Why I turned to a life of crime.
"I’d always been interested in thrillers, especially the action and crime variety. The only thing that put me off writing them was a lack of confidence. I was always in awe of thriller authors. How did they manage to weave plots more twisty than an eighties perm? I could never do that. So I stuck with writing my YA sci-fi space opera, The Spiral Arm, believing I just didn’t have the brain capacity for thrillers.
After its release, The Spiral Arm series was well-received and gained small but loyal following. However, by episode five I could tell it wasn’t going to sell. Reluctantly, I made the decision to switch to a different genre, taking a chance on writing a thriller. I felt really bad about leaving my Spiral Arm series hanging in mid-air, especially as I had the whole series mapped out. But everyone has to earn a crust, right? So thrillers it was.
But what sort of thriller? I’d always loved Lee Child and his character Jack Reacher. The books are so addictive. Probably the only ones I would read while walking around the house attempting to do other things like make the kids’ tea (very badly, I might add). Literally unputdownable. I knew I wanted to do something like that. A vigilante, but I didn’t want a carbon copy of Reacher or all the other lone-wolf-type heroes. No, He needed to be different. He needed to be British for a start. And he needed to drink tea. Lots of it. But what would he be like?
Inspiration came in the form of a movie. I watched an amazing film called I, Daniel Blake, and instantly fell in love with the character. If you haven’t seen it, it’s brilliant, and is about people stuck in the benefits system. So Daniel Blake really inspired me. A decent guy, older, had lost his wife, and just wanted to help people and do the right thing. He was vulnerable too. And had poor health.
I don’t like the way older people are treated in this country. So I loved the idea of making an older guy who could kick the asses of those much younger. I still wanted him to be vulnerable, though. I wanted him to have some mental health issues, because so many of us suffer from that nowadays, especially our ex-servicemen.
The other thing I was adamant about is I wanted humour in it. Most, if not all thrillers I read are deadly serious and the protagonists are more like superman, invulnerable and infallible. Thing is, life’s not like that. People are stupid and muck things up. Also, Savage is ex-SAS. Yes, it’s an elite force but they’re also a bunch of blokes. And whenever you get blokes together they take the piss out of each other. So I gave Savage a sharp, acidic tongue.
There’s also a bit of my dear old dad in Savage. A carpenter by trade, the guy could wield a saw like a scalpel, and always had a cup of tea in his hand and a joke on his lips. He was a real eccentric. Worked on building sites all his life, never drank alcohol, cycled everywhere and sung opera in the shower. Everyone loved him for his generosity and warmth, a warmth that meant even complete strangers took a shine to him. But my mum, my sister and I knew him better. His jolliness hid a terrible childhood of abuse he suffered when he was evacuated at a very young age during the war. Like Savage, a darkness dwelt in him, which he buried deep down, and kept well hidden with humour.
I lost my dad to cancer several years ago, and miss him every day. But one of the nicest things about writing is that I can keep him alive by putting a bit of his personality into my character, John Savage. "
Thanks so much, Peter! It's always good to find out more about a character, where they came from and how they were formed. For me, at least, it helps shape them in my mind.
Here's a wee bit about Peter:
After studying to be an architect, Pete realised he wasn't very good at it. He liked designing buildings he just couldn't make them stand up, which is a bit of a handicap in an industry that likes to keep things upright. So he switched to advertising, writing ads for everything from cruise lines to zombie video games.
After meeting his wife Shalini and having two awesome children (their words), he was amazed when she sat and actually wrote a book. Then another and another. They were good too. Really good. So he thought, I'll have a go at that.
He soon realised there's no magic formula. You just have to put one word in front of the other (and keep doing that for about a year). It also helps if you can resist the lure of surfing, playing Nintendo Switch with your son, watching America's Next Top Model with your daughter and drinking beer in a garden chair.
And here's the info on Savage Games:
A body concealed high up in a tree.
A dark forest that holds many secrets.
One man determined to discover the truth.
"Basically, I loved everything about this book!" Suze Reviews
Deep in the New Forest, a body is hidden in the branches of a towering fir tree in an area known as Dead Maids Wood. When John Savage learns that the body belonged to an old school friend, he sets out to discover who was responsible.
Together with brilliant computer hacker Tannaz, he discovers his friend was down on his luck, living among those who society would rather forget - the dregs, the desperate and the homeless. Entering this dark and hidden world, Savage soon discovers that the death of his friend was just the tip of the iceberg...
Savage Games is a fast-paced action thriller for fans of Lee Child and David Baldacci.
It will be published by Adrenalin Books on 4th April 2019 and is available to pre order here.
Do come back on Wednesday 3rd April when none other than John Savage himself will be stopping by the blog to answer some of my questions. I can't wait! Hope to see you back here then.
What a fantastic interview! I enjoyed reading this!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much - it was a brilliant piece from Peter, wasn't it? I will be interviewing John Savage himself here tomorrow!
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