my eyes came to rest on a new gravestone that bore my own name
Brian O'Hare
Intend to spend most of the summer writing after a disastrous winter having the whole house replumbed, refurbished and remortgaged. Got nothing written during the past ten weeks. However, if I get time for some recreational reading it will almost certainly be something by Jo Nesbo. David Baldacci or Lee Child.
Brian O'Hare
I'm afraid my life, from boarding school to work, and from work to retirement has been chracterised by regimen and predictability. No mysteries, no missing relatives, no mysterious happenings of any sort. Sounds horrifically dull ... Yet entering my 80th year I can confirm that I have enjoyed e very moment of it.
Brian O'Hare
Probably Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. I read this book several times as a kid at boarding school, and I cannot forget the intense empathy Austen's writing inspired in me. This love affair may seem almost timorous in today's society but the story remains ever fresh in my mind, and I never fail to make a point of watching each new cinematic version that emerges from time to time.
Loves affairs in my own books are there but very secondary to the the main plot. I have just sent my new book, "The Coven Murders" to my publisher. I'd be happy to answer any questions about it.
Loves affairs in my own books are there but very secondary to the the main plot. I have just sent my new book, "The Coven Murders" to my publisher. I'd be happy to answer any questions about it.
Brian O'Hare
I have been writing most of my adult/professional life without ever having been aware that I was actually writing. I wrote numerous academic articles, many research reports for the Department of Education and for the University of Ulster and never considered myself a writer. I always assumed I was 'explaining' or 'arguing a point'. Only after I retired and almost died (I needed a liver transplant), did the notion of writing come into the picture. I wrote the story of my 'near death' and it was published by a Dublin publisher. A couple of biographies followed that, and suddenly I thought, 'Maybe I'll have a go at fiction.' Fallen Men was my first novel, followed by The Doom Murders. I am currently writing a sequel to the Doom Murders and I am now beginning to wonder if maybe I am a writer. (Fallen Men and The Doom Murders are soon to be published by Crimson Cloak Publishers, Missouri. The 11.05 Killings will appear next year.)
Brian O'Hare
Oddly enough, my first two novels were prompted by very specific experiences. (See my blogsite for details: http://brianohareauthor.blogspot.co.uk/) I'm not sure what prompted The 11.05 Killings. God, this isn a bit pathetic. I seriously don't know what prompted this book One minute I was wondering what I would write next; ta minute or two later, I was already well into my new novel. Go figure!
I think I was toying around with the notion of 'obsession'. My young priest in my first novel (contemporary fiction) suffered psychological trauma (long story...see Fallen Men: http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Men-Stor... ) and obsession was an element of his subsequent psyche. This notion of obsession is lurking behind the events of The 11.05 Killings but that does not become apparent until the end of the book. I seem to remember one night in bed trying to come up with 'a twist' for my new book's ending and a story began to form. I decided to have all of the killings at the same time and then had to find a reason to explain that. Searching for the reason gave me a few scenarios around which to start the book.
I think I was toying around with the notion of 'obsession'. My young priest in my first novel (contemporary fiction) suffered psychological trauma (long story...see Fallen Men: http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Men-Stor... ) and obsession was an element of his subsequent psyche. This notion of obsession is lurking behind the events of The 11.05 Killings but that does not become apparent until the end of the book. I seem to remember one night in bed trying to come up with 'a twist' for my new book's ending and a story began to form. I decided to have all of the killings at the same time and then had to find a reason to explain that. Searching for the reason gave me a few scenarios around which to start the book.
Brian O'Hare
I aam working on a sequel to my first mystery novel, The Doom Murders. http://www.amazon.com/The-Doom-Murder... That book was quite well received, garnered many positive reviews, and won a couple of awards. I had never written a mystery before that but I found the experience enjoyable. The sequel, a murder mystery called The 11.05 Killings, is very different in tone and content to The Doom Murders, but it does retain the characters and locations of the first book.
Brian O'Hare
I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to pretend I know enough to give advice to aspiring writers. But I can say that sometimes writers ask me to read their debut novels and I find that they have little idea of the basics of writing. That's always a huge turn-off. It's like building a house with inferior materials and making do with inadequate tools and equipment. You're going to finish up with a seriously crappy house.
So, I suppose my advice to an aspiring novel writer would be:
Read a lot. Try to understand what is good (or bad) about what you are reading. Understand basic essentials like grammar, punctuation, dialogue, paragraphing, sentence structure. And then, there are the larger issues - character development, plot structure, themes and sub-themes, etc. You do need to know about these things.
Having got that far, I would advise you not to write blindly. Know why you are using long or short sentences, why a particular character is there, why this or that scene should be included (or omitted). Know that there are many different ways to convey information to your reader...telling them directly is probably the least effective. Writing is a skill, and the best way to develop any skill is to practice...letters, blogs, emails..and always be your own harshest critic. Keep analysing what you write; this will help you hone your skill.
After that, you can make a start on your novel.
So, I suppose my advice to an aspiring novel writer would be:
Read a lot. Try to understand what is good (or bad) about what you are reading. Understand basic essentials like grammar, punctuation, dialogue, paragraphing, sentence structure. And then, there are the larger issues - character development, plot structure, themes and sub-themes, etc. You do need to know about these things.
Having got that far, I would advise you not to write blindly. Know why you are using long or short sentences, why a particular character is there, why this or that scene should be included (or omitted). Know that there are many different ways to convey information to your reader...telling them directly is probably the least effective. Writing is a skill, and the best way to develop any skill is to practice...letters, blogs, emails..and always be your own harshest critic. Keep analysing what you write; this will help you hone your skill.
After that, you can make a start on your novel.
Brian O'Hare
I find this question awkward to deal with. I suppose it means, in the broadest sense, what is the best thing about your job? Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. I've seen writers rave about what they do in glowing terms but I find writing something of a chore. As I said before, it's hard work..and yet, it is also a compulsion. I'm always writing something, be it letters to the press, lengthy emails, the occasional blog, or, of course, books. The best thing is always, for me, the finished product. The hard work is done and the revising, no mater how much of it there is, is the best part of the writing. I like the tidying up, the adjustments, the finer brush strokes that come at this time. Yes, I like the revision part. You're working with something you have created. You own it. You can shape it whatever way you wish. That's the best part for me.
Brian O'Hare
I don't believe that this is a genuine phenomenon. When I think back, any period that was a seeming 'block' was just me being too lazy to buckle down. Writing can be hard, sometimes, and you do have to exercise a significant amount of mental discipline to sit down and stress your brain. Sometimes the easiest way out is to say, 'Oh, I've got writer's block. Can't work today.' I've never known a time when, if I put my mind to it, that I couldn't produce something
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