Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well, I live in Leicestershire in the UK which is now on the world map due to Leicester City Football Club winning the Premiership and, more recently, the FA Cup. It is also ‘home’ to King Richard III since they found him buried under a car park and re-interred his remains in the Cathedral opposite. I’m in my early fifties now (not sure where all the time went and even if I had a DeLorean and drove it at precisely 88-mph, it wouldn’t claw back the years – I’d probably just crash it . . . into a billboard . . . outside a brand new (live in the home of tomorrow . . . today) soon-to-be-built housing estate!) and I’m self-employed for my day job. I write in the evenings and weekends and have been doing so for the last dozen years. I’ve currently got five novels on the Amazon Kindle shelf (four of these are available in paperback) and two anthologies of short stories. One of these I’m currently editing because I’m not happy with a couple of the stories; they are (possibly) too graphic and sensitive, but they are horror and I always tell potential readers that they’re not for the fainthearted.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Radio Werewolf. The original Radio Werewolf (Werwulf) was a propaganda tool for the Nazis and was broadcast to residents near Berlin as the Allies closed in on the German war machine during the last days of the Third Reich. However, other than the title, the context of my novel has nothing to do with that; it’s about vampires and werewolves (like me, readers seem to love a story with bite!) and a story in its own right – it’s more an analogy of the Nazi concentration camps – and is dedicated to those who have suffered prejudice, oppression or persecution.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really unusual, but I do like to have background music playing, and I tend to write better in the wee hours – one or two in the morning when all is quiet – when I can think clearly. Or clearer, at least.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
See below to ‘What is your favorite book of all time?’
What are you working on now?
I currently have about 4 works in progress but the one I’m leaning towards most is a story about 6 houses on a street and their residents, their individual foibles and prejudices to each other, either face to face or behind their backs. It also includes artificial intelligence.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This, I’m still learning. Websites like yours help authors a great deal, particularly when they are relative unknown authors with little marketing cash. It’s about balance – yes, I want a readership, but I don’t (or can’t) spend more on marketing than I receive in book sales’ royalties. So, it’s a blog here, or a tweet there. I might update my Goodreads profile, and try to reply to responses from readers, and try to gain those ever-helpful 5-star reviews!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing and ignore the critics – particularly those armchair critics who would love to do what you’ve done but are too full of their own (and often, unintelligent) opinions to get off their backsides and do something about it. Don’t expect your family to be interested/support you in your endeavours. Just write. And keep writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It wasn’t something I heard, and it wasn’t necessarily advice – more inspiration – it was something I saw. Specifically, on TV in 2009, when (what appeared to be) a scruffy old Scotswoman say she wanted to be Elaine Paige. All the crowd, indeed Mr. Cowell too, instantly thought she was mad and wrote her off before she even sang. And then, of course, she opened her mouth . . . The rest is history and we all know Susan Boyle now for her fabulous voice. The point is this: she was a vulnerable woman who put herself out there and shut up all the critics, the naysayers, the wanna-be panellists, and the judges. She wasn’t afraid. Be bold, go for it. You never know . . . She’s an inspiration to us all.
What are you reading now?
I’m usually reading a couple of books at a time, mostly to relax at night but it is usually something completely different to what I am writing. This for two reasons: one, that I am as far removed from what I am currently working on and two, that I don’t (intentionally) copy anyone’s style or prose. I recently read Jessica by Bryce Courtenay, the only book to bring tears to my eyes.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Firstly, to try and keep up the momentum on my last novel, Unnatural Selection. It’s being received fairly well with my first reviews 5-stars. So, while I’m working on my novels, I think I need to dedicate some more time to social media, however, I don’t want to fall into the trap of constantly being online. Doing this has a detrimental effect – while I’m on social media, I’m not writing.
What is your favorite book of all time?
I don’t really have one, I have several. For instance: Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl, Ray Bradbury’s Something wicked this way comes, I am Legend by Richard Matheson and Richard Laymon’s Flesh, and also his The Stake. There’s Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and James Herbert’s ’48. Oh, and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Then, of course, Dickens’ greatest: A Christmas carol. The list is endless to be honest. I’ll just have to keep reading.
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Simon Whitmore Website
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