Ask the Author: Alan Hamilton
Answered Questions (10)
Alan Hamilton
I think you'll find Martin a good example of a successful crime-fiction writer and a good model to follow. I reviewed on Amazon (a while ago) his novel based on the Crippen case, 'Dancing for the Hangman'. Again, not a stereotypical 'crime story'. But I've also read a couple of his 'police procedurals'; one set in Liverpool, the other in the Lake District.
Good luck with your books.
AlanH
Good luck with your books.
AlanH
Alan Hamilton
Hi, Joy
The only crime fiction I've written is fairly untypical as it tells the story of the criminal and the police don't come out of it well. So I'm probably not the best person to ask about 'how to do it'. Look up Martin Edwards - he's written lots of crime stories and is thought to be one of the best at it. Tell me about the other two novels you've written. I'm trying to find an agent for my second novel which is a saga about a dysfunctional family in between-the-wars Britain - it does include a murder and a fatal accident, and now I'm writing a historical novel based on 'what if Richard III had won at Bosworth and it was Henry (VII) who was killed'.
Hope this helps.
Alan
The only crime fiction I've written is fairly untypical as it tells the story of the criminal and the police don't come out of it well. So I'm probably not the best person to ask about 'how to do it'. Look up Martin Edwards - he's written lots of crime stories and is thought to be one of the best at it. Tell me about the other two novels you've written. I'm trying to find an agent for my second novel which is a saga about a dysfunctional family in between-the-wars Britain - it does include a murder and a fatal accident, and now I'm writing a historical novel based on 'what if Richard III had won at Bosworth and it was Henry (VII) who was killed'.
Hope this helps.
Alan
Alan Hamilton
The straight answer is 'slowly'. The 'day job', which means earning money from others' writing (i.e.editing) is very busy at the moment. I have, though, completed the first three chapters and I've started the fourth. I've also rewritten the synopsis for the first of the two books.
If you'd like to see what I've done so far, please let me know, and I'll email it to you. I genuinely appreciate this kind of interest in my writing; it also encourages me to find time to do it.
If you'd like to see what I've done so far, please let me know, and I'll email it to you. I genuinely appreciate this kind of interest in my writing; it also encourages me to find time to do it.
Alan Hamilton
VIK
Thanks for the question - and the interest. I have written the first chapter and part of the second. There is also a synopsis. The plan is for there to be two novels. The first, titled, This Son of York: the second In a Foreign Field. The first chapter was 'shortlisted' in a competition run by Kobo and Silverwood Books - but to progress it had to be finished by the end of last month and there was no possibility of that. It was a good omen, though. If you'd like to see the first chapter and the synopsis, I'd be happy to send it as an email attachment for you to read and comment.
Thanks for the question - and the interest. I have written the first chapter and part of the second. There is also a synopsis. The plan is for there to be two novels. The first, titled, This Son of York: the second In a Foreign Field. The first chapter was 'shortlisted' in a competition run by Kobo and Silverwood Books - but to progress it had to be finished by the end of last month and there was no possibility of that. It was a good omen, though. If you'd like to see the first chapter and the synopsis, I'd be happy to send it as an email attachment for you to read and comment.
Alan Hamilton
I go and do something else. Read, listen to music, play with another idea for an article, blog, review, book etc. and come back to the one I'm blocked on when I'm ready. Writing's a marathon, not a sprint. In my case, I'm particularly lucky because I have a lot of copy editing work to do for a major publisher and that gives me any break from writing I might need.
Alan Hamilton
The creative process. You have an idea and you clothe it in your own words. Something only you have done, something you alone could have done. It might be a blog, a review, an essay, a book - the process is the same, and when you look at the final version of what you have written and it pleases you, there are few things in life more satisfying.
Alan Hamilton
Read good fiction, keep reading it, read a wide range of genres, and read as a critic, even if you never publish your critique. Don't be shy of using authors whose work you enjoy and respect as models for your own writing.
Alan Hamilton
An alternative (fictional) history of the post-Bosworth reign of Richard III of England, assuming that he defeated and killed Henry Tudor during the battle. It should be a two-parter; the first book from 1485 to about 1495, the second ending early in the following century.
Alan Hamilton
I read a lot around the subject until I'm so familiar with it I can produce a 'sysnopsis', in other words, what the shape and direction of my version of it will be. Then I find the actual writing starts to follow naturally. I have to have planned it first, I can't just start writing.
Alan Hamilton
Stalemate is based on the still 'unsolved' Wallace murder case (Liverpool UK - 1931), something I've always been interested in. The plot owes much to 'The Killing of Julia Wallace' Gannon, 2012, Amberley.
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