Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a shambolic and extremely shortsighted advertising copywriter with a fair number of years on the clock. I live in leafy North West London close to Hampstead Heath with my wife and two kids who are far smarter than their old man.
My first attempt at fiction was a novella I wrote in 2011 for my children and to raise money for the charity Centrepoint that helps homeless kids in the UK. Entitled ‘Sleeping with the Blackbirds’, it’s a hard book to pigeonhole. It is written for both children and parents and is a kind of modern-day fable featuring anthropomorphic birds and a lonely and ungainly 11-year-old boy.
My only other published fiction is a short story that was published by Mardibooks in its anthology ‘The Clock Struck War’ published in 2014 to mark the centenary of the First World War. The story concerns the sad tale of Private Thomas Highgate, the first English serviceman to be executed for cowardice. He was only 19 years of age.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a thriller, which I’m still writing having completed the first 40,000 words, which amounts to 14 chapters. It is loosely based on the London terrorist attack in 2005 and its protagonist is a survivor of that attrocity. Now in a wheelchair, he is a bitter tetraplegic seeking retribution for the men, women and children killed in front of his eyes on the London underground.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not a very disciplined writer, and have no particular writing habits. But inspiration can certainly strike when you least expect it. You could be doing something as mundane as unloading the washing machine or clearing leaves in the garden, and a thought just pops into your head unannounced, and you have to put everything down (including damp underwear) and make notes before you forget all about it. But I don’t suppose that’s particularly unusual.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are too many books to number, but I guess some of them include those early books I read as a kid: ‘Stig of the Dump’ by Clive King, ‘Just William’ by Richmal Crompton. And then a little later, books like ‘Three Men in a Boat’ by Jerome K Jerome, ‘Animal Farm’, ‘1984’ and ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’ by George Orwell.
What are you working on now?
As I said earlier, my current project is a thriller. The title is ‘The Chair Man’ and I hapoe to finish it some time in 2019 if all goes well.
In addition, I’m also editing English translations of some short stories by well known Japanese authors for Red Circle Authors http://redcircleauthors.com
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m useless at promoting my own work, despite having worked in the advertising industry as a writer for so many years. Ironic, I know, but I just find promoting my own stuff tiresome. I’d much rather spend time writing another book. Having said that, Smashwords seems to be a good place to promote your book for free.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be put off by rejection letters from agents. We’ve all received them. Even J K Rowling. But take note of constructive critisism when it comes your way. Above all, just enjoy your writing. Because if you don’t, nobody will.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him.
William Faulkner
What are you reading now?
I just finished ‘Rocket Boys’ by Homer Hickam, which is a fabulous book set in a West Virginian mining town in the 1950s. At that time growing up here as a young boy meant that you were destined to either play football or go down the mines when you grew up. Most, of course, took the latter path. But for a small group of boys inspired by the Russian launch of Sputnick, which flew over their community, the science of space flight would become an obsessive passion that would change their lives for ever. Based on the true story of the author, Hickam paints a vivid and loving portrait of his home town, peppered with memorable characters. This is an inpirational tale in which the biggest dreams triumph over adversity.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My goal is to finish my current novel.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Ooh, now that’s difficult.
In fact, it’s too difficult to answer. There isn’t really a ‘best’ book in my library. All great books have something unique and magical about them. It’s impossible for me to name just one.
One could pick classics by Dickens, Orwell, Greene, Forster and so on, but there isn’t one definitive book for me. Sorry.
Author Websites and Profiles
Alex Pearl Website
Alex Pearl Amazon Profile
Alex Pearl Author Profile Other Bookseller
Alex Pearl’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account