LQ: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
DL: My name is Dan, I’m 31 years old. I reside in London with my partner and our little dog Dexter. I’m a huge Guns’n’Roses fan. I support Manchester City F.C. I enjoy reading and writing, I enjoy movies and I enjoy rock music. I also play bass guitar.
LQ: What does your writing process look like?
DL: My writing process is a nightmare. I usually get to 70,000 words on a project then scrap it and start over. This usually works and the start over is usually the piece of work I end up happy with.
I’m trying something different for my current WIP by handwriting the entire first draft and editing in the type up before it goes to my awesome editor friend to work on. What usually happens from this point is I take his revisions under consideration (By that I mean I damn well revise the text and do as I’m asked). Then there will be two or three more rounds of edits and revisions before the publication process. To offer a little perspective Bliss took 1 year to draft and 2 more to get to a point where I was happy to release it.
LQ: What was your favorite book to write so far?
DL: Bliss. It’s out 17/4/2020 on kindle and paperback via Amazon. I loved writing it, I loved working on it. I loved reading it back and more than that, when I hit the ending I had my heart in my mouth despite knowing what was going to happen. I really hope people enjoy it as much as I have.
LQ: Who is your favorite character to write about?
DL: Captain Afton Orochi. He’s a fearless sky-pirate and captain of the infamous Stormkite. I won’t say any more for fear of spoilers. I would love to use him more in some further novels.
LQ: Who are your favorite authors? Have any of them influenced your work?
DL: This is such a difficult question if we are talking literature I love Harper Lee, David Foster Wallace, Alex Garland, Steven King, and Bulgakov.
If we are talking fantasy then I love George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, and JK Rowling.
I believe everything has an influence or an inspiration and likewise has the ability to be both an influence and an inspiration. Everything has the potential to spark that moment that resonates with you and inspires you to write. There are some amazing and wonderful writers out there.
LQ: How are you doing during the current pandemic?
DL: These are interesting times we are living in. My partner and I have both survived COVID 19. I lost my job and that’s stressful but I’m counting my blessings. People are dying every day, people are losing loved ones every day. Things could have been much worse.
I’m writing every day and loving my household. We are so lucky.
I’d advise people to take no chances with this illness. The exhaustion is amazing. Its like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
LQ: What are you currently working on?
DL: I’m working on a contemporary dark comedy in the vein of Chuck Palahniuk. It’s about a guy who is blackmailed into blackmailing somebody. They work together to nefarious ends. I’m enjoying that both my MC’s are absolutely awful criminals, completely guilty, and deserving of locking away. The story is told from their perspective and designed so the reader wants them to succeed although they really shouldn’t as they are so fundamentally unlikable. One of them also has a brother with Down syndrome who is very vulnerable and is blackmailed and there is an exploration of redemption. Even monsters can love. I don’t expect to put this out until 2021.
I’d like to warn people now that while Bliss is very much a fantasy novel and I’ve taken every care to make sure a teenager could pick it up and be happy reading it, this other contemporary work out next year has a lot of very naughty words and distressing moments in it and might cause offence or heartbreak.
LQ: Anything else you would like to share?
DL: Bliss is out 17/4/2020. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to reading some independently published works I’ve picked up for indie April. Stay safe and love each other, Dan
