Tell us about Race Amazon.

Race Amazon is the adventure thriller I’ve always sought but never found.  The main character is an ordinary man, but with enough of a history to make him genuinely interesting for readers.  He gets the chance to redefine his life after being the victim of a shooting by a child, as a media frenzy throws him into the spotlight.   Picked as the camera operator for one of several teams set to race each other in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, he becomes embroiled in a series of events beyond his control.  Race Amazon narrates his journey to find himself, and to step up into another life.

My main aim was always to tell a story of a man fighting the odds; emotional, environmental and physical.  It is a thriller for adults so it was important for me to create believable relationships between characters, including sexual relationships.  These, I hope, add depth to the characters involved – nothing was included gratuitously.

What genre is it?

Thriller (Adventure).

What kind of readers will it appeal to?

Hopefully, a wide range of readers.  The characters drive any story and the characters in Race Amazon will appeal widely, mainly because they are so diverse.  The main character is not your average action hero – more of an anti-hero pushed into the spotlight by a series of events.  The book is developed through the relationships the characters form which has led the best feedback to come from female readers.  Race Amazon is a thriller, and as such it is written for an adult audience, as some of the content and themes are unsuitable for children.

Complete this sentence for us: if you like _____________ you will love Race Amazon.

Jack Higgins or Clive Cussler books.

Are you done with your hero, James Pace, or do you have plans to do more with the character?

Race Amazon is the first outing for James Pace.  I plan it to be the first book in a long-running series of novels; all with James Pace at their heart.  The second James Pace thriller; Skeleton Gold, is already half completed and is due out in April 2013.

You write poetry too. That sounds like a completely different skill.

Poetry is a passion of mine but I would never claim to be prolific poet.  I enjoy writing poetry but it is a very unique process for me and one that is more emotive than writing prose or a screenplay.  I like to write poetry on a range of subject areas too, so decided to compile my poems into general books of thirteen poems; hence my Baker’s Dozen series was born.  The first book was simply called Baker’s Dozen.  It is available now but the next one; Baker’s Dozen…back into the oven is due out in time for Christmas 2012.

Can you give us a verse from Bakers’ Dozen that is indicative of your poetry?

I have no ‘standard’ poetic style – I simply write what I see and feel when the moment strikes me.  I like all the poems in Baker’s Dozen but for different reasons.  I wrote a short poem called Shark, so it can be used here in its entirety:

SHARK

She swims with grace, sensing all;
Until the blood becomes her call,
Grey flashing tail, a victim’s fall.
 
Closing circles, black eyes roll back;
She bares her teeth in vicious snap,
And a lifeline taut now grows slack.
 
Scarlet waters becoming still;
Flesh torn away, her belly filled,
Hunger sated by a kill.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I have lived and breathed adventure stories since I was a child, from the exploits of wandering rabbits in Watership Down, through the Narnia books and Biggles, I have always been captivated by the wonderful worlds that great writers conjure.

As I grew up, I developed a taste for several authors but hit the jackpot the day I stumbled, quite by accident, on my first Dirk Pitt adventure. Nobody recommended Clive Cussler to me – I just spotted a good looking paperback cover one day whilst browsing in my local bookshop. Then to find that there were numerous other stories….and that Clive was still alive and writing more…wonderful! Added to the likes of Hammond Innes and Jack Higgins, I realised just how good adult fiction could be.

My first serious writing attempt came in my late teens, and took two years…a fantasy adventure I called Champion Heart.  Looking back now it had some nice touches but generally wasn’t very good. I learned a lot about the process of writing, however, which meant it wasn’t a complete failure.  It started my love affair with ‘real’ writing, which continues to grow stronger day by day.

I enjoy writing, as well as need it; it is a compulsion and I am grateful for anybody who gives their time and money to read my work. I intend to write at least one new James Pace novel each year from now on and I will do my best to make each new book better than the one before.  I also plan to write my poetry and publish new verses in my Baker’s Dozen series.

As for me personally, I love riding horses and motorcycles, can strum a guitar not too badly, enjoy being near water (but not particularly in it, which is apparently odd for a Pisces!), have kept German Shepherd dogs for years and I am a huge fan of a decently chilled Pinot Grigio to accompany fresh prawns and crab on a hot summer day….especially if it can be sampled while aboard a boat!

I am in my early forties and have the benefit of a wonderful family.  Happily married to Joanna, we have three wonderful children and a dog.

Have you got a site where readers can keep up with your work?

Readers can keep up with my work at my website, or on Twitter.  My website is www.andylucasbooks.com and contains free sample chapters of my books as well as a sample poem.  They can then see if I am a writer for their bookshelf; real or virtual – risk free!

Where can people buy your books?

My books are available to buy at Amazon – purchase links are also available on my website.  They are available to download on Kindle or purchase as a paperback.  Race Amazon has two current paperback versions available; a standard paperback and a large-print version.

What’s next?

Baker’s Dozen…back into the oven will be ready for a pre-Christmas release (2012).  Skeleton Gold is on schedule for publication in April 2013; perhaps a little sooner.  I am currently completing a full rewrite of my previously unreleased sci-fi thriller; Underworld, set against a backdrop of the Bermuda Triangle.  The rewrite is so comprehensive that it has pushed back the completion of Skeleton Gold because I want to ensure Underworld is as good as it can possibly be before I publish it.

I also plan to transcribe Race Amazon into a cinematic screenplay as soon as I get some spare time.  I think the story and characters would work well on the big screen.

Thanks for the interview.  My aim is to get as many people as possible to visit my website and try the free samples of my work.  The rest is up to them – there is no need to spend a penny unless they really like something they read.  Then, of course, I’d be delighted if they wanted to buy a download or a paperback.

Back to the laptop now…..