QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

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Now that Book II is published, are you writing Book III?
Yes, I ‘m writing Book III at the moment – it has a provisional title of ‘A Capital Time’. I’ve written 25,000 words of it so far (November 2009) and am pleased with progress. If everything goes according to plan, I hope it will be published in the Autumn of 2010.

Are you still of the view that there will be four books in the series?
No. I now think that there will be at least five books in the Chronicles of Eternity series although it is possible that there may be more.

Books in shops are always placed in categories. In which category do you place your books?
I really don’t like categories although they can be very useful for someone looking for a book to read on a beach or a long flight. If pressed, I would say that my books are histories with a mystery, that is, they’re historically factual but they arise from the mystery of someone going on a past life journey. I’m really delighted though that my work has been read and enjoyed by people as diverse as my 18 yr old stepson and a lady in her eighties – each of whom enjoyed different aspects of ‘Moments in Time’ but are now both keen to get their hands on ‘The Weight of Time’.

What is it that you would like your readers to take away from your books?
Many of my readers have said that they feel they are there with the characters when they’re reading the story and I love it that they feel in this way – what I want is that the reader should care about the characters and share their triumphs and tragedies; because the books are really about love and how it changes people I would like my readers to feel uplifted but the books are also about adventure and how good people strive to survive in a bad world so I also want my readers to be keen to know how it all ends.

‘Moments In Time’ begins with a past life regression. Do you believe in reincarnation?
I know that we, as human beings come here time and time again, experiencing many lifetimes.
A belief is something we hold in our minds – an idea that something is or is not the case. Knowledge, on the other hand is held in the heart, it is felt rather than thought.

How many books will there be in the series?
At the moment, I know that there will be at least four books but I can’t really be sure until I’ve finished. In case that sounds strange,
I should point out that the second book, Weight of Time, turned out to be much longer than I’d anticipated and it could be that there will need to be five or more books in order to tell the whole story.

When you sit down to write do you have a set idea of what it is you will be writing that day?
Not really. Mostly I have a vague idea of what’s coming next but sometimes I’m really surprised by the twists and turns of the story and, on other occasions, new characters just walk onto the page and insist that they are part of it too.

Do you write in the traditional way using pen and paper or use a computer?
I write on my laptop but the Word setting looks like a page.

Do you write a set number of words per day?
No. I wait until I feel very strongly that it’s time to write and then I tap at the keys like a mad person. Sometimes I can write 3,000 words in one day and then not write anything for a week but it is usually more like 1500 -1800 words in a day.

Do you enjoy writing?
Yes, very much. When I was training to be a lawyer, I was taught to respect words and to use them with precision. Writing these books is similar in that I want to tell the story accurately and without unnecessary frills but it’s also different as I need to describe people’s feelings and what makes them tick.

Did you study Latin?
Yes, I have an A level in Latin and, knowing now how useful it’s been in my life, I wish I’d paid more attention in class and learned more than I actually did.