Hello Wordy Wednesday fans - apologies about last weeks rant in place of a fabulous author interview - Luckily you've been spared this week as I have a fabulous author all warm and ready to eat ...sorry all quizzed and ready to share.
Allow me to introduce Dave (everyone knows someone called Dave - this fact is now indisputable as I've just introduced you - see here he is)
Dave Turner to be exact - and he writes things, specifically he has written How to be Dead
" Dave Marwood is trapped in a soul crushing dead end job. He’s in love with his work colleague Melanie and his only friend Gary is a conspiracy theory nut.
His life is going nowhere until he has a Near Death Experience - though Death thinks of it as a Near Dave Experience. He discovers gifts he never knew he possessed and a world he never dreamed existed. A world where the Grim Reaper is a hard drinking, grumpy Billy Joel fan and the undead are bored, lonely and dangerous.
How To Be Dead is the first part in a three novella funny urban fantasy series that tells the story of Death and his office staff protecting humanity from ghosts, zombies, vampires and medium-sized apocalypses.
After a nice cup of tea and a biscuit."
When did you start writing?
After watching ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ when I was 6 years old and thinking “I want to do that!”. I wrote lots of words, sold some screenplays, burned through two literary agents and got no closer to my plan of writing full-time. I’m a big fan of the punk DIY ethos, so in 2013 I decided to set up my own publishing company and release books into the wild myself. I’ve just published Paper Cuts, my second novella.
What 3 things (not including paper, computer, pens) would you like to facilitate a good days writing?
What 3 things (not including paper, computer, pens) would you like to facilitate a good days writing?
Coffee. Biscuits. Crippling self-doubt. Those three things usually mean I end up with some words on a page.
Do you write to a schedule, eg every day or three times a week, set times, etc or do you write as and when the mood strikes?
Do you write to a schedule, eg every day or three times a week, set times, etc or do you write as and when the mood strikes?
Most days I scribble down plots, ideas and jokes until they start to gel into a narrative. Then, once I start the actual word-mining, it’s five days a week until the thing is finished.
Is writing your main source of income, I read lots of articles saying writers make no money, and my readers asked this question a lot! Can you survive on book writing alone? if not, what else do you do?
Is writing your main source of income, I read lots of articles saying writers make no money, and my readers asked this question a lot! Can you survive on book writing alone? if not, what else do you do?
No. I have a day job in London. The bonus is I get the commute to write and read for a few hours a day. I’m 40 next year and the plan was to be self-sufficient through writing by then. I’d better get moving.
What are your favourite biscuits?
What are your favourite biscuits?
The Chocolate Hob Nob is humanity’s crowning achievement.
What's your favourite tipple and have you ever followed Ernest Hemmingway's advice to 'write drunk, edit sober’?
Whatever wine is on sale in the supermarket. I’ve written sober and edited drunk. It’s certainly less effective than Hemingway’s approach.
Where do you do most of your writing?
On the train with large businessmen elbowing me. It concentrates the mind.
What book are you reading at the moment?
What book are you reading at the moment?
Mr Nice, the autobiography of legendary dope smuggler Howard Marks. It’s a bit of an eye opener.
Do you use social media (facebook, twitter, instagram etc) to engage with your audience, do you think it helps sales and do you find it fun or a chore?
Do you use social media (facebook, twitter, instagram etc) to engage with your audience, do you think it helps sales and do you find it fun or a chore?
My work is all digital at the moment, so the internet is the number one tool for my sales and marketing. I originally started testing jokes for the first book on Twitter, so I’m not sure I would’ve ever got round to writing it without it. It’s a great way to keep in touch with readers and other writers and it’s certainly helped sales. You’d think my wife would appreciate the time I spend on it more because, before Twitter and Facebook came along, she was the one poor soul that had to put up with listening to my idiocy.
Do you own an e-reader? and do you prefer to read digital or paper copy?
Do you own an e-reader? and do you prefer to read digital or paper copy?
There’s nothing better than curling up with a physical book on a cold evening, but I do most of my reading on the move. After nearly putting my spine out reading the paperback of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell on the London Underground, my Kindle never leaves my man-bag.
If you could genetically cross and animal with a fruit or vegetable what would you choose and why? I'm currently thinking orange-utan ... just because...and those long arms would be fun on a citrus fruit I think.
A Grape Dane. The companionship of a dog and you can make wine out of him. (another great answer - this is starting to be my favourite question)
If reading and writing were banned, what would you do instead?
If reading and writing were banned, what would you do instead?
Build campfires and tell stories around them.
What's your favourite joke, one that always makes you laugh? or at least crack a wry smile (it can be one of yours or one you've heard)?
What's your favourite joke, one that always makes you laugh? or at least crack a wry smile (it can be one of yours or one you've heard)?
My favourite joke of all time is unrepeatable in polite company. It involves Noddy and an unbelievably offensive punchline.
Thanks for playing Dave - and thanks to you for reading. You can grab Dave's Books via Amazon
Dave Turner is an award winning writer whose work has featured on the websites of BBC News, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Huffington Post and FHM.
In 2011 he won the Best Screenplay Award at London Screenwriters' Festival with his short film script 'Everything You Need'. After selling various screenplays which you will note you have not seen as films at your local multiplex, he created Aim For The Head books to publish his work.
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