Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hostage to Freedom: The Search for the Siren is my first published book. It has taken about 10 years to complete because I have been busy in my job as a marine geophysicist working in many countries all over the world.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book grew out of a frightening experience when our survey boat, MV Askelad, was attacked by 20 pirates offshore Forcados in Nigeria. Two of out team were taken hostage and the rest of us had to hand over all our valuables (including my toothbrush!). Well, that is another story, and we all survived. The setting of my novel is in Singapore, where I lived for 12 years, and the Sulu Sea off Zamboanga and concerns the search for a valuable shipwreck – an East Indiaman sunk in 1764. In fact I have been on surveys just like the one I describe in the book and if anything valuable is involved then the risks increase. I don’t want to reveal more so best read the book!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I just like peace and quiet and work best late at night.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Graham Greene, Sebastian Faulks, Michael Crichton, Frederick Forsyth, Robert Harris, Evelyn Waugh,Ian McEwan, George Orwell, Roald Dahl, Aldous Huxley, Ernest Hemingway, J.D.Salinger, Joseph Heller, Fyodr Dostoevsky, Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, Albert Camus, Guy de Maupassant
What are you working on now?
A prequel to Hostage to Freedom and next, maybe a sequel.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a wordpress website I set up recently which is fun but I think it is best to promote my book from many different channels and try a short giveaway for my ebook to generate more reviews.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s a lot harder than you think, and loads of revisions and editing is required to improve the novel. The traditional route to approach a literary agent is a waste of time. They only glance at your first few chapters and may or may not send out a polite rejection email. Have believe in yourself and self publish!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up.
What are you reading now?
Tom Fort’s ‘The A303 Highway to the Sun’ It is all about my local road in Wincanton which passes Stonehenge and heads to the West Country. A very interesting read!
What’s next for you as a writer?
A bit of promotion for Hostage to Freedom and back to the next novel
What is your favorite book of all time?
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Author Websites and Profiles
Richard Sorapure Website
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