The Author Trap posed a few questions to Keith Dixon about his books and his life as a writer. Let's take some time to get to know this exciting author.
Q: What scenes do you enjoy writing the most?
A: I always enjoy writing dialogue between my sardonic hero, Sam Dyke, and guys who try to push him around. There are several scenes fairly early in the book I’m currently writing where Sam comes across people who don’t like what he’s doing and try to dissuade him from doing it. Those scenes of conflict are fun to write and help define the characters of all concerned. I like getting myself into the heads of my bad guys and I enjoy writing from their perspective almost more from Sam’s. They’re a lot less restrained than he is in what they think and how they express themselves, which means I can let rip.
Q: Do your projects take a lot of research?
A: Altered Life was set in and around a geographical area and in a work environment I knew well, so the research wasn't that onerous. The book I'm writing currently, however, is set partly in a scientific community, and I’m doing my best to create the sense of a group of bright people doing advanced research. It's always difficult when you’re writing about characters cleverer than yourself! But the science stuff is interesting to research, and I’m not writing a documentary, so I need only enough science to make it credible without limiting myself to hard facts when I need to diverge from them for the sake of the plot. In my previous life as a consultant I had the opportunity to work in some science-based organisations so I have a feel for the atmosphere and the type of people who work there—though my bunch are lots worse.
Q: What scenes do you enjoy writing the most?
A: I always enjoy writing dialogue between my sardonic hero, Sam Dyke, and guys who try to push him around. There are several scenes fairly early in the book I’m currently writing where Sam comes across people who don’t like what he’s doing and try to dissuade him from doing it. Those scenes of conflict are fun to write and help define the characters of all concerned. I like getting myself into the heads of my bad guys and I enjoy writing from their perspective almost more from Sam’s. They’re a lot less restrained than he is in what they think and how they express themselves, which means I can let rip.
Q: Do your projects take a lot of research?
A: Altered Life was set in and around a geographical area and in a work environment I knew well, so the research wasn't that onerous. The book I'm writing currently, however, is set partly in a scientific community, and I’m doing my best to create the sense of a group of bright people doing advanced research. It's always difficult when you’re writing about characters cleverer than yourself! But the science stuff is interesting to research, and I’m not writing a documentary, so I need only enough science to make it credible without limiting myself to hard facts when I need to diverge from them for the sake of the plot. In my previous life as a consultant I had the opportunity to work in some science-based organisations so I have a feel for the atmosphere and the type of people who work there—though my bunch are lots worse.
Read more of this interview and find out more about our author Keith Dixon here: http://thebooktrap.weebly.com/author-...