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James P. Sumner

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.jamespsumner.com/

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JPSumner

Genre

Thriller

Member Since

January 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jamespsumner

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Popular Answered Questions

Hi I can't wait to read your stories. My question: do you have inside information on military/detective/weaponry? It seems that your main character and scenes are conveyed well. How do you, as an author, first, come up with ideas for your stories, and second, research/acquire information about particulars for your chosen storylines? Thank you.

James P. Sumner Hi Joanie,

It's lovely to hear from you and thank you for your question!

I admit I have zero inside knowledge - I spend many hours researching the weapo…moreHi Joanie,

It's lovely to hear from you and thank you for your question!

I admit I have zero inside knowledge - I spend many hours researching the weaponry, technology and locations in my novels. I typically verify anything on at least three websites before I'll believe it to be accurate. I then give that information to Adrian Hell!

In terms of how the stories come about, I tend to look at it from the character's perspective. Because the series of novels focus on the life of Adrian Hell, they all loosely follow on from one another. The idea for Crucible took a few months to take shape and is a culmination of a few different ideas that I had.

About halfway through writing any book, I start to think, what comes next? What's the next logical step to take if you were in Adrian's shoes? I try and think of one big idea or plotline that would suit the character, then tame it a little and expand it and find the believable step for Adrian to take that will link the previous book into the next one. I find inspiration in everything. For example, I woke up at 3am one night from a weird dream - the events of which, after some tweaking, formed the storyline for my second book!

I'm currently working on the final draft of the fourth book, which I started planning not long after I started the third one. I plan ahead so I can then guide my current book so to fit in with my idea for the next step in the series.

I find using spreadsheets to be particularly useful when planning a story, as they help me manage the timeline and the events in the book to come.

I hope I've answered your question and I really hope you enjoy my books.

Thanks for getting in touch!

JPS (less)

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Hi James, I've started the Ardian Hell series. I'm a big spy fiction fan. A question. You use the first person narrative perspective, something rare in this day and age. What would you say is the secret to a good first person told story and what does it offer you compared to third person?

James P. Sumner Hi Samuel,

Thank you for your question!

For me, a story told in the first person lives or dies on the strength of the character. The story, in a way, is…moreHi Samuel,

Thank you for your question!

For me, a story told in the first person lives or dies on the strength of the character. The story, in a way, is secondary to the protagonist. Because events in the novel unfold in real time, through the eyes of your main character, you need to develop a strong voice for your hero. The story is told not through narrative, but through inner dialogue and conversation. If the reader isn't invested in your character, they won't care what that character does.

It has its pros and cons compared to the more typical third person perspective, but in my opinion, where it limits a more broader storytelling experience, it provides the reader with a much deeper connection to the character, which, going back to my earlier point, is important because they are what drives the story. Knowing how your character's mind works, how they think, why they make the decisions they make... it makes them more realistic, more accessible and easier to relate to. As a reader, I prefer that over long-winded, scene-setting narrative, so as a writer, I tried to make it a more engaging experience, so the reader felt as if they were ducking bullets alongside Adrian Hell.(less)

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James P. Sumner’s books

Average rating: 4.31 · 10,610 ratings · 706 reviews · 30 distinct works • Similar authors

	True Conviction (Adrian Hell, #1) 3.99 avg rating — 2,270 ratings — published 2014 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hunter's Games (Adrian Hell, #2) 4.36 avg rating — 1,130 ratings — published 2014 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Deadly Intent (Adrian Hell, #4) 4.25 avg rating — 869 ratings — published 2015 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Necessary Kill (Adrian Hell #5) 4.34 avg rating — 819 ratings — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blowback (Adrian Hell #8) 4.33 avg rating — 707 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Devil You Know (Adrian Hell, #9) 4.42 avg rating — 620 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	One Last Bullet (Adrian Hell, #3) 4.43 avg rating — 597 ratings — published 2014 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Adrian Hell Series #1-3 4.37 avg rating — 575 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thicker Than Blood (Adrian Hell #7) 4.56 avg rating — 484 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Good Intentions (Adrian Hell #6) 4.43 avg rating — 410 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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James P. Sumner's Blog

NEW RELEASE INFORMATION

Hi there! I've been thinking of the best way to begin promoting my new book - explain the background of it, what I'm aiming to achieve with it, et cetera. I must admit, I forget about this whole blogging thing sometimes. I figure, if I'm going to sit down and write for an hour, it should be on a book. But I know a lot of authors who swear by blogging as means of communicating with their audience, Read more of this blog post »

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Published on July 28, 2015 04:36

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Series by James P. Sumner

Adrian Hell (10 books)
by

James P. Sumner (Goodreads Author)

4.29 avg rating — 9,508 ratings

James is Currently Reading

James Sumner is currently reading

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Five Parts

by Douglas Adams

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Jan 08, 2015 01:06AM

Quotes by James P. Sumner (?)

“The thing about fights, I mean real fights, is that they’re nothing like what you see on TV. There’s no fancy choreography, no drawn-out, back and forth battle and the sad truth is the good guy doesn’t always win. In reality, they’re quick, scrappy, and brutal, and the winner is quite simply the guy who doesn’t fight fair—at”
― James P. Sumner, True Conviction

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“throw it the man,”
― James P. Sumner, One Last Bullet

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“him”
― James P. Sumner, Blowback

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