I welcome Alex Shaw to Bloomin’ Brilliant Books today as he shares his Author Influences with us.Alex is the author of the Aidan Snow SAS Thrillers and I will tell you more about the fisrt in the series later. Now, I will hand you over to Alex.

Which authors/books did you like to read as a child?

I read Star Wars graphic novels and then Action Man novels, but the main books I liked to read were non-fiction travel books. I’d learn about new countries and note down phrases in foreign languages.

Were you good at English at school? Did you like it?

I did like English but I think that as I found it a little easy I didn’t try my best. Although I was never the best at spelling.

What genres do you like to read? Have they had an impact on the genre you write?

I only really read crime fiction and espionage thrillers, and funnily enough this is what I write. I think it would be difficult to write in a genre you didn’t enjoy reading.

If you were to write a different genre what would it be and why?

I’ve written one military vampire novel and a few horror short stories, so that would be an area that I may like to write in if I stop writing thrillers.

Did any author’s work encourage you to pick up your pen and write and if so who, what and why?

I was mainly inspired to write by the Gulf War SAS heroes turned writers – Andy McNab and Chris Ryan (Chris Ryan and I now have the same German publisher). I read their books and saw how they weaved their insider knowledge into commercial stories. When I moved to Kyiv I realised that I too had insider knowledge (of Ukraine) and decided to set my stories there.

Are there any authors who, as soon as they publish a new book, you have to get it?

Yes, quite a few. Steve Kavanagh, Lee Child, Stephen Leather, Jake Needham, Tom Wood, Mark Greaney, Jorn Lier Horst and Kati Hiekkapelto.

Which books have you read that have made you think ’Wow, I wish I had written that’ and what was it about the book?

There’s not one particular book I wish I’d written, but Steve Cavanagh’s The Defence was a striking debut novel. I loved the character of Eddie Flynn being both lawyer and conman and having to use both skill sets to survive.

Have any of your plots/characters been influenced by real life events/people? (Be careful, I don’t want you getting sued!)

I have taken some real life events and incorporated them into my stories as I like things to seem believable, and of course political figures appear. Apart from this Aidan Snow shares my initials, height, hometown and we both use to live in the same flat in Kyiv, however I was not in the SAS. A couple of other characters are based on people I know, one I can’t elaborate on but the other is my long term friend and fellow former Kyiv expat Michael Jones, who appears as himself.

Alex’s Aidan Snow SAS Thrillers are out now. The first in the series is called Cold Blood and this is what it’s about:

Aidan Snow thought he could escape his past. But now it’s back, with a vengeance.

Ten years ago, SAS Trooper Aidan Snow was left fighting for his life after a mission went wrong and ever since he has been haunted by the image of the man with green eyes. The man who should have killed him.

Now, Snow is finally living a peaceful life in Ukraine… Until Taurus Pashinsk, the green-eyed man, returns.

As Snow’s past catches up with him he finds himself thrown back into the world of espionage with a vengeance.

About Alex Shaw

Alex Shaw spent the late 1990s in Kyiv, teaching and running his own business consultancy before being head-hunted for a division of Siemens. The next few years saw him doing business for the company across the former USSR, the Middle East, and Africa. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers organisation, the Crime Writers Association and the author of the Aidan Snow SAS thrillers. Alex, his wife and their two sons divide their time between homes in Kyiv – Ukraine, Doha – Qatar and Worthing, England. Alex can be followed on twitter: @alexshawhetman

Alex’s Aidan Snow series can be found in most good bookshops, some odd ones and here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BH3QQ59

Thanks for taking part, Alex. I really enjoyed reading your answers.

I’m thrilled to welcome Ian Skewis to Bloomin’ Brilliant Books today for an Author Influences. I was lucky enough to see Ian at Newcastle Noir earlier this year and I got a copy of his novel  A Murder of Crows. Due to my massive TBR pile I haven’t managed to read it yet but it is on my list so watch this space! Anyhow, I will hand you over to Ian for a brilliant Author Influences.

Which authors/books did you like to read as a child?

The first book I remember reading and really enjoying was The Treasure Hunters by Enid Blyton, which my grandmother bought me. I loved the whole mystery of the story, and much of it was set outdoors in the country — and this echoed my childhood surroundings. Dinosaur books fascinated me too, and I loved the Doctor Who Target books series.

Were you good at English at school? Did you like it?

I was good at English, and in particular creative writing. I always had a fertile imagination — and still do! I was also good at art, but dreadful at anything remotely mathematical!

What genres do you like to read? Have they had an impact on the genre you write?

I mainly write crime but came at it completely new, in that I had no preconceived ideas of how it should be written. I read a lot of crime now, in order to learn from the best. I used to read horror and science fiction when I was young. I still dabble in those genres too. Then, when I was an actor, I moved to literary fiction, and classical and modern stage plays — Shakespeare, Chekhov, Liz Lochhead etc. The genres I read depend on where I am in life. I’ve just finished reading Ian Rankin’s Rather Be the Devil, which is an example of my trying to learn from the best.

If you were to write a different genre what would it be and why?

As mentioned, I also write horror and science fiction, and this is because of my childhood influences. I am still a big Doctor Who fan, and Quatermass And The Pit is probably my favourite fictional story ever. I would like to return to literary fiction though, and I’m hoping to publish some, probably next year. Watch this space, as they say!

Did any author’s work encourage you to pick up your pen and write, and if so who, what and why?

I’ve always written stories, and, to be honest, I was more influenced by music and film than by other authors. Sometimes I would hear a song or watch a film and then wonder what would happen if it went a different way. Alan Moore’s comic book series, Swamp Thing, was an early influence on my work. Other writers always inspire me though, simply because the act of writing is such a huge undertaking. No matter how famous or unknown a writer may be, their ability to get to the finish line with their work is always admirable, and I’m fascinated by how they got there and what inspired them to do so.

Are there any authors who, as soon as they publish a new book, you have to get it?

Ian McEwan for one, and Kate Atkinson for another. I had the pleasure of travelling to St Petersburg with Kate many years ago. However, I’ve been so caught up in crime writing that I’ve fallen behind with their latest works — they’re still sitting unopened on my bookshelves! My TBR list seems to grow bigger every day, so it’s increasingly difficult to keep up to speed with what everyone else is writing — but I try.

Which books have you read that have made you think ‘Wow, I wish I had written that’ and what was it about the book?

There are so many amazing works out there, but I am happy with what I write and hold no envy for other people’s work. If anything, it would be their ability and not the work itself that I would wish to emulate. The craft is what it’s all about for me. I write what I want to write and hope that it finds an audience. I loved Atonement by Ian McEwan though. And Life Of Pi too. They both centre on the healing process that fiction and storytelling can give, and they both do it in very surprising ways. Brighton Rock is another great piece of work, with both the novel and the film versions giving entirely different but equally amazing endings. The crime genre is such a good broad genre though, that you can tackle pretty much anything and still fit it into the category of crime writing. It was the main reason I chose to be an author instead of an actor — it gave me a much bigger palette to work with. However, it’s beginning to look as if I will be returning to some form of acting in the near future. Again, watch this space!

Have any of your plots/characters been influenced by real life events/ people? (Be careful, I don’t want you getting sued!)

My debut novel stemmed from a disturbing experience I had as a child, (see my website for more on this) but none of the details are present in the book, though the dark mood of that day is very much prevalent in the narrative and the environs of the story. As for my other works, it really depends on where I am and who I’m with. Some characters are based on real people, others are entirely fictional. Some are an amalgamation of several individuals, or a projection of myself. It’s a wonder I stay sane with all these ‘voices’ in my head!

Ian’s debut novel A Murder Of Crows is out now. Here is what it is about:

The most violent thunderstorm in living memory occurs above a sleepy village on the West Coast of Scotland. A young couple take shelter in the woods, never to be seen again…DCI Jack Russell is brought in to investigate. Nearing retirement, he agrees to undertake one last case, which he believes can be solved as a matter of routine. But what Jack discovers in the forest leads him to the conclusion that he is following in the footsteps of a psychopath who is just getting started. Jack is flung headlong into a race against time to prevent the evolution of a serial killer…

About Ian Skewis

Ian Skewis was born in Scotland in 1970.

He wrote articles for a local paper and had his first poems published at the age of 19. He trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and became an actor, appearing on film and television, and providing his voice for radio. He performed in numerous stage plays that toured internationally, including Like Thunder, which received a Fringe First Award in 2001. He is the author of several short stories, including Inkling, which was published in an anthology, The Speculative Book, in 2016. His debut novel, a psychological thriller entitled A Murder Of Crows, was published by Unbound in 2017. It went on to become a multiple No.1 Best Seller on Amazon. He is currently working on his second novel, as well as numerous other projects.

He lives and works in Glasgow.

LINKS:

Ian Skewis can be contacted via his website and you can receive exclusive news and previews of his latest works by subscribing to his forthcoming newsletter. The first issue comes on 31 October 2018 with a FREE short story: https://www.ianskewis.com

He also hosts a Facebook page called The Crow’s Beak:

Follow Ian on Twitter:

Thank you for taking part, Ian. I really enjoyed reading your responses and look forward to reading A Murder Of Crows soon.

I am really pleased to be welcoming Marilyn Bennett, author of Granny with Benefits, Mummy with Benefits and soon-to-be published Reap, to Bloomin’ Brilliant Books today to talk about her author influences.

Which authors/books did you like to read as a child?
Judy Blume was my hands down favourite author as a child. She created characters that actually felt like real teens, who had problems and posed questions I could directly relate to.

Were you good at English at school? Did you like it?
I loved English at school, but I didn’t really recognise that I was good at it back then. I loved storytelling. I think it was definitely the biggest influence on my reading choices, which then developed outside of school.

It was actually when I started actively job-hunting after leaving school that I recognised I had some form of writing skill. I could write a mean job application! This became a key indicator over the years to come that I could spin a yarn!

What genres do you like to read? Have they had an impact on the genre you write?
I like to read commercial fiction. I think my writing has mostly been impacted by film and television, which I love. There is a really direct focus on character and story in film and television that can cut to the chase of the narrative in a way you can’t in books.

The fantastic thing for me about writing novels has been the patience and attention to detail I am still trying to master when creating characters and stories, something that is a given on screen, but not in a book. It’s been a great discipline for me above and beyond writing. I am acquiring an eye and ear for the little details and thought processes that don’t translate on screen, but can make all the difference in a book.

If you were to write a different genre what would it be and why?
If I were to write a different genre it would be a dark thriller. Since writing my novels I have come to realise, quite unwilling mind you, that I’m a little bit twisted as a storyteller. It’s been unnerving and amusing in equal measure! I start off writing a quite straightforward romance and then it just veers off into slightly darker territory.

I’d love to write a straightforward romance, like a cat and a dog running a tea shop in a beautiful coastal town that fall in love. I know that’s got all the hallmarks of being a successful romance book, but without fail by the end of the book the dog would have his paw in the till and the cat would be having sexual assignations with the fox behind the post office. It’s just how my brain works!

Did any author’s work encourage you to pick up your pen and write and if so who, what and why?
I wasn’t influenced by another author’s work to start writing purely because my intention for all of my novels to date was to write them as scripts. It came as complete surprise to me when I decided that they worked better as novels. I knew nothing about writing novels.

This all started as a means to finding and doing something that meant I could be creative completely on my own terms. It’s been scary and lonely at times, but I’ve still loved every minute of it.

Are there any authors who, as soon as they publish a new book, you have to get it?
This happens to me more with films, because falling in love with cinema in my teens unfortunately put books on the subs bench for a few decades, so Abbie I’m playing catch up!

Which books have you read that have made you think ’Wow, I wish I had written that’ and what was it about the book?
I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl as a child. I come from a working class family and we lived on a large estate in Hackney. The book at the time was a rags to riches tale that fulfilled my dreams of life with endless chocolate and no poverty.

I was in awe of Roald Dahl’s ability to combine his incredible vivid imagination with real empathetic characters.

Have any of your plots/characters been influenced by real life events/people? (Be careful, I don’t want you getting sued!)
Not yet, but I’m sure they will one day, so I will have to tread very carefully!

A huge thank you for taking part, Marilyn. I really enjoyed reading your answers and I found them really interesting as I think we sometimes forget – well, I do – that film and scriptwriting can be an aid to novel writing, if that makes sense?

About Marilyn Bennett

Marilyn is a Television Production Consultant and has worked in the broadcasting industry for 24 years.

http://www.marilynbennettauthor.co.uk

Marilyn’s Books

Granny with Benefits and Mummy with Benefits are both out now. Here is what they are about:

Grace is thirty-nine and not remotely convinced that life begins at forty.

When her grandmother dies she volunteers to pick up her belongings from the sheltered accommodation. It is the last place she expects to have a chance encounter with the first man she has been instantly attracted to in a very long time, particularly as she is dressed almost head to toe in her grandmother’s clothing and accessories.

Grace’s granny alter ego elicits a conversation with the man about love, death and the universe, which she is convinced would not have happened otherwise. This inspires her to throw caution to the wind and turn what should have been a simple case of mistaken identity into a dating introduction opportunity for the real her. A decision which sets Grace on a rollercoaster adventure of lies, secrets and lust, making her thirty ninth year one she won’t forget, but might well regret…

Wishes do come true… so be careful what you wish for!

Life appears to have taken a rather positive turn for Grace. She is now working her socks off in a job she enjoys and has quite possibly met the man of her dreams. But there’s just one snag, she’s pregnant and the baby is definitely not his. In fact, she is not acutally sure who the father is.

So when she reluctantly has to dress up as her granny alter ego for one last time, it can only spell trouble. Grace is forced to confront her bad timing, bad luck and suitably questionable choices all head on.

Marilyn’s latest novel, Reap, is due to be published in spring 2019 (I can tell you it’s a cracker!).