Author Interview: Dean Mayes

Today we have Australian thriller writer Dan Hayes here on my blog. Despite being a self-professed 'late bloomer', he has won numerous awards for his books and has been featured in on television as well as major publications. Today, he shares his life, his writing schedule and his upcoming novel, The Recipient with us. 

Describe yourself in five words.
 
Stubborn, OCD, Tenacious, Disorganized, A Writer.
 
Has staring your writing career at a later age had an impact on your craft? Do you think it is more mature and developed than it would have been if you started younger?
 
It has – a positive one. I only really got my act together as a writer in my middle thirties. Prior to that, I’d had a number of abortive attempts at writing and they’d failed. I put that down to a lack of maturity on my part, an inability to bring a story together because I was unable to see the necessary elements clearly. Also, my life at that stage was pretty chaotic with work and family life and these things aren’t conducive to good writing. When I finally did sit down to write what became my first novel (The Hambledown Dream, 2010, Central Avenue Publishing), I’d finally gotten myself into the right headspace where I could see a story through to its conclusion. I was a lot calmer in my mind and more reflective.  
 
I interviewed author Robert Krenzel last year and he said that having children has had a huge impact on his writing. How has being a father changed you as a writer?
 
That’s hard to answer because I have written all of my books to date whilst being a father. The Hambledown Dream was written while my wife was pregnant with my daughter Lucy and we had a then 3 year old son, Xavier. So I haven’t really known what it is like to write without children. I will say that it has gotten easier in a sense because, now that my children are both school aged and I have the house to myself on Monday’s and Tuesday’s, I’m in the ideal position to be able use that time effectively – not that I always do of course. I said earlier that maturity has afforded me a greater ability to reflect – but it’s also allowed me to procrastinate like a BOSS. 
 
Your upcoming book, The Recipient has an intriguing plot. What inspired you to write this book? 
 
The kernel for The Recipient actually came out of an intense and vivid nightmare I had. I was witnessing a really violent attack at night but at some point, the nightmare shifted and I couldn’t work out if I was witnessing the attack or whether I was actually the one being attacked. When I woke from that nightmare, I had a notebook beside my bed and I madly began scribbling down as much as I could remember about it. It really disturbed me. I went to work that day and I remember attending a lecture about organ transplantation and it was, quite literally, one of those lightning moments. Instead of writing down notes about the lecture material, I began writing down ideas on how I could connect the nightmare to organ transplant surgery. Very quickly, the basic outline for The Recipient was born.

How do you achieve work-life balance? 
 
I mentioned earlier that I have Monday’s and Tuesday’s to myself. So, those are the days that I endeavour to devote wholly and solely to writing. Throughout the rest of the week, I am an Intensive Care Nurse at a busy private hospital here in Adelaide. However, my notebook is never too far from my side and I am able to achieve quite a bit in terms of a work in progress. You’ll often find me reviewing what I have written on my writing days, adding to that with notes and ideas and I’ll plan for the next Monday and Tuesday. I try hard to remove myself from writing completely on the weekends because, obviously, family time is important to me. It’s not a perfect system but, on the whole, it works well.
 
What is the best part about being a writer? What is the worst?
 
The best part is getting a run on where you’re madly writing something that is working really well. Those moments aren’t a regular thing but, when they happen, it’s hugely satisfying for me. I also really enjoy the editing process which I’m told is quite strange but it’s true. I love refining a story and seeing it come together. I’m not afraid of jettisoning things that don’t work or moving things around if I can see that they’ll work better in another part of the story. The worst part? Well, I’m neck deep in the marketing and promotion for The Recipient right now and I’ll admit, it’s a slog. My publisher Central Avenue is really supportive and we work well together but finding and tapping into avenues for promotion – be it the mainstream media or new and emerging media is really tough. I don’t hate marketing because I see it as an important part of the writing process but I’m not afraid to admit that it’s not my favourite part.
 
What advice would you give aspiring writers?
 
Refine your powers of observation and be willing to go out into the world and observe life insitu. Take a notebook with you and write down what you see. Observe and document everything. It could be the most minute thing. Watch how people converse with one another. Watch how shadows fall across a building. How leaves blow across a path. Observe colours and shapes. There’s a story in everything you see and your powers of observation will serve you well when it comes to conceiving a story.
 
Any message for your fans?
 
My fans are really important to me and I try to interact with them as much as possible. There have been a number of really supportive people who have been in my corner since the beginning and that means a lot to me. I write because I love story telling but I also love the feedback I get from fans. It really spurs me on and makes me feel as though all this has been worth the effort. So to them, I say a sincere thank you.

Follow Dean on Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/Dean-Mayes-The-Hambledown-Dreamer-263088081779/

https://twitter.com/Hambledown_Road

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3337737.Dean_Mayes Visit Dean's Website Buy The Recipient on Amazon Buy The Recipient on Book Depository