Tell us about FINDO’S MOUSETRAP

Findo’s Mousetrap is a fast moving, transatlantic novel that takes the reader back in time. The Stone Tape Theory says that when dramatic events take place the images and words are captured in the stone and structure of the surrounding building. Unknown events such as thunder, light etc. trigger the release of these events. This, according to the theory, is when we see ghosts.

Findo Gask and Eric McCubbin have discovered what it is that triggers this release and they call their computer programme The Mousetrap.

Spice this up with a stormy love story as Mousetrap solves a Royal historic riddle, a modern crime and a family mystery.

Stone Tape Theory? Is that a real theory or just a fictional device that you invented?
The Stone Tape Theory does exist and is well researched and followed.  There is a lot of material about it on the web.  I have simply used it within the story as it is a perfect fit for the way the Mousetrap works.  

Isn’t Findo Gask a place?
Findo Gask is a small village in Perthshire, Scotland and I have been driving past it on my way to Speyside and the Highlands for 30+ years.  In Findo’s Mousetrap the central character, Findo Gask, lives on a family estate called Strath Gask and I have deliberately placed this fictional estate and castle around the area of the actual village.

Oh okay. Tell us a bit more about Findo, Andrew McCubbin and Dympna Doyle.
Findo Gask is the son of Sir Findo and Lady Gask who have lived at Strath Gask, an estate and castle, for many hundreds of years.  His mother is actually a very wealthy English woman.  Andrew McCubbin is the son of the factor on the Strath Gask Estate (Eric McCubbin) and the boys are the same age, 30, and grew up together.   They are extremely close but McCubbin is extremely successful with girls where poor old Findo is rather more shy. 

To help launch the Mousetrap Findo manages to get an interview on the BBC Radio 4 morning news programme, Today.  Here he meets the stunningly beautiful redhead, Dympna Doyle.  She is an American of Irish descent and her father is an extremely successful and very wealthy newspaper and radio magnate.   She has just emerged from a stormy and sexually driven relationship with another, very unsuitable antiques dealer.  

Andrew is the technical brains behind Mousetrap, Findo is the front man and has the contacts.  The relationship between Findo and Dympna is one of the central themes around which the story revolves.

What genre is the book?
It is modern romantic, slightly erotic and mysterious fictional story.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
People interested in a good story, ghosts, the paranormal and, as much of the story takes place in an historic Scottish castle, lovers of Downton Abbey (a reader told me this).

Since they solve a number of different mysteries and riddles, is the book episodic or is there one unifying story?
Findo’s Mousetrap is one unifying story but I am already more than half way through a second book that involves many of the same characters.

Oh, that’s good to hear. How long did this book take you to write?
The final draft took me about six months although I have been playing around with the story for a couple of years.

What was the most challenging part of the process?
I loved the characters and after a comparatively short time they almost began to lead me. As some of the story involves historical scenes, I had to make sure the information was accurate. But the most challenging part was controlling the characters. Findo’s big test is on Ellis Island in Upper New York Bay and this was where most of the early immigrants to the United States landed, including Dympna’s grandfather. Her dad sets Findo the test to go back through time and see him setting foot on American soil. Happily, I have been to Ellis Island.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a former newspaper journalist and have seen several ghosts. I absolutely adore Scotland and for years have been driving past the Perthshire village of Findo Gask on my way to the Highlands and Speyside. I am also a great fan of the Glenfarclas Single Malt Scotch Whisky that Findo drinks and enjoys in the book. I love British history and the countryside. I have two grown up children, one granddaughter and a lovely wife to whom I have been married for a long time. She is also a former newspaper journalist.

Have you got a blog where readers can keep up with your work?
Sure have, catch up on findosmousetrap.wordpress.com. We have a webpage at www.findosmousetrap.co.uk or twitter (@FindosMousetrap) and Facebook.com/findosmousetrap.

And where can we buy Findo’s Mousetrap?
Amazon ( US , UK ).

What’s next?
I love Findo, Dympna and Eric so much that I am half way through their second book. Is someone trying to stop the development of Findo’s Mousetrap? What have they got to hide? Findo’s Mousetrap mark two will be out in the early spring.