Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a professional writer for several years and have published five books, the latest being the murder mystery thriller Off Season. It is the first in a series of Detective Ryan Mysteries. I am also a TV/Film writer, director, and producer and have worked for major broadcasters and studios on various successful drama and documentary projects worldwide. I have written and directed four feature films, one of which “Sons of Summer” is the most recent. It’s a surfing movie set on Australia’s Gold Coast and stars Temuera Morrison and Isabel Lucas. I currently spend my time between Florida and Sydney, Australia.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Off Season and is set in Sydney, Australia — a city I live in for part of the year. It’s a murder mystery, a genre I love. As a kid, I was a who-dunnit nerd and loved reading books about detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. It was these novels that years later, inspired me to create my very own star detective, Ramesh Ryan. Like me, he is a fish out of water in Australia— someone who works there but is never considered a true native of the country. In setting Detective Ryan loose, I wanted to create someone intelligent and determined, a genuinely likable character but one who is still trying to find his place in the world.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Like levitating upside down while I work? I like to write in libraries. There I am ignored and left alone.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
At age eleven, I read ‘Planet of the Apes’. I thought: “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to spend my life writing stories like this?” which was a pretty big moment. I’m a magpie, so no novel genre or novelist is out of bounds, and many different people stimulate my creative juices. I read the late Elmore Leonard for his superb dialogue; Arthur Conan Doyle for Sherlock Homes; Richard Osman for his new Thursday Murder Club series, which in some ways mirrors the tone and direction of my new book Off Season; Philip K. Dick for his sci-fi twists and turns, and insightful quotes like the so-true “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”; and George Orwell for telling it how it is and will be.
What are you working on now?
I am writing the second book in the Detective Ryan Series, and doing it is wearing out my brain cells at a hideous rate.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have my website, clivefleurywriter.com, up and running to promote Off Season. In addition, I am mailing out to people who have been kind enough to review my previous books. My publisher, Coffeetown Press, is also involved in publicizing the book. In addition, I like giving interviews like this one and using TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc. They all work well. At the end of the day, though, word of mouth is the best way to get people to buy, read, and review books. And, for people who haven’t read my latest, Off Season, here’s a link (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144426420). Hopefully you’ll like the novel and give a good review.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
In Nike’s immortal words: “Just do it.”
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just do it……
What are you reading now?
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. It’s very Agatha Christie like and about a beautiful old apartment block in Paris where nothing goes unseen, and everyone has a story to reveal.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Completing the second book in the Detective Ryan series.
What is your favorite book of all time?
That’s an impossible question to answer, so I always say it’s the one I’m reading now.
Author Websites and Profiles
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