Dave: I like to sit at home, with music on pretty
loud. Usually something without lyrics, maybe some classical, I love the Tron
Legacy soundtrack, or some Cell.
Paul: What
types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?
Dave: Hmm, this is tricky. I love thrillers, in
both book and film format. I like Crime Thrillers quite a bit. I’m a big fan
off Conn Iggulden too, he writes Historical Fiction. But I also like Jo Nesbo,
Wilbur Smith, Lee Child and CJ Sansom. I like the way they all write, mostly
with an economy of words yet are totally gripping. I think mostly Conn
Iggulden.
Paul: If
someone had the power to step into your creative mind what would they see?
Dave: Tricky again. It would probably appear quite
messy, with lots of random thoughts and ideas swishing around competing with
each other. I love the way an idea drops in, sometimes born out of something I
am watching or reading, and then starts to walk and gradually run all by
itself. It almost becomes a living breathing thing within minutes. When
writing, it feels sluggish to begin with, then everything just comes out in a
rush, almost a creative orgasm.
Paul: What
is a typical day for you?
Dave: Get up, workout, go to work. I then finish
work, and stay behind to write for an hour or so. Its very peaceful when
everybody has gone home, and is the perfect place to write. Just me, my
thoughts and the sounds of Autumn. Then its home for around seven for tea, and
some TV, before going to bed to read.
Paul: Do
you have a favorite character in each of your series, aside from the lead? If
so, which one and why?
Dave: In the first series (The Auslander Series) it
would probably be Clarence the hired gun. Initially he was going to be a mere
shadow, a figure seen departing a crime scene. But then in his first chapter,
he became something more. He’s delightfully mad really. And then from the next
series (for children) there is a recurring character called Lord Greasby, and
he’s very unpleasant, but makes me laugh at just the thought of him.
Paul: In
all the years you’ve been publishing your work, what is the biggest mistake you
made that you could share so others can avoid making it?
Dave: I’ve not being doing this for too long, but
there is one mistake I made that I wish I had considered before I started. And
that is, not to assume you will just shift books the minute you have published
them. And regardless of how much everybody says it, on websites, twitter feeds,
articles and blogs, you have to get involved in marketing yourself and your
books. It’s tough, but you have to get out in the hard yards. I’m not a salesman,
but fortunately you don’t have to do anything too pushy, just be persistent.
Paul: How
do you find the time to write?
Dave: I
never thought I would say this, but I’ve gotten to the point where I need to
write most of the time. If I don’t, I start to get restless and fidgety. So I
make time, even if its only twenty minutes. Also, I have to set myself a
target. When you begin, a hundred thousand words or more seems like a distant,
but overwhelming dream. But breaking it down into a thousand words a day makes
it much more manageable.
Paul: What
is one thing you hope I do not tell the readers?
Dave: Actually,
I can’t think of a single thing that I wouldn’t want you to tell the readers.
Except for my bank details. I’d rather keep those private.
Paul: If
you are self-published, what led to you going your own way?
Dave: I
am. I sent my first manuscript to one agent and got a no. And me being way too
sensitive, I decided I couldn’t cope, or wait for, a few dozen agents to reply,
probably with a no. So I took the Amazon self publishing route. I am however
going to try to get my children's series published.
Paul: Do
you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?
Dave: I
plot them, to give me an outline, and provide direction to my end goal. It’s
not prescriptive however, I find the whole thing very organic as I said earlier
with reference to Clarence. Sometimes you totally change where the plot is
going, sometimes you just have good little ideas along the way to add to it.
But I do like the idea of one day just beginning and seeing where it takes me.
Paul: Do
you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is
more fully-formed?
Dave: I
will go through once, before giving to my editor, and try to re-write anything
I don’t like the look of. Then when I get it back from her, I try my best not
to take anything personally, and just get on the with the business of doing the
re-write. I find the whole re-writing process difficult though.
Dave: As
yet, with the books I have written, I have not had to do extensive amounts of
research. There was a little with The End (book 1 of The Auslander Series), and
a bit more with the children's series (No series title yet, but book 1 is called
The Golden Path). There will be quite a bit more research as that series
develops.
Paul: What
is your most recent book? Tell us a little about it
Dave: Yeah, The Golden Path is my most recent book.
I finished it a couple of months ago, and its currently with my editor. I’ve
just submitted that to the Harper Voyager open submissions period. It’s a
supernatural series with the main characters being teenagers. I really like the
premise, but as I’m sure you know, that doesn’t necessarily translate into
someone else liking it. It’s a big themed idea, and involves some familiar and
some new supernatural beings.
Paul: What
inspired you to write this book?
Dave: I was driving to work one morning and saw a
teenage girl walking along the pavement. She was a big girl with red hair, and
she walked with her head turned away from the road and any passersby, looking
at the floor and not making eye contact. She was trying her best to make
herself as small and unnoticeable as possible. And in my head I just imagined
all the abuse she probably takes, the bullying and such. It was quite
emotional. But it made me think, what if I could make Ange a hero? What if I
could make her terrible life to this point meaningless? And so that’s what I
did with the book.
Paul: Do
you have any pieces of work that will never see the light of day?
Dave: Not
to this date no. I think that’s one of the first things you have to get used to
isn’t it? Writing something, that up until that point is private. While you’re
the only person who knows what it is and where it goes, it’s the greatest idea
in the world. The minute you hand it over, you feel stripped bear, naked. But
once you do get past that, I think it’s easier to hand things around.
Paul: Do
you enter competitions? Are there any you could recommend?
Dave: I
entered the NextBigAuthor.com competition. You submit around 7,000 words, and
the idea is you obtain reading assignments. When you have read other people's
work, you then answer questions based on the assignment. Once you have done so
successfully, you earn a credit which you then use to have your chapters read
by somebody else. The object is to have your book read and reviewed by as many
people as possible, and get into the top ten. If you do that, your work is
critiqued by the top publishing houses. I reached number 18 from around five
thousand pieces of work, before I ran out of time and therefore assignments. It
is essential to keep reading other people's work. But I think this makes it very
good for everyone.
Paul: How
much marketing do you do for your published works or for your ‘brand’?
Dave: I
try to do as much as I can, but it’s hard knowing what to do some of the time.
Opportunities like this are golden, hence the reason I snapped it up. I try not
to ram things down people’s throats on Twitter, as I don’t know how far it gets
you. But there are some great sites out there that will advertise your book for
you when you have a free giveaway coming up. I struggle with the US though, as
I have no reviews from that side of the pond. Reviews are very important. But I
persevere anyway, you never know.
Paul: What’s
your favorite / least favorite aspect of your writing life? Has anything surprised
you?
Dave: Re-writes.
It absolutely bores me rigid. It’s terrible I know, but I think once I’ve
written it, I don’t want to see it for a while, let alone go through each and
every last line and make changes. It’s because you’ve lived and breathed for
over half the year, sometimes a lot more, you need some distance. My editor
tells me I should cherish it, it’s my opportunity to make it even better, to
polish and caress it into life. I’m sure she’s right.
Paul: What
do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have any hobbies or party tricks?
Dave: Aha,
I’m glad you asked. In my spare time, I lay down the odd vocal for a friend who
makes music. I read a lot, and watch as many movies as I can. And I play rugby
and golf, although these days less and less due to the time constraints.
Paul: Well thanks, Dave. That was great. I wish you every success for the future.
Since then, I have drifted from one author to another, but of late have settled into Jo Nesbo and Conn Iggulden, both of whom are fantastic writers. I like to think that one day I might be included in the same bracket, who knows. Until then, I will continue to write, another late developing habit of mine. The End is part one of a trilogy, with part two following middle of 2013. I am also currently working on a separate series, aimed at the children's market .
Dave's Blog: LazeyInk
Dave on Twitter: @thelace_no1
Dave on Facebook: Dave Lacey
Dave's latest book: The End (Amazon)
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