Why did you start writing? Was there a specific moment when you decided to put pen to paper or words to a screen?
Writing has always been a passion of mine. The problem for me was that I didn’t know what writing style I would be good at whether it was poetry, short stories and what type of genre I would be good at. As it turns out, writing The Winds of Change was one of my best decisions that I made. BLKDOG has certainly given me the confidence to write more books in the future.
What has been your hardest challenge this year?
I would be lying if I said working in the NHS here in Wales in this COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t my hardest challenge this year. Balancing this along with releasing The Winds of Change has been tough but BLKDOG describing the book as ‘the ultimate feel good story’ really did lift my spirits along with giving the book the respect I believed it deserved made 2020 a lot better and worth it.
The book market has never been so tough as it is now. What advice would you give to aspiring authors to stand out from the crowd?
Have passion in your own writing and let your mind flow with imagination. Remember that it is your world that you are creating through fiction and you want to invite readers into that world and feed their curiosities.
What’s been your favourite book that you’ve read this year?
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer
Other than your own, which BLKDOG title would you recommend?
I have to say that Diary of a Vigilante by Shaun Curtis looks very appealing to me.
A mystery basket turns up on your doorstep. Would you prefer it contained a dog or a cat?
100% a Dog. Dogs are very loyal, playful and have great personalities no matter what breed they are.
Do you have a book in your mind that you know you’ll probably never actually write?
Probably science fiction books. I admire any author who manages to write a good science fiction book, but I would not know where to start or how to set out a structure of the actual story. That being said, I can never rule out writing such a book, but I would rather do it collaborating with someone else who knows more about science fiction rather than do it on my own.
Which famous author do you most admire?
C.S. Lewis. What a brilliant mind and imagination to write The Chronicles of Narnia series. Very powerful and gripping.
Which book have you read which you feel deserves much more acclaim that it has received?
I think The Tudor Age by Jasper Ridley deserves a lot more acclaim. I am one of those who believes that you can’t define your own future without learning from the past.
One of your books suddenly sells a million copies, how do you react?
I’d probably need to be hospitalised first before recovering from the actual shock!
On a serious note, I would probably just carry on with life as normal as I could in regards to writing more books. I’m not one for buying flash cars or big houses even though they all look stunning. However, I would not say no to a nice bungalow with a small holding either in the countryside or near the sea (or even both).
The only difference is that I would have control of my own destiny and that is far more important to me than heavy spending and getting into unnecessary debt just to show off to other people.
Keiron Austick is the author of The Winds of Change: Making Peace with Asperger's. For more information on that title or to buy a copy click here.