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Thank you for trusting me with your custom. I hope you will continue to enjoy my books. The next book in the Sam Harris Series, the Star of Simbako, is published on the 1st of July 2018 and will be available FREE for a limited time.

PJ Skinner

Born in Scotland, Douglas was brought up in England and became a London based international lawyer, later living in Las Vegas. In tandem, he developed a successful career as an internationally read author of mystery thrillers and non-fiction with a chart-topper and a W H Smith Paperback of the Week to his credit.

He is now writing a series of international mystery thrillers based on Det. Insp. Todd “Ratso” Holtom, a London detective. Ratso also featured in a short story contributed to Capital Crimes, an anthology, which became a number one bestseller.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Although I always wanted to pursue a professional career, I also hoped to become a novelist. I had a great English teacher at school. His brother was the legendary Geoffrey Household (Rogue Male) to whom I was introduced at an impressionable age. I then met prolific thriller-writer Hammond Innis who gave an inspiring talk when I was in the 6^th Form. This encouraged me to join the crew at the University Newspaper where I wrote both fiction and non-fiction.  However, it was a few years later after qualifying as a solicitor that I started a full-length book over the Christmas holiday period nearly forty years ago.

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?

I was born in Scotland but brought up in Folkestone, Kent. Although some of the many places I have lived have influenced content in my writing, somehow Kent has barely featured. Sorry Kent!  In contrast, Dorset, Somerset, Newcastle, Las Vegas and London have played much more than walk-on parts.

Is your material autobiographical?

That was said after I wrote my Alistair Duncan trilogy in the 1980s – based on a Bristol solicitor – but he had a far more exciting lifestyle than I ever did. Since then, nobody has ever seriously suggested that my leading characters are autobiographical and I am not aware of it. That said, sometimes, my characters’ foibles are close to home.

 What are you working on now?

I am advancing on three fronts. I am developing the plot for the third thriller involving Det. Insp. Todd “Ratso” Holtom. In tandem, I am planning the arrival of Deadline Vegas. I wrote Late Bet over ten years ago and a movie company then wanted me to change the storyline to underpin their movie vision. This I did with the intent to re-release my book to match the screenplay. However, the movie deal fell apart! Late Bet, reincarnated as Deadline Vegas will appear in the next few months when I hope to interest another company in the movie rights based on the much changed storyline. Finally my “Ratso” series has attracted a TV production team with an impressive pedigree and so I am assisting them with that project. Perhaps this time, something written by me will hit the screen!

 What motivated you to become an indie author?

I was successfully published by mainstream publishers for many years but as the ability of publishers to market the books effectively (budgetary constraints) deteriorated, I signed a deal with publishers who talked a great game just before I met a bunch of self-published authors who had sold millions between them and who had generated both higher profiles and a bigger return for their hours of toil and flair.

Following disillusionment with my big-talking publisher, opting to join the route enjoyed by my friends was an easy decision.

What does your writing process look like?

I am never short of ideas and so firstly I try to select the best one. I then have a broad outline both in mind and on paper but would not expect slavishly to follow it. I do however, always know my ending. The route from A to Z I find to be easier by knowing what Z stands for but the zig-zag in the middle can change for many reasons, often when characters create minds of their own.

 What do you do when you’re not writing?

I love sport and travel. I have been involved with the cricketing world for so long that writing DEAD FIX, just released about the scourge of match-fixing, was an easy theme to write about. All sports interest me – coupled with a love for travel. I have visited, lived in or worked in over seventy countries but there are still plenty more ahead!

Who are your favourite authors?

I was especially influenced by Gerald Seymour’s early books and also by Frederick Forsyth’s Day of the Jackal. Forsyth has a great eye for interesting details – for example describing the office and desk of the Russian President. Reviewers have often mentioned that my writing transports them to the locations, consistent with my aim to ensure that place, especially interesting international locations, are key characters in my work. Currently, I enjoy reading Lee Child, Peter James and John Grisham but I am always devouring non-fiction works, especially about the USA and UK.

www.DouglasStewartBooks.com

It’s here at last.  The cover for the second book in the Sam Harris Series –  Hitler’s Finger.

Publish date is 1st of March 2018.

You can still pre-order the book at a 30% discount at all good retailers.

Please go to the PJSKINNER Website to click on the links to your favourite book shop.

Today, I have a special treat for you – an interview with Best Selling Author Imogen Clark who has written Postcards From a Stranger, an intriguing family drama about secrets and lies

Postcards from a Stranger

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

 I know it’s not what I’m supposed to say, but no. I did write stories and poems as a child but writing wasn’t something that I ever saw as a career. I have always been a big reader though, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before the idea of writing occurred to me. Once it did, I dreamed about penning a novel for a while and finally decided to give it a go. After that I was hooked!

Where do you get your inspiration?

Usually a book starts with a question. Having had a challenging day with my four children, I contemplated chucking my passport in my handbag and setting off for the airport to see where I ended up. Of course, there were swimming lessons to go to and meals to cook and so I didn’t do it but it did make me wonder what kind of mother might leave her children and what might drive her to it. That thought turned into Postcards From a Stranger.

I’m always on the lookout for stories that might become a novel although lots of them never get further than my notebook.

Is your material autobiographical?

 Definitely not. All my stories and characters come from my imagination. However, you write what you know and so there are anecdotes or turns of phrase that some of my friends and family might recognize. I tend to write about places that I have been to because that makes it easier to visualize but I have been known to work from photos and virtual tours on the internet when I can’t get to the actual location.

 What are you working on now?

 I usually have several things on the go at once but at various stages. I am currently contracted to Lake Union, the women’s fiction arm of Amazon Publishing, for my next three books.  So, I’m working on the edits of the next one whilst trying to plot out the one after that in my head. The next book explores the dynamics that form between siblings and how that affects their lives as adults.  The third is about the converging of two families who have more in common than they realise.

Do you prefer any genre in particular and why?

 I write what are called ‘book group’ or water cooler’ books. They are the kind of stories that have issues to discuss in them. I didn’t set out to do this intentionally but all the books I’ve written so far seem to fall into this genre. I would love to write Crime Fiction and I read a lot of crime but so far, I haven’t had a go. Maybe one day . . .

What does your writing process look like?

I’m not a nine to five kind of writer. I have busy children and a house to run so I have to work hard to blend the two sides of my life together. That said, I am quite disciplined so each morning I write a time-time for my day and make sure that some of it is set aside for writing. I love to get up early when the house is quiet and write a chapter or two. I mainly write in my study at home but when I fancy a change of scene, I’ll take myself off to a local café or wander up to a bench on the moors and write there instead.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

 Read, obviously! You can’t be a writer and not read and I devour more than a book a week. I also like to walk and listen to books which I do most days. We have a fantastic independent cinema in Ilkley so I try to get there whenever I can – it’s my guilty pleasure. I also enjoy yoga and I sing in a local choir. I’m a dreamer too so I’m constantly on the lookout for interesting places to travel to and try to get away whenever I can, preferably to places a little bit warmer than Yorkshire!

 

 

 

Cold Weather Getting You Down?

I can help! These bestselling authors have teamed up to offer a delightful selection of new books to act as winter warmers. Available for free for a limited time.

Get Your Winter Warmers Here

 

Happy New Year Everyone. I am waiting on the new covers for the second book in the Sam Harris Series which I will share with you shortly. It will be called Hitler’s Finger and sees our heroine returning to Sierramar to search for Alfredo who has gone missing. The book is available on preorder with Smashwords at a 30% discount until publication date on the 1st of March 2018.

Click here to get the offer for a Limited Time