Ask the Author: Charlie Gallagher
Answered Questions (20)
Charlie Gallagher
Sherri, thanks for your interest and for getting in touch.
You can read the series from the beginning to end in the right order and you will find (subtle) references to previous books and you will also see an overall arc for the core characters. That said, I was also careful to make sure that each book could be enjoyed as a standalone - so either will be fine! It really comes down to your personal preference.
I hope you given one or more a try and I sincerely hope you enjoy the experience.
Charlie.
You can read the series from the beginning to end in the right order and you will find (subtle) references to previous books and you will also see an overall arc for the core characters. That said, I was also careful to make sure that each book could be enjoyed as a standalone - so either will be fine! It really comes down to your personal preference.
I hope you given one or more a try and I sincerely hope you enjoy the experience.
Charlie.
Charlie Gallagher
I am quite confident in saying that all writers have experienced a bad review!
It hurts like hell at first, these are very personal things that we are putting out into the wild. I can't tell you how much effort goes into making it the best thing I can possibly produce and for someone to write it off in a matter of words and a single lit star was devastating.
I'm delighted to say that it doesn't bother me anymore. I've come to understand the industry and my place in it. What we do is art and the moment you create something that everybody loves is the moment that art dies and we can't have that. I write stories that I love, I do them to the best of my ability and now that I've released a story 19 times, I know that some people will love them too and some will definitely not - and that's absolutely fine.
There are also different types of negative review. Those that just say it wasn't for them are ones that you'll skip over, those that are constructive and break down what they didn't like specifically are the reviews that I will read to see if there's anything that can be learned. A simple example, in the first series I ever did, someone complained that a character used the person's name whenever she was talking to them and that this was jarring. I read it back and I agreed and my dialogue got better in that moment.
I've gone on. What I think I am trying to say is that we need honest feedback. Blowing smoke up my ass is no good to me if there are ways I can be better. I always want my next book to be better than the last and honest feedback from people who know their fiction is a very important part of that.
Thanks for the question - and thanks for the lovely comment. I've also seen your reviews against my books and I thank you for those - reviews, good or bad, are so important and I really appreciate you taking the time.
It hurts like hell at first, these are very personal things that we are putting out into the wild. I can't tell you how much effort goes into making it the best thing I can possibly produce and for someone to write it off in a matter of words and a single lit star was devastating.
I'm delighted to say that it doesn't bother me anymore. I've come to understand the industry and my place in it. What we do is art and the moment you create something that everybody loves is the moment that art dies and we can't have that. I write stories that I love, I do them to the best of my ability and now that I've released a story 19 times, I know that some people will love them too and some will definitely not - and that's absolutely fine.
There are also different types of negative review. Those that just say it wasn't for them are ones that you'll skip over, those that are constructive and break down what they didn't like specifically are the reviews that I will read to see if there's anything that can be learned. A simple example, in the first series I ever did, someone complained that a character used the person's name whenever she was talking to them and that this was jarring. I read it back and I agreed and my dialogue got better in that moment.
I've gone on. What I think I am trying to say is that we need honest feedback. Blowing smoke up my ass is no good to me if there are ways I can be better. I always want my next book to be better than the last and honest feedback from people who know their fiction is a very important part of that.
Thanks for the question - and thanks for the lovely comment. I've also seen your reviews against my books and I thank you for those - reviews, good or bad, are so important and I really appreciate you taking the time.
Charlie Gallagher
Yes. We are all signed up and Andrea is doing her thang!
Charlie Gallagher
These are my favourite sort of questions! Thanks so much for getting in touch and for letting me know you enjoyed the book. I am delighted, of course!
At least, I think you enjoyed it...
All the best,
CG.
At least, I think you enjoyed it...
All the best,
CG.
Charlie Gallagher
Hey Simon. Thanks for the question. When I was first offered the opportunity to publish the Maddie series I was a serving police officer with Kent Police. I spoke with them and they were very supportive, but we agreed that I would not use Kent so I wouldn't have to use 'Kent Police.' I think it was right not to do that, but I regret the execution of it a little. Later in that Maddie series the force have a bit of a rebrand and it's back to Kent Police, which tells you that I was never quite happy with it. I hope it doesn't detract too much from the stories - thanks again for your interest and for reading.
CG
CG
Charlie Gallagher
Eva,
Thanks for the interest. At the moment I don't plan on bringing George back, he's a man who has earned a rest! That said, I considered the Maddie Ives series finished and have just written the next two in that series - so you can never say never.
My next book(s) are those two Maddie books. 'Last One Alive' comes out on Thursday and then Maddie #8 is read to go for January 2023. I am already working on the one after that, which (at the moment) is a brand new standalone that may or may not become a whole new series. This one will focus on a very specific and very different area of policing to what I have done before.
Thanks again for the interest,
CG.
Thanks for the interest. At the moment I don't plan on bringing George back, he's a man who has earned a rest! That said, I considered the Maddie Ives series finished and have just written the next two in that series - so you can never say never.
My next book(s) are those two Maddie books. 'Last One Alive' comes out on Thursday and then Maddie #8 is read to go for January 2023. I am already working on the one after that, which (at the moment) is a brand new standalone that may or may not become a whole new series. This one will focus on a very specific and very different area of policing to what I have done before.
Thanks again for the interest,
CG.
Charlie Gallagher
Trevor,
Thanks for getting in touch.
The place names in Lethal Game should all be correct. I replaced 'Folkestone' and 'Kent' as I was a serving police officer at the time that series was first published and it was part of an agreement not to name where I was based or an existing police force (i.e Kent Police). I don't have those constraints anymore and all place names moving forward will be correct!
Hope this answers the question and thanks for the positive feedback.
Regards,
CG.
Thanks for getting in touch.
The place names in Lethal Game should all be correct. I replaced 'Folkestone' and 'Kent' as I was a serving police officer at the time that series was first published and it was part of an agreement not to name where I was based or an existing police force (i.e Kent Police). I don't have those constraints anymore and all place names moving forward will be correct!
Hope this answers the question and thanks for the positive feedback.
Regards,
CG.
Charlie Gallagher
Ha! Thank you for this!
A lot of tea (how very British) and a lot of mumbling nonsense under my breath until a story falls out. I'm so glad you liked it and thank you - as ever - for your support.
A lot of tea (how very British) and a lot of mumbling nonsense under my breath until a story falls out. I'm so glad you liked it and thank you - as ever - for your support.
Charlie Gallagher
Dave - thanks for the contact and the interest.
My wife always answers this one best: 'he's full of sh*t' she will say. I can't really better that to be honest and believe me, I have tried!
I'm what is known as a pantser - I wish it had a better name - which is where I make up stories as I go. I'll have a central concept, a single scene that I am working towards or a place I want characters to get to and I'll just bundle towards it. It's not a very efficient way to work (a lot of revisions!) but it works for me and I love it. It means I will start a book and have no idea of the twists and turns until they happen - and more often than not, I will have no idea how it ends. I do mix in some of my policing experience or life experience (or, more than once, the loud fella who's sat next to me in the coffee shop at the time I needed a new victim) as all writer's must.
So that's the long answer and I think is what my wife means!
And no need to be in awe or anything, it's a clumsy style of hits and misses, blind alleys, nonsense and constant revisions. But, like I said, I love it and I know how lucky I am that it is now my full-time occupation so I get to make a massive mess and then I can take my time fixing it.
Thanks again and I hope that answered your question.
CG.
My wife always answers this one best: 'he's full of sh*t' she will say. I can't really better that to be honest and believe me, I have tried!
I'm what is known as a pantser - I wish it had a better name - which is where I make up stories as I go. I'll have a central concept, a single scene that I am working towards or a place I want characters to get to and I'll just bundle towards it. It's not a very efficient way to work (a lot of revisions!) but it works for me and I love it. It means I will start a book and have no idea of the twists and turns until they happen - and more often than not, I will have no idea how it ends. I do mix in some of my policing experience or life experience (or, more than once, the loud fella who's sat next to me in the coffee shop at the time I needed a new victim) as all writer's must.
So that's the long answer and I think is what my wife means!
And no need to be in awe or anything, it's a clumsy style of hits and misses, blind alleys, nonsense and constant revisions. But, like I said, I love it and I know how lucky I am that it is now my full-time occupation so I get to make a massive mess and then I can take my time fixing it.
Thanks again and I hope that answered your question.
CG.
Charlie Gallagher
Ha, this is so lovely! Thank you, Joyce. I'm delighted that you enjoyed the book. This may not technically be a question, but it might just be my favourite question!
Charlie Gallagher
Erika,
Thanks so much for getting in touch and I am delighted to hear you are enjoying the books. As it stands, there are no plans for the recording of those two books.
However, three of the Maddie Ives series are available on that format - with discussions to get the other two (soon to be three) also recorded. The wonderful Antonia Beamish reads those.
I hope you will give them a go and you enjoy them just as much!
Thanks again,
CG
Thanks so much for getting in touch and I am delighted to hear you are enjoying the books. As it stands, there are no plans for the recording of those two books.
However, three of the Maddie Ives series are available on that format - with discussions to get the other two (soon to be three) also recorded. The wonderful Antonia Beamish reads those.
I hope you will give them a go and you enjoy them just as much!
Thanks again,
CG
Charlie Gallagher
Erika,
Thanks so much for getting in touch and for the interest.
The first 5 George Elms books are available as Audiobooks via Tantor Media. The first 3 Maddies Ives are available via Bolinda (but also up on Audible).
We are in conversation about the rest of the Maddie Ives series - books 4 and 5 at least. I would love for Antonia Beamish to narrate those two.
Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for getting in touch and for the interest.
The first 5 George Elms books are available as Audiobooks via Tantor Media. The first 3 Maddies Ives are available via Bolinda (but also up on Audible).
We are in conversation about the rest of the Maddie Ives series - books 4 and 5 at least. I would love for Antonia Beamish to narrate those two.
Hope this helps!
Charlie Gallagher
Bill,
Thanks so much for the question. It seems to take me around four months to get from a starting point to a final draft. I get very obsessed and absorbed with the story (just ask the wife!) and I will work on it just about every available minute. I will say that every book seems to be different - the last book 'He Knows Your Secrets' was the quickest I have ever written a story, it just seemed to all fall into place. They are not always like that!
I hope this answers your question.
Kindest regards,
Charlie.
Thanks so much for the question. It seems to take me around four months to get from a starting point to a final draft. I get very obsessed and absorbed with the story (just ask the wife!) and I will work on it just about every available minute. I will say that every book seems to be different - the last book 'He Knows Your Secrets' was the quickest I have ever written a story, it just seemed to all fall into place. They are not always like that!
I hope this answers your question.
Kindest regards,
Charlie.
Charlie Gallagher
Yolie - thanks for the question.
It's something I've always done and part of the thinking when applying for the police all that time ago, was that it would provide inspiration for the writing. It has certainly done that.
The crimes that occur are all made up of course but I do take bits of the characters that I meet through my job and use them to form whole characters. I enjoy the process, it's a good release from the intensity of the day job.
Thanks again,
CG
It's something I've always done and part of the thinking when applying for the police all that time ago, was that it would provide inspiration for the writing. It has certainly done that.
The crimes that occur are all made up of course but I do take bits of the characters that I meet through my job and use them to form whole characters. I enjoy the process, it's a good release from the intensity of the day job.
Thanks again,
CG
Charlie Gallagher
Clare,
I love a question but this is even better!
Thank you for the lovely comment. I have just released my 12th published book so I certainly hope you stay hooked!
Kind regards,
Charlie
I love a question but this is even better!
Thank you for the lovely comment. I have just released my 12th published book so I certainly hope you stay hooked!
Kind regards,
Charlie
Charlie Gallagher
Hey Ana - thanks for the question.
I read a lot of different people and in a lot of different genres. I really like Ian Rankin, he's very moody and intelligent as it Tess Gerritsen - I think I like people that are able to create a mood or a tone with their stuff. You pick up a Rankin or a Gerritsen book with a blank cover and you would immediately know who you were reading!
The author that made me love written stories was Road Dahl. I think he remains the greatest story teller of all time.
The one author that I always look out for in regards new releases is Simon Kernick. I like a story that grabs you by the scruff of the neck and only lets you go when it's done. Kernick does that. I have that in mind when I write too.
I read a lot of different people and in a lot of different genres. I really like Ian Rankin, he's very moody and intelligent as it Tess Gerritsen - I think I like people that are able to create a mood or a tone with their stuff. You pick up a Rankin or a Gerritsen book with a blank cover and you would immediately know who you were reading!
The author that made me love written stories was Road Dahl. I think he remains the greatest story teller of all time.
The one author that I always look out for in regards new releases is Simon Kernick. I like a story that grabs you by the scruff of the neck and only lets you go when it's done. Kernick does that. I have that in mind when I write too.
Charlie Gallagher
I walk my spaniel with some loud music. Usually I try not to think about it too much. The most important thing for me is to be calm about it. I know that it will lift at some point and the book will be all the better for having taken the time to work it out.
Charlie Gallagher
Creating something living, breathing and evolving from absolutely nothing. I love stories, I love finding out what happens and when I write I don't plan it out first, I start with little more than a rough direction. Any twists or turns are just as much a surprise to me as to the reader later on.
Charlie Gallagher
Do it because you love it. Write stuff that makes you feel. And write every day if you can - writing is a skill, like any skill it gets better with practice and momentum.
Charlie Gallagher
The fourth book in the series. The first draft is just about there. Then I have a stand-alone planned. I have been working hard with Joffe Books revamping the first three books so I can't wait to get stuck into a whole new story.
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