Q. Where are you from?
A. Queensland, Australia but I live in Ukraine, Eastern Europe now.
A. Queensland, Australia but I live in Ukraine, Eastern Europe now.
Q. What genre(s) do you write?
- Paranormal, fantasy, horror, thriller.
Q. What genre(s) do you enjoy reading?
- I read everything!
Q. What is the first thing you ever remember writing?
- An essay for school, a story about my summer holidays except I made it exciting with ghosts and goblins. I was eight!
Q. What/Who are your inspirations?
- Who inspires me? Everybody! I’m an observer, and so many ideas come from seeing somebody do some ordinary everyday thing, or I read or see it online or the news channel on TV. The sources are endless really. The what is two things, seeing the story unfold before my eyes (I’m a pantser) and that feeling of wonder, surprise, relief or sometimes even anger when I finish a story. Both are awesome and keeps me writing nearly every day.
Q. Do you have a favorite author(s)?
- Stephen King, Dean Koontz but I read everything and anything. (King? Koontz? This may very well be the reason I enjoy Colin's work so much —J. Snow)
Q. What do you look for in a book? What turns you away from a book?
A great MC (Main Character) can carry a poor story, but it’s plot holes that will annoy me every time. I also really dislike the new age schooled version of authorship where everything has to follow some rule or other, every self-published book these days written by some college educated person are all boringly similar. Sadly, these dime-a-dozen authors also look at others and criticise the lack of conformity. They have no idea! The upside from this is that a GREAT author out there sometimes shines; but sadly, marketing or lack thereof is the maker or killer, not skill, not the art, (insert many bad words . . .) marketing!. I think W Somerset Maughan said it best - “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
Q. What do you prefer to write: short stories, poetry, novellas, novels, essays?
I begin every story as a short story and they develop from there - some I think that will become epic novels turn out only to be novellas and one I thought was probably a novella went on to become a full blown novel. I write as often as I can, nearly every day and produce at least three short stories each week. I can write a first draft 100,000k plus in about 4 - 6 weeks but it requires so much focus and dedication that it becomes debilitating, exhausting both physically and mentally. And then of course comes every writer’s bane - editing!
If I can go back to a previous comment about the new age wordsmith’s of today, I cannot see for the life of me how so many of them ever finish anything they start.They outline, they plan, they painstakingly plot and then they edit as they go. I see comments all the time on social media about taking two years to write a first chapter, then they ask for comments/critiques/alpha/beta readers when they’ve actually got nothing to show! The first lesson of any aspiring writer should just be simply, write your story. Write. Write. Then write some more until it’s finished. Get that first draft out, put it away to mellow then go back after you’ve detached yourself from it and begin the editing. After all then it’s time for seeking opinions or readers, not before.
Oh, and seeing I mentioned social media, how much time do some of these people spend online? They comment about not having enough time to write yet they spend literally HOURS every single day updating their status, making comments and generally, just socialising. I call them “wannabe’s”! You wanna be a writer? Write. Simple. (I love Colin 138% more now. —J. Snow)
Q. Where can we find your work online?
I’m currently the only English Author in the largest Russian based publishing site, Ridero.ru. They distribute to all the well known platforms including Amazon.com, provide a print on demand for those that prefer to hold and read a real book, and they provide a limited range of free services beyond most others plus they pay an unbelievable 85%! A big downside which they are currently fixing, because it is a Russian language website, their search engine has NO provision to recognise the English language, hence, nobody can find my books! Or me! Thankfully I am using them mostly for their distribution service, not for direct sales.
Book List
Short Stories to Read on a Bus, a Car, Train or Plane (or a Comfy Chair Anywhere!)
A little dark, a little romance, at times deep, a little devilish and thought provoking but always taking you somewhere… Be careful though because maybe that somewhere is a place where you won’t want to be alone!
Purchase:
VIVIENNE - Just an Ordinary Housewife No More
Vivienne was a just a normal housewife from a little suburb on Australia’s Gold Coast until a near disastrous accident uncovered some latent powers that she’d never known was within her. The Police can’t catch her so they invite a living legend from The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to help. Unfortunately, a serial killer also learns about her and wants Vivienne and her power. Everybody wants her. What does Vivienne want? Just to be normal again…
Purchase:
Amazon
Vivienne was a just a normal housewife from a little suburb on Australia’s Gold Coast until a near disastrous accident uncovered some latent powers that she’d never known was within her. The Police can’t catch her so they invite a living legend from The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to help. Unfortunately, a serial killer also learns about her and wants Vivienne and her power. Everybody wants her. What does Vivienne want? Just to be normal again…
Amazon
BILLY - Going Where Darkness Fears to Tread
He was unique. Or so he believed. He packed a lifetime into his 21 years of Life and now waits for the return of an uncontrollable evil created by Mother Earth herself. Or is it?
Amazon
STEVEN - Crazy on You
In the deepest, darkest jungles of South America, legends are born. Could this handsome young man from a normal Australian family be one of these legends come to life? The truth is terrifying…
Purchase:
Amazon
Amazon
Q. What can we expect from you in the future?
A. As you can see from the Novels, I keep the titles simple and intend to keep on doing that. My next WIP is titled “Michael” and it’s driving me crazy because I can’t keep up with it. The MC is far, far smarter than me! Not sure that it’s going to be a great story or not and I don’t really care because it’s the journey getting there that’s the thrill!
When “Michael” is driving me too crazy, I write something else, usually a short story or start another novella. I have so many WIPs, including, (drum roll please!), a children’s book series because the idea has been pining away inside me for several decades.
Of course, another compilation of short stories is in the making but this time I want it to be bigger, more stories for the money, more “bang for the buck” if you will! I just keep writing so I’m just going to keep throwing them out there. I’m not and never will be “in it” for the money but I would love to have a huge fan base that love my stories as much as I love creating them.
A. As you can see from the Novels, I keep the titles simple and intend to keep on doing that. My next WIP is titled “Michael” and it’s driving me crazy because I can’t keep up with it. The MC is far, far smarter than me! Not sure that it’s going to be a great story or not and I don’t really care because it’s the journey getting there that’s the thrill!
When “Michael” is driving me too crazy, I write something else, usually a short story or start another novella. I have so many WIPs, including, (drum roll please!), a children’s book series because the idea has been pining away inside me for several decades.
Of course, another compilation of short stories is in the making but this time I want it to be bigger, more stories for the money, more “bang for the buck” if you will! I just keep writing so I’m just going to keep throwing them out there. I’m not and never will be “in it” for the money but I would love to have a huge fan base that love my stories as much as I love creating them.
Q. What is something people should know about you?
A. My muse hides in a dark place.
Q. Anything else you wish to share?
My Website:
My FaceBook Author Page:
I have had the pleasure of reading Colin's latest short story. It is raw and powerful storytelling at its finest, both genuine and genius. The wind was knocked out of me before I finished page 1. Be sure to subscribe to this blog for updates as he has graciously granted me the permission to showcase the story. Don't miss out!
I would just like to add a note...
In a society where fault, fallacy, and offense are sought ceaselessly here and there and everywhere between, above, and beneath, it is damn refreshing to read a story that pushes the boundaries and takes risks to tell a story that swallows its readers whole.
Colin can breathe life into harrowing, sadistic, and disturbing characters just as easily as he can a housewife. His story draws us into the mind of the MC, a narcissistic sociopathic misogynist, gifting us a rare glimpse through the eyes of a demented psyche, granting us intimate knowledge of the secrets buried in the minds of humans we loathe yet adorn with morbid fascination, all without having to subject ourselves to the danger of becoming a victim.
Colin's short story may offend a few delicate natures– I can't believe he said 'stupid bitch!' Slut? Did he just say slut? I can't. I just can't... The irony that the same fragile beings that build shrines for the serial killers they idolize and glamorize, is not lost on me. Neither is the fact that self-proclaiming crazies fear a story told from the point of view of an unsavory character.
You want to know what goes on in those deranged brains? Take a peek... The Left Right Man
Write like it's criminal!
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