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Author Spotlight - Stuart Carruthers - Near-fi Writer
I have to confess I don't actually know what near-fi is, but I do know Stuart Carruthers is a man of action. When he got tired of the English winters, he moved to Taiwan, a country with a warmer climate, which he has made his permanent home. The proverbial "they" always advise writers to write about what they know, so it is not surprising that Stuart's stories are mostly set in Asia. Stuart writes novels and short stories; sci-fi, hard boiled pulp fiction, and thrillers.
Stuart, are you a pantser or plotter? (Do you write by the seat of your pants or do you create the plot before you start?)80% pantser 20% plotter. It’s good to have an idea of where it’s going.
Some authors write a detailed list of their character's habits, likes, dislikes and family members. Are you one of them? No, I let them build their own story.
What do you think today's readers want and how does it differ from readers of the past?Short stories should make a come-back as we have less time to concentrate on a long plot.
I think short stories are making a come-back for that reason. You've written a few novels and several short stories. Which book would you like to feature in this post?
Eat your Greens
It’s a near-fi novel. In the not too distant future the fuel wars caused governments to close in on themselves and in the UK, the borders were closed and in an effort to cure obesity the government manufactured calorie controlled kelp bars to ensure everyone was healthy. That was just the start and eventually it was the only food allowed. Kelp had become the answer to everything and was used to manufacture everything from clothes to polymers and fuel. Everything had green hue and life was dull. Max, recruited Jenny to help him sabotage the world’s supply of Jenny and this leads both of them on an exciting journey through the kelp forests of the world, down the coast of Africa for a finale in an independent Borneo.
I love it. The way the New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg is trying to control what people can drink could be the real start of that! Choose one character from the book and tell us what he/she would say to you if he/she was to meet you.Max would complain about the relentless green life and the fact that the sun never seems to shine. He would be careful as spies are everywhere.
Did you self-publish or query and hope a publisher would accept your work? Self-publish initially and then query.
That makes sense to me. What do you do to promote your writing? Tweet, write blog articles and use social media.
What advice do you have for your fellow writers/authors? Keep plugging away and remember that you must aim to finish at least one book. Once you’ve done that it gets a bit easier.
That's a great point. Tell us about your next project.It will be the third Harry Patterson novella, this time set in Taiwan.
Why should we buy your book?I need the recognition and the love? Buy it because you want a good romp through a near future world where there is still some fight in a world and one man isn’t ready to lie down and except it.
Please include a paragraph about you, your family, your interests… anything you’d like people to know about you.
I was born in England, where I lived until 2005 when I decided to sell everything and move to Taiwan because "no one I know has ever been there". Several years later I married and had two children. With two small children, my time for hobbies is limited, so right now I just use my time to write.
Where can we find out more about you and your work? I read one of the vignette's on your blog and loved it!! WEBSITE: http://www.writeimagination.co.uk/ BLOG: http://oldwordsnewplaces.blogspot.tw/TWITTER: https://twitter.com/WriteImagineFACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/WriteimaginationAMAZON http://www.amazon.com/Stuart-Carruthers/e/B008LR5FRM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1LINKEDIN: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/stuart-carruthers/12/551/710
Stuart, are you a pantser or plotter? (Do you write by the seat of your pants or do you create the plot before you start?)80% pantser 20% plotter. It’s good to have an idea of where it’s going.
Some authors write a detailed list of their character's habits, likes, dislikes and family members. Are you one of them? No, I let them build their own story.
What do you think today's readers want and how does it differ from readers of the past?Short stories should make a come-back as we have less time to concentrate on a long plot.
I think short stories are making a come-back for that reason. You've written a few novels and several short stories. Which book would you like to feature in this post?
Eat your Greens
It’s a near-fi novel. In the not too distant future the fuel wars caused governments to close in on themselves and in the UK, the borders were closed and in an effort to cure obesity the government manufactured calorie controlled kelp bars to ensure everyone was healthy. That was just the start and eventually it was the only food allowed. Kelp had become the answer to everything and was used to manufacture everything from clothes to polymers and fuel. Everything had green hue and life was dull. Max, recruited Jenny to help him sabotage the world’s supply of Jenny and this leads both of them on an exciting journey through the kelp forests of the world, down the coast of Africa for a finale in an independent Borneo.
I love it. The way the New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg is trying to control what people can drink could be the real start of that! Choose one character from the book and tell us what he/she would say to you if he/she was to meet you.Max would complain about the relentless green life and the fact that the sun never seems to shine. He would be careful as spies are everywhere.
Did you self-publish or query and hope a publisher would accept your work? Self-publish initially and then query.
That makes sense to me. What do you do to promote your writing? Tweet, write blog articles and use social media.
What advice do you have for your fellow writers/authors? Keep plugging away and remember that you must aim to finish at least one book. Once you’ve done that it gets a bit easier.
That's a great point. Tell us about your next project.It will be the third Harry Patterson novella, this time set in Taiwan.
Why should we buy your book?I need the recognition and the love? Buy it because you want a good romp through a near future world where there is still some fight in a world and one man isn’t ready to lie down and except it.
Please include a paragraph about you, your family, your interests… anything you’d like people to know about you.
I was born in England, where I lived until 2005 when I decided to sell everything and move to Taiwan because "no one I know has ever been there". Several years later I married and had two children. With two small children, my time for hobbies is limited, so right now I just use my time to write.Where can we find out more about you and your work? I read one of the vignette's on your blog and loved it!! WEBSITE: http://www.writeimagination.co.uk/ BLOG: http://oldwordsnewplaces.blogspot.tw/TWITTER: https://twitter.com/WriteImagineFACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/WriteimaginationAMAZON http://www.amazon.com/Stuart-Carruthers/e/B008LR5FRM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1LINKEDIN: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/stuart-carruthers/12/551/710
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