Andrew P. Weston
Question:
Let’s
start with what’s next. Rumor has it that you have another book on the horizon
called Guardians. Can you tell us the
timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
Answer:
Certainly. All being well, Guardians, book 2 of the Guardian
series, is due mid October. There might be a small delay due to an unexpected and
ongoing illness my regular editor has suffered, but the team is sure we should
be on track for the October deadline.
As for a teaser:
Cradling her head, President Vivian Becknell, the first
woman ever elected to that office, looked back on the way her day had started.
She had been enjoying a particularly restful dream. In it,
she was just sixteen years old again and was reliving a day at the beach with
her grandparents, sadly taken from her some fifteen years previously. Suddenly,
the scene had vanished as she was forcibly snatched from the joyous reunion by
a shaking, roughly administered to her by her personal Secret Service Agent,
Christopher Joplin.
Trying desperately to hold onto the dream, she was
momentarily bewildered as to her surroundings.
“Ma’am, you have to come with me.”
“Huh? What?” she replied, squinting from the glare of the
light shining into her bedroom from the corridor. “Chris, what’s the damned
time?”
He became more insistent, “Its six-thirty, Madam President,
you have to come with me now. This is urgent.”
Sitting up slightly and moving away from her husband lying
next to her, she replied, “Just give me a few minutes to make myself
presentable and I’ll…”
“I’m sorry, Madam
President,” Christopher cut in, looking awkward, “There’s no time. She says if
you don’t come now, she’ll drag you out herself.”
Suddenly, Vivian’s attention became much more focused and
her fiery, no-nonsense African heritage asserted itself. Raising her hand to
cut out the glare from the doorway, she looked the agent in the eye and
demanded, “What did you say? Who said she’ll drag…”
“I did! And I mean what I said!” a woman’s voice rang, full
of authority.
The President looked toward the corridor as her bodyguard
straightened and stiffened, obviously uncomfortable about the situation.
A silhouette belonging to an imposing woman filled the
entrance. Although she couldn’t see her features, the President was able to
make out the eyes. Eyes that were shining brightly with some sort of inner
luminosity!
A Guardian, she thought,
what’s a Guardian doing here?
Hearing her thoughts, the Guardian replied, “Stop farting
around in bed and you’ll find out. Now get out here, or I’ll start making the
decisions for you. We’ll all be in the Green Room.”
The Guardian turned and strode away, but the bedclothes
moved of their own volition and Vivian Becknell felt herself lifted into the
air, only to be deposited unceremoniously onto her feet moments later.
Vivian had barely been in office for a year, having ridden
to success on the back of the “Anti-Guardian” brigade, so she was in no mood to
be told what to do by those she felt were a law unto themselves.
Gathering herself together, she grabbed a robe from behind
the door and made her way to the Green Room, together with her ever-present
Secret Service detail. Her anger rose with each step. Who the hell does she think she is, summoning me to the principal’s
office like she owns the place?
Christopher Joplin was at her side and opened the door ahead
of her. When she entered, she came up short, the wind taken out of her sails.
Inside, she found several Chiefs of Staff and Jack Balotelli, her personal
advisor. All of them had obviously been roused only minutes earlier and were in
various states of undress.
In amongst them all were four Guardians who appeared to hold
high rank.
Before Vivian could gather her thoughts, the woman who had
summoned her turned from speaking with Jack Balotelli and came striding towards
her, together with two men she didn’t recognize.
Seeing her clearly for the first time, Vivian felt instantly
intimidated.
At close to six feet tall and with the lithe body of a
panther in human form, the Guardian stalked towards the President with the
bearing of someone clearly in charge. Her long, dark hair was swept to one side
in a no-nonsense plait, and her expression was businesslike and serious. As she
drew closer, the president felt her teeth begin to throb, and her eyes began to
water.
Cursing any sign of weakness, she began to let rip, “Who the
hell do you think you are telling me what to…?”
“Madam President,” Jack Balotelli interjected, raising his
hand to deflect her ire, “You need to listen to what she has to say.”
The Guardian calmly waited for her to fight down her anger,
clearly unimpressed by the posturing. Then she introducing the NASA specialists
who were able to confirm the news she was delivering. Vivian Becknell listened
in silence, took a deep breath and then began pinching herself on the arm, hard
enough to cause bruising.
A raised eyebrow from the Guardian caused her to confess.
“Just checking, I was hoping I was still dreaming and that I’d wake up!”
How important have your social media relationships been? Do you see
a carry over to your writing success?
Answer:
I think social media is an extremely important aspect about being
an author. It’s a medium through which you can interact with your fans, and
build relationships. I’ve noticed a number of very well known authors who have
very active ‘chat rooms’ that are well supported. When your readers see there’s
a human face behind the print, and that you actually speak with them, well, it
pays dividends. And yes, I do see that interaction spilling over into my
success. A healthy number of my fans have gone on to buy all of my books, even from different series.
Question:
Do you do book signings,
interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the
next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your
personal contacts online?
Answer:
Yes, I love to make personal
appearances and take part in book signing events. Why? Because it brings me
into direct contact with my readers, and lets them see how crazy I am. When
they see I’m totally normal – if somewhat eccentric – it really warms them to what
it is I’m trying to achieve, ie, creating stories that entertain people and
keeps them coming back for more.
Additionally, living as I do in
Kos, Greece, it allows me to establish a presence where I wouldn’t otherwise
find it. Appearing in local bookshops and newspapers, etc, brings me to the
attention of the holiday firms proliferating the island, and that, in turn
opens doors of opportunity with the thousands of holidaymakers visiting the
island each year. (Hoorah for me J ).
Question:
What inspires you to write in the
genre that you currently write in? Do you see yourself venturing out into other
genres?
Answer:
I naturally seem drawn to
sci-fi/fantasy and paranormal adventures. Growing up as I did in the 60’s, the
world was enthralled by the space race. It was on everyone’s lips year after
year, especially as we came up to the first moon landing. I was also heavily
influenced by the Gerry Anderson franchise, by the Marvel / DC comics, and
programs like the Twilight Zone. Having read every single science fiction book
in the library, I think it was only natural I ended up adopting what I love.
To be honest, I don’t think
there’s a real need to step outside those genres to get a great story. Think of
the scope you can achieve. Sci-fi/fantasy and paranormal themes can – and do –
include romance. Action/adventure. Thrillers. Aspects of horror. And with the
advent of steam punk, you can even involve characters from history…(As I’ll be
doing in my next major novel). So, no! I think I’ll stay where I am. I seem to
be making a name for myself now. I’m improving and attracting fans who like my
style.
Question:
What has your experience in the
publishing industry been like?
Answer:
Up and down. I was fortunate
enough to attract the attention of a great publisher, (Pagan Writers Press).
They’re a smaller publishing house out of Houston, Texas, who operate a great
team. They’ve been very supportive of my work and have helped me improve an
awful lot as a writer.
The one downside with smaller
publishers is the fact that you don’t get the corporate clout associated with the major houses. I still work
full time, so have to fit my writing and editing in around my shifts. I also
have to try and fathom out how best to attract publicity, advertising,
promotions, etc. And as I’ve found out, that’s really difficult, as it takes a
great deal of time to target your limited resources in the right way.
Question:
What writer support groups do you
belong to? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?
Answer:
I’ve only recently started looking
into publicity and marketing services. Working every day tends to limit my time
to do things, so, I’m waiting to see how helpful they actually are. I’ll get
back to you on this one J
Question:
Between your book writing,
marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you
manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do your sort of play it by ear?
Answer:
I have to be very strict with
time. Fortunately, I come from an extremely disciplined background, and make
sure I keep to a flexible schedule I devised that fits around my work shifts.
Basically…I have no life. Ha!
Question:
What has been the most rewarding
moment during your writing career? The worst?
Answer:
Most rewarding? Having a fan write
to me to express how much one of the characters – Augustus Thorne, from the
Cambion Journals – moved them. I was so delighted to hear that, as I’d spent
months creating an individual who needs to get under the readers skin. To discover
he’s doing that is extremely satisfying.
The worst? Not being able to go
full time. I want to do this for a living. I want an office. (Sais me throwing
teddy out of the pram). Then you’ll
see a change.
Question:
Looking back on your career in
writing, is there anything you would change or do different?
Answer:
I think I’d make more effort to
get an agent. But it’s extremely difficult to get your foot in through the
door, as thousands of other authors have discovered. It’s not until you start
to find your feet that you realize just how much work goes on behind the
scenes. Agents can start that process for you, finding the houses with the oomph to get all the publicity,
advertising, promotions, etc, completed as part of the process. It would be
wonderful – even now – just to come home and know all I need to concentrate on
is being creative, and getting it down in writing.
Question:
What inspired you to write your
first novel?
Answer:
Life experience. Thirty years in
the military and as a police officer certainly brought the harsh reality of
life home to me. All the suffering. All the tragedy. For years, I’d always
wondered what it would be like to be able to respond to disasters more swiftly.
What would it be like to have the technology to actually undo much of the
suffering caused? Even anticipate and prevent it in the first place! Add that
to the fact I grew up in the 60’s, as already mentioned, and it’s no wonder my
thought process led me along a sci-fi/fantasy angle of devising a reply. That’s
how the Guardian’s were born. Thirty years of life experience, fed on a diet of
Thunderbirds, X-Men, and Star Wars etc.
Question:
When you are writing, what is that
process like? Lots of noise or deathly quiet? Marathon sessions of typing or
sporadic spurts of pages?
Answer:
For me, it has to be silence. I
absolutely churn the work out then. I don’t mind good music when I’m doing my
research, but for the actual creative/typing part…quiet please!
My sessions vary on the shift I’m
working. Even when I’m busy, I’m always jotting ideas down to make the plot
better.
Question:
What has the reaction from your
friends and family been like since you became published?
Answer:
Strangely mixed. My wife is
quietly proud, and never talks about it in front of me. (That’s great! It helps
me keep my feet on the ground and spurs me on to keep working hard until my
skill level catches up with my concept level). My children think it’s cool that
their dad is an author…although they don’t go on about it either! (Crushing
eh?) J
The biggest reaction has been from friends. Some wear Guardian or Cambion t-shirts and other paraphernalia all the time. Then I get embarrassed. Then I tell myself off, because after all, aren’t we in this business to become known?
The biggest reaction has been from friends. Some wear Guardian or Cambion t-shirts and other paraphernalia all the time. Then I get embarrassed. Then I tell myself off, because after all, aren’t we in this business to become known?
One of most awkward moments was
when a family from the UK, on holiday in Kos, stopped and stared at me. The
father had read Guardian Angels, and the kids had too. They recognized me from
the website, etc, and started pointing and nudging each other to come and talk
to me. I didn’t know where to look. Aaaargh!
Me? I just make sure not to go on
about what I do in front of friends. They know J
Question:
Please share all your contact
information for social media and links to your books.
Answer:
Website: www.andrewpweston.com
Blog: http://andrewpweston.blogspot.gr/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WestonAndrew
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-P-Weston-Author/102335216581151?ref=hl
LinkedIn: http://gr.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-weston/4b/256/64a
Blog: http://andrewpweston.blogspot.gr/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WestonAndrew
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-P-Weston-Author/102335216581151?ref=hl
LinkedIn: http://gr.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-weston/4b/256/64a
Buy links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Buy links: Amazon US
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