I’m a late blooming writer. Not because I didn’t want to write earlier in life, but because I was too busy putting bread on the table. I admire writers who do both, but I’m single minded by nature.

Pete Barber – 9 November 2014

The Back Flap

Love is a dangerous drug. Lab assistant and avid climber Amber Wilson is no stranger to risk. But she feels invisible around her handsome boss, Mark, until she accidentally doses him with an irresistible aphrodisiac that leaves him with a suicidal hangover. Abruptly fired, Amber and Mark partner up to research the source of the drug—a rare New Zealand mushroom—in hopes of refining it for safe use. On their way to New Zealand to collect fungi samples, Amber is blindsided by a deep and intense romantic connection with Mark. Their new business plan is endangered by ruthless Maori mobsters who control a mushroom scheme they’re killing to protect. As the body count rises, Amber struggles to salvage her and Mark’s dreams, but when she risks her heart and acts alone, both of them could end up paying the ultimate price.

About the book

What is the book about?

What happens to a 30-something lab technician when she stumbles across a mushroom that makes a man fall instantly in love.

When did you start writing the book?

A couple years ago.

 How long did it take you to write it?

About twelve months.

 Where did you get the idea from?

I wrote two thousand words one afternoon about a woman getting stage fright at the office Christmas party. While she’s hiding out in a stall in  the women’s restroom, trying to convince herself to go back and face the crowd, a couple colleagues (bitches) come into the bathroom and start mouthing off about her ugly dress (it really was a bad wardrobe decision—just sayin’)!  So she has to escape, and that’s when she knocks over the box of love-mushrooms. And that, as they say, is how the story goes.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

The middle. I hate middles!

What came easily?

The action sequences. I love writing action! Oh, and the interaction between Amber–the main character–and Mark, her pretty decent looking (in an outdoorsy kinda-way J) boss.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

All made up, just like the story–Magic Mushroom—Pah! Who ever heard of those?

 We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I’m a sorry example of an author, because I don’t remember names. For the last couple years I’ve mostly read indie works. I remember stories that resonated with me (I can’t forget them), but I’d have to look up the author’s name. I honestly believe that I learn from every book I read, although nowadays I’m tougher to please–I just can’t turn off that internal editor in my head.

 Do you have a target reader?

This is my first foray into a romance genre, so I hope the story will resonate with women readers. My main character, Amber, is mid-thirties. A strong woman, a little head strong at times, but I really like her.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I write my characters into impossible situations and then walk around the house bumping into walls until I work out how to extricate them. Then I get them outta trouble and repeat.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

Well, I guess we’ve covered that. I have made major strides in this regard, though. Lately, I’ve stopped feeling guilty about not plotting. As my ol’ mom used to say: “You can’t help trouble.”

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

Here I do have a system (puffs out his chest). I start with what I wrote the day before–edit, smooth, add or chop, and insert the ideas that I scribbled at two in the morning on the pad I keep beside the bed–why is it always 2 a.m.? Once I’ve caught up with yesterday’s words, I write the new stuff. Like sweeping slush up a hill, I get it so far, then the next day it’s slopped back down, and I have to push it back to where I stopped before I can climb higher.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Anything without words. I’m a sucker for lyrics and can’t switch them off.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I submitted to Red Adept Publishing. That’s all. I liked their business model. They actually read the manuscript, which said to me that they’re looking for a novel that fits their publisher profile.  They said yes, and I’ve learned so much during the production process, I couldn’t be happier. If they’d said no, I’d have hired editors and self-pubbed.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

I did a bunch of agent-query on a previous book. But when I sat down and analyzed the process, I honestly couldn’t find any financial motivation for an agent to pick up my work, regardless of how good it might be. How could they justify taking a chance on me? I have no ‘platform’ and I’m old-ish (and occasionally ornery). So I decided to stop worrying them

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?

Red Adept used Streetlight Graphics for the cover. It was a quick and painless process. I like the end result. I think it positions the story (much of the tale takes place on a tropical island, and a white ship is important to narrative), and the colors and the title pop!

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

This is my first blog tour. After this, I’ll work with Red Adept to get the book as much visibility as I can. First thing, though, is to raise the review profile. I have the title enrolled in Choosy Bookworm’s read and review program. This gives readers free books and gets authors honest reviews–well worth checking out: http://choosybookworm.com/select-free-ebook-read-review/

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

I spent seven years to get to this level of expertise. If you want to judge whether the time was well spent, Love Poison is only a click away J. Here are my four things every new aspiring author needs to know:

1. Learn to explain things as a list because people pay more attention to lists J.
2. Write a lot of words. Most of the words I wrote in the first three or four years weren’t very compelling. But I’m still using many of those ideas, just expressing them better. No word is ever wasted—if a sentence sucks, don’t do it again. If it’s good, it’s yours to keep for the right moment like an unspent bullet.
3. Read. I read far more now than I ever did before I started writing—forty or more books a year. I watch a lot less TV, too. I don’t think that’s worth its own place in the list because it’s just a consequence of not having time. I still watch Modern Family and Big Bang Theory, though. A writing obsession is okay, but you have to keep it real, dude!
4. Compelling storylines mean a lot, but without good mechanics, they won’t hold a reader. I learned about writing mechanics from the online critique group I belonged to. I used Scribophile, there are plenty of others, but here’s the thing–it forced me to put my work in the public domain. Even though I was scared to death at first. Heck it is really scary. Especially when you see other work posted by people who can really write, and your only constructive comment is, “Wow! This was great, why aren’t you published?” Of course, you know they’re going to take one look at your piece of amateur yuck, and barf, or laugh until their sides split. But the crits I received taught me a lot. Those great writers gave me pointers, and links to places where I could learn. Not everyone was nice, and the criticism, most valid, some not, hardened me to accept those cutting comments that will continue to go with the territory, because we can’t please everyone.

About You

Where did you grow up?

In the port city of Liverpool, England.

Where do you live now?

Close enough to North Carolina’s mountains to see them every day, but far enough away that I don’t ever need snowshoes in the winter.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I’m a late blooming writer. Not because I didn’t want to write earlier in life, but because I was too busy putting bread on the table. I admire writers who do both, but I’m single minded by nature. For example, I had to stick my chewing gum under the desk while I wrote this post (I’ll get that later. It’ll taste better for the brief airing).

My story is simple: seven years ago, I put my mind to becoming a writer, and I’ll probably die trying to write a story that I’m totally happy with.

What are you working on now?

Despite my protestations about never plotting, last year, while I was researching  a story idea, I stumbled upon (just like my protagonist in Love Poison) not a magic mushroom, but a website written by and for military spouses who are struggling with the fallout of PTSD and TBI in their returning warrior husbands and partners. I was so moved by their plight that I’ve written a fictional story that, I hope, makes their struggles more understandable for non-military readers. The draft is scheduled for editing in November. I hope to publish in spring, 2015.

End of Interview:

Get your copy of Love Poison from Amazon US (paper or ebook) or Amazon UK (paper or ebook).

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