A Very British Blog Tour

There's another Blog game going around, called the British Blog Tour....I was invited to participate by the wonderful Maria Savva. Here are the questions and my enlightening answers.

Q. Where were you born and where do you live at the moment?

I was born in the sunshine paradise of Barry Island on the Costa Del Glamorgan. My parents were foolish enough to move to the Manchester area when I was ten and, despite an appeal to Social Services I was forced to accompany them.I moved around the UK a lot, but managed to escape in 2004. I now live in a small Spanish village, where beer and wine are cheap, and the women and cats are beautiful and affectionate.
OK, just the cats.

Q. Have you always lived and worked in Britain or are you based elsewhere at the moment?

Worked abroad a lot when I was a musician, and I'm in Spain now....pay attention!

Q. Which is your favourite part of Britain?

The departure lounge at Bristol Airport. I feel very little connection with Britain these days..



Q. Have you ‘highlighted’ or ‘showcased’ any particular part of Britain in your books? For example, a town or city; a county, a monument or some well-known place or event?

My recent masterpiece "The Barry Island Murders" is set in....oh, go on, guess...but it's based in the sixties and on my memories of childhood there. I made the main character an elderly drunk, so any inaccuracies are entirely due to his absent-mindedness.

My current work of genius "Joe Soap" takes place around Hastings, because that's the last place I lived in when I was in Britain. It's probably all changed now, so I'll get people moaning that The Old Town Fish Shop closed in 2011 or something.



Q. There is an illusion – or myth if you wish - about British people that I would like you to discuss. Many see the ‘Brits’ as ‘stiff upper lip’. Is that correct?

I rather miss the traditional "Stiff Upper Lip" where everyone just shut up and got on with things rather than being "traumatised", "devastated", "going to hell and back" and all the other cheap superlatives that get bandied about. There can't be a minor actor who hasn't spoken out about being bullied at school, come out as bi-polar, or opened up about their struggle with depression, dyslexia, ADHD or whatever.

Some people really do suffer dreadfully in life and need sympathy and help. Most of us don't and should shut up and get on with things. I liked that Mr Spock's attitude.

Q. Do any of the characters in your books carry the ‘stiff upper lip’? Or are they all ‘British Bulldog’ and unique in their own way?

My characters don't whine much and are not prone to emotional outbursts. Gwyneth Paltrow will not be required for the film adaptation.

Q. Tell us about one of your recent books

The Barry Island Murders features the reminiscences of a retired drunken policeman on his early cases fifty years before, when bodies kept turning up in strange places.It's absolutely brilliant.


Q. What are you currently working on?

Joe Soap....the story of an obnoxious, third-rate, Kindle detective story writer who starts murdering total strangers.
Any resemblance to any third-rate writers, living or dead, is purely coincidental.


Q. How do you spend your leisure time?

Walking by the lake, cycling, playing the guitar, drinking heavily, churning out cheap stories and playing with the cats.

Q. Do you write for a local audience or a global audience?

Well, the local audience doesn't speak English, the global audience has never heard of me, so I suspect I write for the dozen people on Facebook who have a couple of quid to spare and wish to humour me.



Q. Can you provide links to your work?

Here's my Amazon page

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-Peters...

I don't plan to tag anyone for this without asking....if anyone is interested, feel free to contact me and I'll add you.