1. What does literary success look like to you?

It's something I've often considered - as I'm not sure what the measurement should be. Should it simply be by number of books published? Critical acclaim or commercial success? Topping a bestseller list or being able to stay at the top? Maybe it's longevity and building a body of work, one that becomes a legacy. I'm not sure of the answer, but then that's looking at it from the outside.

For me personally, success is simply for a reader to enjoy my work. For just one reader to have said they love my book, then all of that hard work has paid off. It turns my personal achievement into a success.

2. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

I usually research the next book's themes in detail before I start, while I then continue to research throughout writing, finally often double-checking details during redrafting. A lot of that research may have no direct impact on the plot or characters, or some research may only influence a small section - perhaps just a sentence. But I think context and authenticity are both very important to a story. Plus it gives me an excuse to order another pile of books for my non-fiction and reference library!

3. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?

Well, writing isn't actually my day job. I currently work as a project manager and have done various planning and administrative based jobs. I work on my books around my day job.

Back when I was in school, I was planning to study and train to become a psychologist, specifically a forensic psychologist. I think if I wasn't on the writing path, I'd be working within a forensic or legal role.

4. How do you select the names of your characters?

Sometimes they come immediately when I think of a character; sometimes their name doesn't come until I begin to physically write the story. Perhaps I'll try out a few name ideas while I'm plotting to see whether it fits or not. Some of my main characters originally had different names, but they didn't feel right, so I thought about different names until I found the right one. Maybe it's a bit like naming your children. You think about a lot of names and maybe have a few preferences, or even think you've picked one - but when you finally meet them, you just know which name is for them.

5. What was your hardest scene to write?

It's an interesting question, but I'd have to say I haven't really found any scenes difficult to write. When I'm writing, I'm in the moment and in the heads of the characters driving those scenes.

The difficulty may come when you read the scenes afterwards. I remember when I read back a particularly violent scene towards the end of my first novel, 'Those Crimes of Passion', which was uncomfortable to visualise. There's also a traumatic memory that comes to the surface in my novella 'Alone' that comes to mind.

However, I find hard scenes very positive. I want to get them right, which brings with it challenges. If they might be difficult to read back, it suggests I've achieved it. Some things should always be difficult to write or to read - I think the danger is in us becoming too desensitised.

6. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I'm not sure I can point to a particular experience, but from an early age stories had a profound effect on me. I have loved books and reading for as long as I can remember. I've known I wanted to write from a very young age. Perhaps it's the power of stories rather than language that first influenced me.

I think an appreciation of the power of language is something you develop across a period of years - the ability it has to tell those stories, and has had for millennia. No matter the specific language - be that cravings on cave walls all the way through to our plethora of modern languages - it has been a medium to communicate those stories in a way that people understand, empathise with and relate to. Everything and everyone is a story - I think that's where the power lies and is the reason we will always be in love with them.

7. Do you try more to be original or to deliver what readers want?

I think most writers, or artists in general, probably strive to achieve both simultaneously. If you consider any piece of work that's considered someone's masterpiece, it's been original, compelling and popular.

However, when I'm working on a book, I don't allow either to drive me. I get lost in the story and my characters and try to tell it in the best way I can. I expect if you were to worry too much about delivering something original or how many glowing reviews you might get or striving to write a bestseller, it's not going to work.

The story and characters come first and, when it comes to the later stages and finally releasing it, you hope it's the best piece of work you could have produced at that time. It's the readers who will decide how it's received.

Interviewed by A Limitless Reader - see the post on Instagram.

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