Adrian Russell's Blog, page 2
December 17, 2016
Writing with cliff-hanger chapter endings

I remember being inspired when I read Dan Brown’s first novel The Da Vinci Code.
His writing style leaves you hanging at the end of every chapter. Dan Brown always leaving you wanting to find out what happens next, and always leaving you not wanting to put the novel down.
Little did I know when I read Dan Brown’s book, that a few years later I’d be a novelist also.
Keeping in mind the aim of writing with cliff-hanger chapter endings, when I wrote Nothing Left But Fear, I chose a writing style to achieve this too.
When I was interviewed on the Radio with Alan Coote, he had read my novel beforehand. Before we went live, he commented before on how I ended each chapter, leaving him hanging and wanting to continue reading.
‘An uncomfortable yet compelling read; An intriguing and original novel. You are drawn in from the first page as the terrifying plot unfolds… A unique story-line which delves deep into the human psyche.’ Review on Amazon
How I achieve cliff-hanger chapter endings
The way I personally achieve cliff-hanger chapter ends, is to write each character from beginning to end. When I’ve finished writing each one, I then splice them all together. With Nothing Left But Fear I finished the writing off by writing the chapters from the Purps view-point.
Whilst writing the story for each character, I insert breaks in the story-line at points where I think it makes for a good cliff-hanger.
When I finally splice the novel all together, the individual character chapters are split apart. This leaves you needing to read-on until you next find this character or plot within the story line, which could be a few chapters ahead in the book.
I wasn’t always able to achieve this suspense, as it depends on which character you are writing about, and where their story fits in within the overall plot.
Writing in this way does make for a complicated job. But for me I see it as the only way to get my story down on paper, or should I say typed on my keyboard.
My new novel about Daniel Hawkins, a detective in London, is written in the same way. As I write this blog post, I am over 36,000 words in, so I hope to release this novel mid 2017.
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December 2, 2016
To swear or not to swear that is the question

Should books and novels include swear words?
So the reason for this question you might ask… well on the flight to Barbados in November I got talking to a lady on the flight who was sitting opposite me. When she asked what I did, I told her that I’m a novelist.
After a short discussion about my novel, she asked if there was any swearing in the book…And of course I had to be honest with her and said yes.
She told me that she couldn’t read books with swearing in them, as it made her feel uncomfortable. Which I found interesting and got me thinking.
My response to this lady on the flight, was to say that for me to make the book ‘real’ and ‘true to life’, certain characters would swear in everyday life.
By including searing it made my novel real. It is written to truly represent the characters concerned and is a part of the story.
So I hope not to offend people with the words I use, but I know that each time I included an ‘F***’ word, it made me stop an pause for a moment. Is this necessary and is it likely that the character would had used this word if they were a real person?
If I compare this example to EastEnders, which is a BBC program my wife watches on a regular basis. My thinking is that many of the characters in this soap series would swear if they were real people. I imagine that if this program wasn’t on at the time of day that it is, then it would more than likely include a lot of swearing. This is not a criticism of EastEnders (so for those fans out there I’m not saying this to upset you). For me, the program isn’t true to life, as I know for sure that certain of the characters would swear in real life.
Am I condoning swearing? I’m not sure really, but the reality is swearing is a part of life and our language. So when I write a novel, I feel for me it has to be true to the characters I am are portraying.
I think this is true for any creative work you do, including films and TV series.
For me, I wouldn’t stop watching a movie or stop reading a book, simply because it has swearing in it. However, I respect people who don’t like this type of language.
It got me thinking…should I have two versions of my novel: one with swearing, and the other without…I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject.
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November 16, 2016
What would inspire you to write your very first novel?

I thought I’d share my story of how my novel got finished, with the aim of inspiring you to get to either begin writing or to get it finished…I began writing the novel around four years ago, but like most things it go shoved to one side and never got finished. However, in 2014 I got struck down with cancer and this is where my novelist journey began…
Fortunately, I survived cancer treatment last year (2015), and my first chemo treatment was on 31 December 2014 (New Years Eve no less!).
I remember when I was first told about having cancer…it was 17th December 2014…that date will be imprinted on my mind forever.
This was a very emotional time for my my family and me, plus very scary for me I will admit. There was loads of tears and some very deep thinking about what this meant to me.
My wife had to almost force me up the stairs of the hospital for my first treatment, as I really didn’t want to go…the thought of all those chemicals being pumped into my body frightened me.
So despite getting sepsis three times, fungal pneumonia, pleurisy, losing all my hair, being horrendously sick and losing two stone…I got through it and I’m now in remission.
I do have Cancer Research to thank for having treatment available that works. A very close friend of the family died of the very same cancer nearly 30 years ago…so he wasn’t so lucky.
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining – for this novelist it has
‘Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining’ though – Because I used the time to finish my very first novel
My new novelist journey began when I knew the first chemo treatment was to be spread over 7 or so hours.
To help take my mind of the treatment and to alleviate the boredom of sitting in a hospital for hours, I decided to take my laptop with me.
I then sat and typed away for almost 7 hours! The nurses were asking what I was doing and were intrigued when I told them I was writing my novel.
I am hoping that my little story will inspire you. Live is way too short so please get writing that book or make sure you finish writing one you’ve already started.
I have often come across many people who’ve said they have either started to write a novel or book, or others that have an idea for one. Most never get around to finishing or writing it. Please don’t let that be you
October 31, 2016
An Excited Novelist

An Excited Novelist Adrian Russell…
I have to say that today is a fantastic day for me!
Why? Because I received the very first copy of the paperback, which is hot of the press from CreateSpace in America of my debut novel Nothing Left But Fear.
It seems almost unreal, but it’s not.
All that hard work, hours of writing, many hours checking and re-reading and hours of thinking out the story, has all finally paid off…it arrived today and I’m so excited.
I feel like a kid again…it’s like Christmas has come early.
Receiving my paperback in the post has really spurred me on to continue with my next novel, which is a crime thriller and about a detective. The first criminal Daniel Hawkins (the detective) has to deal with is a vigilante and takes a dislike to abusive men.
I’m still working on the sub-title of the book and I’m still building the story.
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October 28, 2016
Thriller or Horror Novel
Thriller or horror novel…that is the question?
I’ve been told that my new novel “Nothing Left But Fear” is scary, so I’m now thinking, should I classify it as a horror instead of a thriller?
As I know the story because I wrote it, and because I know the outcome at each stage, it’s hard for me to feel the suspense in my own book.
I know what happens, as I spent hours writing the story, so it’s not too scary for me. But when I get feed back like…’I still haven’t been brave enough to read it yet, but I will do!’ From a reader in the UK. And then ‘It’s scary!’ From a fan and reader in Hawaii on Facebook…this has made me think.
I do however feel that the book is more of a thriller and it isn’t a horror, but it stopped me to ponder…as I tend to do from time to time.
Your comments and feedback would be helpful to me please.
Thank you.
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October 26, 2016
Adrian Russell Talks on Radio about Nothing Left But Fear
Adrian Russell talks to Alan Coote on Let’s Talk Business Radio about ‘Nothing Left But Fear‘. A Horror/Thriller novel set in Zambia, Africa. A true survival tale which leaves deadbeats vulnerable and alone in the wild! Stripped of everything so all they have left is…FEAR!
Author Adrian Russell talks about his new book Nothing Left But Fear:
‘Sadistic kidnappers leave unsuspecting deadbeats vulnerable
and alone in unfriendly and hostile places. These deadbeats,
together with an unsuspecting guest, soon find out they are not
actually alone at all! When they realise what’s out there, they are
not only left with a deep primal fear, but they are now faced with a
fight for their very survival. A gut-wrenching thriller from Adrian
Russell which takes readers on an eye-popping journey to a place
where mercenary predators lurk at every turn.’
Alan Coote gets to grips with the story behind Russell’s new novel ‘Nothing Left But Fear‘.
There are emotional parts to the interview, as Russell opens up to his experience that led him to finish writing his debut novel!
No stone un-turned and an you get to find out more about the author.
A link to Lets Talk Business Radio.
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October 1, 2016
International author Adrian Russell
It’s official Adrian Russell is an international selling author. His debut novel has now sold in the UK, the USA (Including Hawaii) and down as far as Australia.
NOTHING LEFT BUT FEAR
‘Thank you to my local readers and now to my far flung readers.’ Adrian Russell
Adrian Russell’s debut novel is officially selling around the globe!
Nothing Left But Fear can be purchased either on Amazon or on CreateSpace, as a download Kindle Version or as a paperback novel on Amazon.
This is a self-published book, which makes Adrian an Indie Publisher.
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August 21, 2016
Nothing Left But Fear Novel
Adrian Russell has published his first novel. It is presently only available on Amazon as a Kindle Download.
If you want to get your copy please click here.
What’s the story about?
“Sadistic kidnappers leave unsuspecting deadbeats vulnerable and alone in unfriendly and hostile places. These deadbeats, together with an unsuspecting guest, soon find out they are not actually alone at all!
When they realise what’s out there, they are not only left with a deep primal fear, but they are now faced with a fight for their very survival. A gut-wrenching thriller from Adrian Russell which takes readers on an eye-popping journey to a place where mercenary predators lurk at every turn.”
The title was originally going to be called Wildebeest Survive, as Adrian Russell had the idea for the book for quite some time, and as the theme is based upon survival,this name seemed apt. However, Russell’s wife Jo insisted that the name didn’t seem right and pointed to more of a nature survival book instead of the thriller novel. Of course my wife is right and it got changed to Nothing Left But Fear.
I have to say thank you to my editor David Gaskill, who spent many hours going through my lengthy manuscript for me.
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