Tell us aboutEnhanced.
A brilliant scientist discovers an unknown genetic code; he determines that if the code is activated then the person gains superhuman abilities. Of course things start to go wrong after he unlocks the code of a particularly nasty individual, his son.

Enhanced, follows the main protagonists in a running battle around the world, and while there is more than a little gore along the way, it also deals with deeper issues. It deals with things like loyalty, honour, and making hard decisions. Decisions that may end in personal pain, but in the long run will benefit others. These are lofty things that many of us aspire to, but very few of us achieve. I think it is this underlying struggle that is interesting. However, lofty ideals are not enough to keep a reader turning the pages, so I filled the book with breakneck action and intriguing individuals. Enhanced has something for everyone.

What genre is it?
I guess this book falls into two categories, the first would be sci-fi, and the second would be speculative fiction. I personally feel it’s more speculative than full on sci-fi, after all many of the things I talk about in the book are already becoming a reality. Well, maybe not quite reality, but there are things in Enhanced that are certainly under development around the world. For example: stem cells are being used to grow artificial organs in the lab, is it such a stretch to think a human could be grown this way?

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Many of my readers seem to be young males who love action filled books with lots of blood and guts, but I am surprised by the number of women who have read it. I often get contacted on Twitter (@beninoz), and I would say that close to 40% of those people are female. So to answer your question, clearly I have no idea what my demographic is. If you like fast paced books then this should be right up your alley. If you think Enhanced might not be your cup of tea, still buy it because I want to give up my day job.

Complete this sentence for us: If you like_________________, then you’ll love Enhanced.
fast paced books with enough action to leave you feeling numb

Will we be seeing lead character Zac in future books?
I think so, but I have other ideas I want to explore first. I have started the sequel, and I’ve already roughed out around 30,000 words, but it’s on the back burner for now.

Some authors hate playing this game, while some love it. Imagine Enhanced was being made into a huge Hollywood blockbuster and you were in charge of casting: who would play Zac? Lea? And what about Dominic?
Good one—let me think. For Zac I would choose Sam Worthington because he has the same unassuming persona as Zac. For Lea, I would like Mila Kunis please. Lastly Dominic, he’s a tough one. I think Michael Fassbender could play the role nicely.

I’ll throw one more of my characters into the mix if I may. Dominic’s father, Dr. Henry Skinner, could be played by David Thewlis. He looks so much like the image of Skinner that I have in my head.

In the Stephen King novel, Misery, his character celebrates finishing each book with a cigar and a drink. Do you have any little rituals like that?
No, I don’t do anything quite as grandiose as that. I’ve finished four books now, and at the end of each I just start work on the next. I don’t think I can celebrate until I can make writing my fulltime career, maybe then I’ll crack out the cigars.

How have you marketed Enhanced? Do you use social media? Anything else?
I market through Twitter (@beninoz) mainly, and I love getting feedback from those followers who have read the book. I now have close to 12,000 followers, and many of them help with re-tweets and the like. I owe much of Enhanced’s success to them.

You suffer from dyslexia. How has this impacted your writing?
Well it certainly has posed  a few problems along the way. I left school all but illiterate, and really didn’t learn to read until my mid-twenties. This means I never learned the rules of grammar or spelling. As a result I rely on several pieces of software. The first is Word’s trusty spell checker, and the second is a text to speech software.

The text to speech software is the greatest tool I have. Every time I write a paragraph, I instantly listen back to it. I listen for word usage, grammar and overall flow, I just keep tweaking until I’m happy. Another problem my dyslexia throws up, is when I get tired the letters start moving. To counter this I write for no more than an hour at a time.

Wow. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
I was born in Reading England and at the age of twenty three I emigrated to Perth Western Australia with my girlfriend. A year later we married and we had two children, a boy and a girl. You may not be surprised to learn my son’s name is Zac, I have also written a book (Pohon Setan) where my daughter, Chelsea, is the main protagonist.

I work in construction, but I would love writing to be my full time job.

Have you got a website where readers can keep up with your work?
I sure do, www.bensbook.weebly.com. You can also find me on Twitter, just look for @beninoz.

Where can we buy Enhanced?
You can find it in all the big eBook stores, check out my website to find all the links.

What’s next?
My publisher is currently editing a novella I wrote called, Tykocin. That book is about a burnt out FBI agent who discovers a Nazi plot in the middle of New York. I am also in the process of doing the final edit on a novel called, The Eden Hole. This book follows a character I first created in a short story two years ago. After I’ve finished that one, I’ll just keep typing away at my keyboard hoping for that bestseller.