I'd love to know how you choose your next story?
Generally, an idea slowly builds, though sometimes it just hits me; it is always driven by what interests me. I’ve always had a curious mind and have been an avid fan of science fiction and fantasy since the early 1970s, when I watched Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who. I am also interested in the unexplained, science and history, which are woven into my stories.
While some people suffer from aphantasia and are unable to visualise things they read, I have hyperphantasia, which means I have a very vivid visual imagination. This meant that, even when I was young and reading books like The Door Into Summer by Robert Heinlein and stories by Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, it felt like I was watching a film or a television show rather than reading words.
The idea for the current Max Janus series of adult/YA crossover sci-fi fantasy stories came to mind in early 2020, just before the world went mad with COVID-19. I kept having the word 'Shadowers' come to mind, and visualising aliens living amongst us.
As a self-employed accountant, occasional journalist, and management consultant, the fallout from COVID gave me some quiet time in 2023, and in May, I started putting my thoughts down on paper. Things like, why are aliens here? They were trapped many centuries ago. Can humans see them? No, but aliens do emit an aura they can see in mirrors, and that is why some psychics claim to see auras?From here, I quickly outlined the first book, Max and the Hidden Visitor, but I realised there was a backstory to Max, and so by the time the Hidden Visitor was out, I’d already got a large part of the prequel, Max and the Regent Supreme, outline.
But I knew the story had a much darker message of corruption, state control, and friendship overcoming it. Also, I’d put so many Easter eggs in the first two books, hinting at what was still to come.
The third book, Max and the Corporate Takeover, began that darker journey, but in a worrying “life imitating art” way, many of the dystopian elements in Regent Supreme and Corporate Takeover are being emulated across Europe and the rest of the world in real life.
While that was how the Max Janus series idea started, I also have an idea for a Shifter book/series. In November 2024, someone posted on Twitter about a Shifter series and how challenging or easy it is to come up with a story. Within half an hour, I posted an outline about a shifter caught in a war, and the feedback was incredibly positive.
It sounds like you have a lot of stories still inside you, so are you a plotter or a pantser?
I’m a total pantser. I start as a plotter. I get the idea for a story, and in Word, I outline the main plot in one document and keep track of the protagonist, antagonist, and key characters in another.
Once I’ve got this down, I plot out the chapters, just the main plot element that needs to happen to reach the climax. I try to write in five acts, so there is a setup, rising action, a turning point, consequences and a final resolution. I think this structure keeps the story moving faster and helps retain interest in stories that are typically 100,000-120,000 words in this genre.
But this is where the pantser kicks in. Once I have this carefully laid out, I start writing. Generally, the first chapter goes to plan, but there is always something unexpected cropping up. This unplanned element then starts a chain of events that typically takes the story in a very different direction. If it is possible to bring the story back to the original plan, I might do so, but I often find unexpected events work better; they have an organic, natural feel. The only compromise I will never make is to have a character behave in a way that doesn’t fit their persona. They can have out-of-character behaviour, as we all can, but there must be a consequence which brings them back to their true self.
By the time I have finished the story, it bears only the faintest resemblance to my initial plotline.
I find it fascinating how other writers write. I'm a plotter all the way, if I try otherwise I end up with a saggy middle, lol! But how do you decide which point of view to use? And if you have multiple POVs, how do you manage them?
This is my nemesis, particularly when I started writing novels. While writing my first book, I started with third-person limited and then switched to third-person omniscient. Because of the story's nature, it worked, but that was more luck than judgment.
For the Regent Supreme, I focused on third-person limited, which tightened the story, and I did the same for book three. The fourth instalment is very dark, and while it starts in third-person limited, the focus is on one character, and I am toying with having some chapters in first person. I could never write in second person, and I find first person can get tiring if used throughout the book.
When it comes to creating characters, do you create individual profiles before you start writing, or do you note things down as you go? And how do you pick names, characteristics, etc?
As I mentioned, I outline the key characters, along with profiles, before I start writing. They tend to be the only thing that matches the original plot by the end. However, characters crop up during the writing, and I will add them to the character Word document as I go. I think it is important to keep track of characters and their characteristics.
Their behaviour is driven by what I need that character to be. One character, Danny White, was always going to be a brash, highly intelligent person, and I knew he could either be a quiet type or have an ego the size of a planet. Then I had to build his backstory. Why was he so clever with technology and equipment? In his case, because he was in a wheelchair and unable to do what able-bodied people could do, he started making things to improve his life. This drove him to research technology, engineering and programming. The more he improved his life, the more he saw himself as not disabled but differently-abled, and that is where his feeling of invincibility came from. If Danny couldn’t do it, nobody could.
Aww, I think naming a character as a tribute to your teacher is lovely! How about the mechanics of your writing? How do you decide which tenses to use, or the language you'll use, such as dialects or swearing?
I always write in the past tense, except for the occasional slip, which I try to ensure I correct during editing. As my target audience for the Max Janus books is 12+, I try to restrict any swearing or sexual content. I will slip the occasional joke or innuendo in if it fits the storyline, in part because I hope the adult audience will appreciate it and also because I think it will pass by the youngest readers. And if they do catch it, they will, at best, snigger, and certainly I think most of my target audience would not be offended.
When you write for younger adults as well as an adult audience, I always follow the rule: what would you say in front of your mother? So, obscenities get replaced with “heck” or “flipping hell” and possibly the occasional “damn”.
I also make use of a character’s location, so a Londoner might use slang that maybe sounds a little bit colourful, but it isn’t rude or crude. Staying on the theme of language, my storylines are international, and so I have characters talking Italian and German. I also have some very technical jargon in the storylines. To avoid confusing the reader, I have some characters who are the sort to always ask “what did he/she say...” or other characters who will ask “So what you’re saying is…” and then give a layman description.
That's a clever idea. And do you have a problem with the dreaded purple prose?
The one issue I never have is purple prose. I refer back to my hyperphantasia, where I quickly and easily visualise the image the story gives me. It is part of the reason why I struggle with books by the likes of Wilbur Smith. I get bored with overly descriptive, ornate narratives. In fact, I have more of a problem in the opposite direction, and I generally have to force myself to add more descriptive imagery during later edits.
And now moving onto your publishing journey, which route did you decide to take, and why?
I tried querying around 40 agents with Max and the Hidden Visitor, and aside from a few positive responses, it never reached the full manuscript stage. I never expected to make money from my books; it was always about writing the sort of stories I grew up with, but which I felt were no longer being written.
I had one publisher respond, but I was lucky that a designer on Twitter asked if I had considered self-publishing. We started emailing, and I mentioned this publisher. He introduced me to the terms vanity publishing, KDP, and Ingram Spark, and ultimately to the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), which provides a free list of self-publishing service providers (Link here), including ratings. I found the vanity publisher with a red warning notice not to use.
Oohh, that was lucky then! But was the indie route easy to navigate?
I quickly learned how easy it was to self-publish and I’ve never looked back.
I outsource the formatting as it also helps me with the editing process. Having someone turn it into a publishing-ready format allows me to mentally disengage from the story I have written and read it more objectively.
I always buy batches of ISBNs because it is cheaper and I want full control of my material. I’ve tried other platforms like KOBO, Google Books, and Apple Books, but the market is so heavily dominated by Amazon that I found I was spending equal time on the other platforms for zero additional benefit in sales.
Ensuring you have a copyright page in your book and that it is correctly worded is so important for protecting you and your material. As an accountant, I have written many contracts, and I use that experience to ensure my copyright page is as good as it can be. But also beware of the artwork's copyright. If you are paying a third-party to design your artwork for the cover or inside the book, check whether your payment ensures that full copyright in the material passes to you. In some cases, you only get a commercial licence to use it, and that means the artist retains copyright and is perfectly at liberty to provide the artwork to others to use. As an absolute minimum, you want exclusive commercial rights to the artwork, and ideally, you want full copyright to pass to you on final payment of the agreed fee for the artwork.
I write and often edit as I go. If I get writer’s block, I always go back to the start and edit. I find it gets me back into the story, enables me to tweak things, and most of the time, it restarts the creative juices. This means I might edit three to four times while writing the first draft.
I’ll then put it down for a week before editing it again, and then I’ll send it out to the four or five beta readers I trust. While they are reading it, I will edit again, and once I get their feedback, I will make another edit, incorporating any improvements or corrections they spot.
I then send the book to a formatting editor. Once she completes the PDF and e-book, I read them again in those formats. It is amazing how many mistakes you spot once it is in the style you are used to as a reader.
She makes the changes, and once I am satisfied, I start the upload process.
You mentioned the use of betas - how did you choose them?
Beta readers are so important. I found five I trust by asking on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and they also act as ARC readers. I tried a paid beta and ARC reader once on Fiverr, and his feedback was terrible; his review was also a lazy copy-and-paste. Save your money and find beta readers and ARC readers who love books, particularly your genre.
That's good advice. And what about your cover? Do you employ a professional or do it yourself?
I am creative, but I cannot draw to save my life. So, I unashamedly use a combination of AI and PowerPoint to bring together the elements I have in mind, a kind of mood board. Then I have a graphic designer who has created all my artwork; he takes my design ideas and creates a unique piece. I would never use AI for a final cover as I think humans are more creative than a computer could ever be, and we need to support each other.
When I started planning the cover for Max and the Hidden Visitor, I researched the fonts and imagery of similar books, from Harry Potter to Percy Jackson, in order to ensure it would appeal to the right target audience. We all want to stand out from the crowd, but if your cover artwork and titles are totally left field, you will attract readers who will be disappointed with the story.
Good point. I love how logical you are! Let's talk about common writing mistakes now – do you have any advice or tips for other authors?
Never fret about typos and grammatical errors making it into the published work. Even traditionally published books have them, from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and, more recently, A Dance with Dragons. Some have had them for many years.
Write the best you can, make use of proofreading software like Grammarly, but also remember that even proofreading software and AI make mistakes, so do not take their suggestions as gospel. Also, remember one piece of software may not spot a mistake that another picks up, so don’t be afraid to use more than one tool to proofread and spellcheck.
Also, do not write grammatically correct speech; nobody actually talks like that. Read the speech out in your head or even out loud, and then ask yourself how you would say that same phrase to a boss, a friend, or a family member. That is what you need to write down. As an example, here are some sentences that have the same meaning said in different ways:
John smiled and said, “Let us go down to the beach and buy some ice cream.”
John smiled and said, “Fancy ice cream? Let’s grab some down the beach.”
John smiled and said, “Let’s go to the beach and get some ice creams.”
The first one may be grammatically correct, and while Grammarly and Word are telling me there are issues with the others, particularly the pluralisation of ice cream in the third, both the second and third avoid the stilted speech of the first.
And now to most indie author's bugbear - marketing! From the blurb to social media, what do you do?
For the blurb, I revert to my plot outline and adapt it to reflect the changes in the story. Then I try to imagine it in a bookshop or even in a film trailer, and aim for the sweet spot of being enticing without being full of spoilers. I do this before sending the manuscript to beta readers. The beta reader gets my manuscript, a set of 10 questions covering key questions about the best and worst bits, etc., and the final question asks if they like the blurb. A good beta reader is from your target audience, so who better to tell you if the blurb is appealing?
A very successful author and scriptwriter friend of mine, sadly no longer with us, once told me to never worry about heavily marketing your first book, especially if it is part of a series. He said you will spend the same amount of money, time and effort to market one book as half-a-dozen. His success came in the 1970s-1990s, which were a different era, but the logic holds true.
If this is your first book and you are neither a celebrity nor have a very large social media following, it is highly likely that your first book will not sell in large numbers, especially if you are an indie author. However, even traditionally published authors still need to put a lot of effort into selling their first book. This is why the traditional market is so full of celebrity and social media books, because readers buy for the author, not necessarily the story.
But that doesn’t mean do nothing. Nobody will buy a book they don’t know about. You should still work hard on social media, trade fairs, and book tours to promote your book. You can send money for marketing with Amazon or Facebook adverts, or similar outlets, but the return on your investment is low if you only have one book. A single advert for one book is going to cost the same as one for 5 books, but in the latter case, a customer has 5 books to potentially attract them.
There is one key question to ask yourself about marketing and PR. Do you write for fun and don’t care about sales, do you want sales but are not worried if they are low, or do you want to be a full-time author?
If you are just writing for fun, don’t waste money on marketing; just enjoy the process and use PR on social media to spread the word, and maybe attend the occasional trade fair.
If sales do matter, you will need to spend money on marketing, but be sensible about how much you spend compared to the sales you achieve. Think of it like a hobby. How much are you willing to spend to indulge your love of skiing, hiking, or even reading books? The amount you spend on marketing, less any royalties you receive need to ensure you are only spending a net amount you are comfortable with.
If you want to be a full-time author, then you are running a business and need to commit the time and effort you would to running any business. You need a business plan detailing what you are spending on marketing, attending trade shows and book events, artwork, and sales materials, etc. You also need to track sales to ensure they cover those costs and maximise revenue. A sales price that is too high will hurt sales; a price that is too low could impact net income. There are also other, more mundane factors to consider. Have you registered with your local tax authorities? Do you have a website? If not, is there a suitable domain name you could buy, such as your author name? You may need to buy multiple versions of your domain name, e.g. AuthorName.Com, AuthorName.Co.UK. AuthorName.Ca etc.
Again, great advice for us all! So now can you give us your blurb for your books please 😀
The series blurb is:
If you love science fiction, like Doctor Who, Percy Jackson, Stranger Things and Star Trek, but also enjoy coming-of-age tales like Heartstopper, this book series is for you.
Sci-fi action and adventure trade places as Bobby’s alien body lodger is revealed to his friends, who agree to support him on the quest to uncover who the Deceptor is and why the police seem to be helping the Deceptor.
Max and the Hidden Visitor appeals to anyone who loves science fiction and coming-of-age stories in an action-packed, page-turning adventure for ages 12 to 99.
Being a Sci-fi fan myself (well, most genres fit into that category for me, lol!) this is tooting my horn 🤣 But let's finish up with the blurb for your 3 books, and thanks so much for your time!
Max and the Hidden Visitor
When teenage Londoner Bobby Morris witnesses a mysterious accident in Piccadilly Circus, he thinks it is just another moment of madness in a city that thrives on chaos. But the dying man is not what he seems; he’s Max Janus, a two-thousand-year-old alien enforcer from a distant world. In his final seconds, Max transfers his energy soul into Bobby, creating an uneasy alliance in one body.
Bobby is left juggling college, secrets, and a sarcastic alien guest in his head while avoiding deadly Deceptors, rogue aliens who’ll stop at nothing to capture Max. With his family and friends at risk and a deadly creature in the world, Bobby must decide if he is just a kid from North London or the one to save them.
Witty, fast-paced and filled with action, Max and the Hidden Visitor is a sci-fi fantasy where growing up can also include saving the world.
Max and the Regent Supreme
Max, an experienced enforcer, is convinced the death of his enforcer parents, who were investigating electoral fraud on their dystopian planet, is linked to the crippling of his brother, who was looking into financial fraud at the highest levels of government years later. Little did Max know that the truth would rock his world and that of his best friend, Simo.
As the inhabitants of Zephyrion prepare to evacuate their collapsing planet, Max pursues a corrupt global government official. The chase sees him and his team of enforcers coming to Earth in 45 BC, Rome, just as Julius Caesar is about to be appointed dictator perpetuo.
How will Max, Simo, and the team of enforcers cope with going from a futuristic, technology-filled world to Ancient Rome? With no modern weapons, transport or communication technology, the task ahead of them looks insurmountable. While the price they will have to pay to track down the corrupt and murderous official may cost lives.
Max and the Regent Supreme is a non-stop rollercoaster prequel to Max and the Hidden Visitor—two standalone stories, separated by two thousand years but linked together by the actions of an alien enforcer.
Max and the Corporate Takeover
The explosive sequel to Max and the Hidden Visitor and Max and the Regent Supreme
Max, a two-thousand-year-old alien, is running out of time inside his latest host: eighteen-year-old Bobby Morris from North London. After a rocky beginning, life has settled into a fragile routine—Bobby is chasing his first job, and Max is preparing to move on.
When Bobby lands a junior role at a London investment bank, Max’s language skills crack open a secret buried for centuries—a web of lies, corruption, and betrayal stretching across Europe. Suddenly, Bobby’s ordinary struggles— his widowed mother finding love again, and his boyfriend’s rapid rise as a professional footballer—collide with a deadly game of power and greed.
What begins as a shocking discovery escalates into a high-stakes hunt involving bribery, blackmail, and kidnapping. For Max and Bobby, this isn’t just one last mission. It’s a fight for survival, and if they fail, it could be the end of them both.
Some Amazon country links:
UK - Max and the Hidden Visitor Max and the Regent Supreme Max and the Corporate Takeover
Canada - MATHV – MATRS – MATCT
Australia - MATHV – MATRS – MATCT