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BILL WARD: THERE ARE MANY GREAT INDIE AUTHORS
Bill Ward published his second book Encryption in February. It’s a fast paced thriller. The reviewers find a lot of common things between Bill Ward and Michael Crichton. In the following interview another talented indie author speaks about how he transformed from IT specialist to a successful writer.
– Bill, What is your last book Encryption about?
– In a small software engineering company in England, a game changing algorithm for encrypting data has been invented, which will have far reaching consequences for the fight against terrorism. The Security Services of the UK, USA and China all want to control the new software.
The Financial Director has been murdered and his widow turns to her brother-in-law to help discover the truth. But he soon finds himself framed for his brother’s murder.
When the full force of government is brought to bear on one family, they seem to face impossible odds. Is it an abuse of power or does the end justify the means?
Only one man can find the answers but he is being hunted by the same people he once called friends and colleagues.
– How did you decide to write the story?
– My new thriller Encryption tackles very topical issues. The leaks by Snowden reveal how everything we write is being read by the world’s security services. Encryption will make readers think about our respective governments and the things they do in our name.
While the story is fundamentally a murder mystery it raises important questions about our privacy, the role of the NSA and GCHQ in our daily lives, and what sort of world we want to inhabit.
– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– I had to explain the technical side of Encryption in such a way that non-technical readers would understand.
– Tell us something more about your main character? Is it close to someone from your real life?
– Well the main character is Peter Hammond and he works for MI6 so in truth there are few similarities. I guess I did give him my beliefs with regard to values.
– How much time you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– It took me 6 months from start to finish.
– What may you say about your first book Revenge?
– It’s an action packed crime thriller dealing with terrorism and a number of people seeking revenge for different reasons. It’s fast paced and has a number of twists you won’t see coming.
– Who are you?
– I have spent my life working in IT and lived and worked around the world. At the beginning of 2013 I decided to retire from the corporate world and write thrillers. I had always written bits and pieces but finally had the opportunity to complete a full novel, which was Revenge.
– What are your writing habits?
– I am sat at my compute a large part of the day but my partner runs a business from home and I have a house full of kids so I have a flexible timetable.
– Are you satisfied by the sales of the book and do you plan another one?
I am very happy with the sales numbers but I invest a great deal of time in promoting my books.
– What are you doing to promote by the best possible way your book?
– I have tried to immerse myself in the writing community and support my fellow authors. I contribute to many forums including Facebook, Goodreads, RaveReviewBookClub and many more.
– You’ve got very wise sentence: “Wherever you go you will find good and bad people”. How many years you need to form it?
– I travelled all over the world for my job from my late twenties to my forties and after a few years of being exposed to many different cultures I had formed this opinion.
– Did you ask yourself why you start to write so late?
– I had a very successful but demanding IT career and kids from a young age so I never really found the time to focus on my writing.
– How the English football fans are so much in love for their clubs? Even if they play in Division 5, they will still coming to the stadiums to cheer for them.
– I am a massive football fan and travel 4 hours each way to watch West brom every other week. My Dad took me when I was a kid and I take my children so I guess it’s in our blood from a young age.
– You’ve got seven daughters, how many rifles did you have when they were growing up?
– I have never had any significant problems with any of my children. I have been extremely lucky they are all beautiful, happy and healthy.
– If you may ask yourself one question in the interview what it will be? (Don’t forget to answer)
– Do you think we should take Indie authors seriously? Absolutely. I have read great books by traditionlly published authors and by Indie authors. Many famous authors such as JK Rowling, Stephen King, John Grisham were rejected by publishers multiple times. Today an author in a similar situation is likely to turn to self publishing. There are many great Indie authors!
Check out more about Bill Ward at his Twitter
Look out his books
Encryption
Revenge
YAJNA RAMNATH: I WANT TO CREATE
Yajna Ramnath is our author #25 in the guest interview section with writers. She already established as quality contemporary and romance novelist. Yajna is from South Africa and describes herself as a “lover of the unknown and the incredibly sexy”.
– Lady Ramnath, what is your last book REVENGE (Tales of Dramir Book 2) about?
– REVENGE is the second book in my Tales of Dramir series. It continues from exactly where the first book — RAGE — left off. The series follows twins Atalia and Akiv Vladimir who are on a quest to find themselves. The supernatural contingent believes they’re the strongest vampires out there, but they have no idea just how strong they really are. Revenge continues with the heartbreak, the love between siblings, betrayal and even twisting plots and schemes from an old and new adversary.
– How you decide to write the story?
– It had always been my dream to write a paranormal/urban fantasy. Something about being able to manipulate characters as strong as the supernatural into doing whatever you want them to do—it allures me to that world. I wanted to tell the story of one of the strongest creatures in the world and the struggle it takes to get there, the prices one has to pay for power and the sacrifices that could change your life.
– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– I paid too much attention to writing what I think others would enjoy instead of writing for myself. Once I managed to set my focus on what I wanted out of the story, the writing process became fairly easy. There after it was about getting the events and myths in place.
– Tell us something more about the main characters in your books? Are they close to someone from your real life?
– The bond between Atalia and Akiv represents the bond I have with my sister. We have a really strong relationship. There are no secrets, there is an easy-going vibe between us and most importantly, just like Atalia and Akiv we had managed to overcome many hurdles together. Atalia’s character is a bit of me, although I would never reveal which parts.
Skylar and Kian from Beneath Her Beautiful symbolise those people who have a little bit of good and bad in them. They represent people who aren’t afraid to be who they are. I guess that would describe many of the people in my life.
The rest of my characters usually represent some part of me or parts of people that I have met in life.
– How much time you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– It depends on the story process. I take each day as it comes. If I can only write just a paragraph then that’s all I do. I don’t force the creativity to appear because then the flow of the book becomes rushed. Usually it takes me a month or two to complete a rough draft, and thereafter it’s a fast process from the beta readers and editing.
– Tell us more about your other three works that were published in 2014 – Beneath Her Beautiful, Love in Seattle (Something Like Forever Book 1) and Worthy of Me?
– Beneath Her Beautiful was the first book I published. It was literally a book that wrote itself. There was no planning or rough notes. Names and descriptions of the characters came to me as I wrote. It was a book that caught me by surprise because I had no intention of ever going into the romance genre. But this book made me realise that I’d actually be pretty good at it.
Love in Seattle is a novel that I wrote one day after reading a Facebook status. The status was from a girl that complained about her ex and it made me think about how that would impact on the person reading it. So I started a morbid tale of how airing personal things about others can impact on lives differently almost dangerously.
Worthy of Me is a personal attempt to talk about the impact of parental separation and what it does to children. At the time I wasn’t ready to really express the depth of emotion that the book needed so it turned into a short story, however Mia and Aiden’s story will be retold in the eyes of brand new characters in my upcoming Tortured Love series.
– Who are you?
– I’m a twenty-two-year-old loner. I spend my time reading, scribbling down ideas for new books or designing book covers. I love messing around with technology. I’m an Aquarius with no fashion sense and a love of the colour red. My perfect day out would be relaxing on the beach or at a park with a good book.
– What are your writing habits?
– I must have soft music playing, usually mellow tracks along the lines of Taylor Swift, The Script, Ed Sheeran and many more. I must also have a cup of coffee and a bowl of chips. I like doing extra research and keeping them handy as I write.
– Are you satisfied by the sales of the book and do you plan another one?
– Every author would tell you that they are happy to even sell one book. Do I wish there were more and my book was a best-seller? Definitely. But I am satisfied so far. Yes I have a list of projects that are in the works. A final book in the Tales of Dramir series and the first book in a new series.
– What are you doing to promote by the best possible way your book?
– I am all social networks, I engage with readers and authors and get word out. I take part in lots of giveaways. I have a very hardworking PA who is constantly posting on various book sites about my books.
– How do you find your own style of writing?
– I find it has a variety of voices in it. My writing style adapts to the kind of characters I want to create. So it depends on whether the character needs to tell a sad story, a happy one or is confused.
– What is your routine in constructing an erotic scene in your books?
– Wow, this is kind of tough. It usually depends on the emotions that lead up to that particular scene and what I would like. If I was emotional would I want an erotic scene to be passion filled and all consuming or would I want it to be slow and sensual. It’s all about what I see in my head. However it plays out in my head is how I write it. It’s all by ear with no planning whatsoever.
– South Africa is one of the most interesting places in Earth. How would you describe this part of the planet?
– I would describe it as free. I live in Durban which is known as the warmest city in the province of Kwazulu Natal. Yes there is crime and the norm that comes with almost every country in the world, but we are free. When you walk the streets of the city you can feel the gift of freedom that people fought for twenty years ago. There’s diversity in cultures, there’s a feeling of togetherness.
You may find more about Yajna at her
FACEBOOK PAGE
TWITTER
Check out the books of Lady Ramnath:
Beneath Her Beautiful
Love in Seattle (Something Like Forever Book 1)
RAGE (Tales of Dramir Book 1)
REVENGE (Tales of Dramir Book 2)
Worthy of Me
American Dream (The Erotic Life of Hannah Rai Book 1)
Land Of Books 