Sunday Post with Heather Burnside

via GIPHY

 

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

 Today's post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelve, Reader Book Buzz  for weekly updates.

           LOOKING FORWARD TO APRIL

Writer Heather Burnside is with me today. Heather has had ten books published to date: two trilogies plus the first four books in a series of five. The fifth and final book in the series is due to be published in January 2022.

Heather, can you talk about your books?

All my novels are in the gritty crime genre and are based in Manchester, UK. The first trilogy features the Manchester gang wars of the 1990s, the second features the Manchester door wars of the 90s when gangs took over the doors of nightclubs and pubs in Manchester, and my current series revolves around the lives of sex workers in the city.

What drew you to write in this genre? 

I spent my teen years on one of the toughest estates in Manchester. During the 1990s gangs moved into the estate and it was constantly in the press because of problems with drugs, shootings etc. Although I had left the estate by this stage, it piqued my interest. Also, when I am developing my characters I draw characteristics from some of the people who lived on the estate.

What is your favorite motivational phrase?

I don’t really have one to be honest, but I spur myself on by telling myself, ‘I can and I will’.

Which writers inspire you? And what are you reading now?

I draw my inspiration from actual events, characters, news articles and TV documentaries rather than from other writers. However, I do have some favourite authors in the genres of sagas and thrillers including Catherine Cookson and Jeffery Deaver. Many of the books I read have a triumph over adversity theme which is evident in my writing, so this has perhaps influenced my writing to an extent. Currently I am reading The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths.

Heather Burnside grew up in Gorton, a working-class area of Manchester famed as the original location for the TV series, Shameless. She moved from Gorton to Longsight and spent her teenage years on one of the toughest estates in Manchester. Heather draws heavily on this background as the setting for many of her novels.

To date she has published ten novels and is currently working on her eleventh. You can find out more about Heather's books by signing up to her mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/CP6YP to receive regular updates, or by viewing her website:www.heatherburnside.com

That's my week.  Tell me about yours in the comments below.

CURRENTLY 

From the author of this blog...This week I found myself driving ride share again. I picked up an ice cream truck driver and a computer programmer who got into a recent car accident but wasn't mangled. He talked to me about how he envisioned himself as a writer when he was a kid. As I say to anyone 'Its never too late to start writing.'

I also went to the allergy clinic to get tested for peanut allergy. My results were negative, thank God! I don't know what gives, I think it may be my GI tract is incredibly off because I have the worse acid reflux one could have. I know too that my birth mother had a hard time with both her liver and gallblader. I'm crossing my fingers.

Either way, I also talked to writers about their craft and what enables a writer to keep motivated to write. I learned about the pomodoro technique, which states to write for 25 minutes, take a break and repeat. It helps! I love talking to writers every morning about their craft and you get some ideas that are helpful.

Someone recommended me this book because its supposed to have magical realism, which I love. I usually get my magical realism from writers like Alice Hoffman and Haruki Murakami

Interview with @CDGallantKing #amreading @amjoy

Joining me today is author, C.D. Gallant-King. C.D. was born and raised in Newfoundland and currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario.

C.D. has written eight novels you haven't read, because they're still locked in The Closet. The Closet is both a figurative and literal location - it is the space in his head where the stories are kept, but it's also an actual closet under the stairs in his basement where the stories are also kept. It's very meta.

Randall visits Trin Carl's Blog

Bloggers, do you have a desire to read new material?

Above is Randall Krzak

I'm excited to inform readers that I will be posting interviews with authors on my blog. This is a chance for readers to get to know up and coming writers.

Today's interview is with Randall Krzak.

Randall is a U.S. Army veteran and retired senior civil servant, spending almost thirty years in Europe, Africa, Central America, and the Middle East.  His residency abroad qualifies him to build rich worlds in his action-adventure novels and short stories. Familiar with customs, laws, and social norms, he promotes these to create authentic characters and scenery.

What are your ambitions for your writing career? I suppose like many authors, to try and be successful. Whether that will happen or not is outside of my control, so the best thing I can do is create realistic stories to share with others.

Which writers inspire you? Tom Clancy, Dan Brown, Clive Cussler, Brad Thor, David L.

Golemon, Robert Crais, Jack Du Brul, and Mark Greany, to name the major ones.

So, what have you written? The Kurdish Connection is my

debut novel and is the first in a four-book series. I took the first chapter of another book I

was working on, cut it to 399 words, and submitted it to a monthly competition held by

Wildsound Writing and Film Festival Review. My entry, called A Dangerous Occupation,

was one of the winning entries in August 2016. It’s read by a profession actor at this Youtube link. Another short

story, Postal Man, was recently chosen for the January members’ writing and art section

on the The Fictional Cafe

Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special? I

really have two main characters in The Kurdish Connection, Craig Cameron (referred to

as CC) and Dersim Razyana. CC was born in Scotland but eventually raised in America

and leads the Bedlam Alpha team after a long stint in the military. Dersim is an Iraqi

Kurd, a family man and scavenges to earn a living. His dream of an united Kurdistan

leads to various perils but a change of heart returns him to a level-headed individual

concerned about taking care of his family.

What are you currently working on and what is it about? I have three other novels

underway. The first is Dangerous Alliance, the sequel to The Kurdish Connection. This

one involves the North Koreans and Al-Shahbab, a Somali terrorist group. To counter the

alliance is Bedlam Bravo who will try to stop the transfer of oil and weapons, as well as

rescue a well-known hostage. The second ongoing book is called A Cartel’s Revenge,

and involves a cartel headed by a woman. She makes an unusual alliance with FARC,

not realizing ISIS will soon be involved. Working against her are a CIA agent and an

Army colonel. The third book, which will take some time to finish, is historical fiction. It

begins in 1770 with a tenant farmer and his family. After crop failures, they receive a

lifeline and head to America, arriving in time to be caught up with the Boston Tea Party

and the beginnings of the Revolutionary War.

What drew you to write in this genre? Probably the authors that I like to read. One thing

of interest is many readers of The Kurdish Connection like mysteries, crime, and even

romance, so there’s obvious appeal across genres.

How much research do you do? It really depends on what I need. Whenever possible, I

include personal travels and experiences. When this is insufficient I spend the time to

research either through the internet or purchasing books to gather the necessary

background to continue creating my stories.

When did you decide to become a writer? It wasn’t something I ever thought of doing.

Just before I retired, a long-time colleague suggested I try writing a novel. The Kurdish

Connection is the result.

Do you write full-time or part-time? I write part-time.

How often do you write, and do you have a special time during the day to write? Since

I’m an early riser and my wife isn’t, I spend an hour or so in the morning and then

perhaps two hours in the evening. This time isn’t just for writing, but covers research,

too.

Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day? No. I know a lot of writers who do

this. Perhaps they’re better at writing than I am but I’d rather put time in to create what’s

needed for my stories rather than try to rush against a word count.

Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand? I use a computer but once

in a while I’ll jot things into my phone or even on a piece of paper if my computer isn’t

Available.

Where do the your ideas come from? They come from a variety of places, paying

attention to the news and even other writers. A Cartel’s Revenge, mentioned above, is

based on three sentences someone sent me to see what I could do with them. I have

two other novels planned that are based on suggestions sent to me but I need to

complete the others before working on these.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you? I

prefer to use an outline. I begin with a draft synopsis so I have an idea where I’m starting

and where I want to go. The initial chapters are identified but things changes as the

stories unfold, which can change the number and order of my chapters.

What do you do for fun? In addition to writing, he enjoys hiking, reading, candle making, pyrography, and sightseeing.

Bloggers, that is all the time we have for today.  Find more about Randall and his upcoming stories on his blog randallkrzak.com.

Amir, Lane, Shadow Maker #thursdaythoughts, #amreading

With me today is Amir Lane. Amir was born in Canada and his parents are from Iraq.  He is a supernatural and urban fantasy writer and the author of the Morrighan House Witches series that debuted in October 2016. The series opens with Shadow Maker, and follows physics major Dieter Lindemann as he's dragged down against his will into Necromancy and blood magic.

E is for Ernest Hemingway #AtoZchallenge via @trincarl

“When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.” 
― Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon