August 2017 Group Read Author Interview: Graeme Rodaughan

[Quantum]

Thank you, Graeme, for taking the time to participate in our interview and help people get to know you better.

Members: If you have any follow-up questions for Graeme, please feel free to post them.

Tell us about your writing.

Why do you write?

I write because I’m obsessed with the stories in my head and putting a thrilling story together is a source of tremendous joy in my life.

When did you decide to become a writer?

After I was confronted with my own mortality and decided I had better do something that I really wanted to do – regardless of how (im)practical it might be.

What are your ambitions for your writing career?

I would like to be able to earn a modest living from it.

What books have you written?

A Subtle Agency and A Traitor’s War. Books #1 and #2 in a fifteen-book series that details the dramatic, suspenseful, thrilling and dire events of the Metaframe war.

What genre(s) are your books in?

#1 Thriller. #2 Urban Fantasy. Enuf said.

Are there any correlations between the books you write and your life experiences?

When I was five years old my older brothers and sisters abandoned me in the dark on our family farm. I had to walk home at night, without any sort of light except for the stars. I was followed the entire way by shadows lurking on the edge of my vision. Owls hooted warnings in the gum trees. Foxes slinking past. A dog barking dolefully in the distance. There was an uncanny sense of presence in the darkness. Eyes like burning coals followed me – I made it home, but was scarred for life by the experience.

Do you adhere to an outline or go wherever your imagination takes you?

80 to 90 percent the very detailed outline – then my crazy characters start whispering in my ear, telling me to change things – and it’s always in their favor. Selfish lot they are, causing rewrites and assorted mayhem to my carefully constructed plot structure.

How do you withstand critiques of your masterpiece?

With good grace, of course. Then I fall to my knees, throw my hands in the air, and scream, “Nooooooooooooo!” I then hide under the covers of my bed sucking my thumb for days….

Do you put messages in the books you write and, if yes, what are they?

Yes, vampires are bad news. Nah, just kidding, my actual message is that humans are ruled by a class of parasitic predators that operate from the shadows, but are opposed by a small rag-tag team of heroes… or something like that.

You know sales can be a little tough until you make it big time. If I told you now, that you'd sell up to 1,000 books within the next 30 years, would you still write?

Yes. If I only had 10 committed readers who loved my work, I would still write. At the end of the day, I write because I love telling a story.

Does writing interfere with reading?

Absolutely – and it also interferes with my golf game, which has remained atrocious.

If you needed to make a choice in your literary career what would it be: glory and literary recognition or lots of sales and steady income?

Lots of sales and steady income.

The visual is encroaching on the written word. Do you think the written word will retreat and disappear or remain steady?

Why do people still listen to music instead of simply watching music videos? The answer is they are different experiences. While people are capable of reading and there is a hunger for narrative, then there will be readers – hence, steady (I hope).

Any valuable marketing tip(s) for fellow authors?

Start on marketing as soon as you can. Research what will work for your genre, set a budget and stick to it. Persevere – there is no quick fix for marketing.

Do you have a WIP and what’s exciting about it?

The Dragon’s Den is my immediate work in progress. It reminds me of a cross between ‘Fury Road,’ and ‘The Matrix.’ More action then I have ever done before.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Don’t hesitate to start. You will learn best by doing and find people who already love the genre you are writing in to give you honest feedback. Learn all you can about the craft of writing. Get stuck into the ‘nuts and bolts,’ of it. Be prepared to bust a gut over your work and persevere, persevere, persevere.

What are your recommendations for reading and why?

1984, Animal Farm and Brave New World are great for understanding the world as it is. Lord of the Rings for scope of imagination. Macbeth is the best play I’ve ever read (and yes, my sensibility is tragic). The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny and The Magician series by Raymond E Feist for great fantasy works. I could go on and on…

What non-writing-related things would you like to say about yourself?

You know those phone based applications where you press buttons in response to sets of questions? Yes? I used to build them for Ericsson last century, wrote a few that were servicing 2 million plus customers running on load-balancing high-availability servers in a 24x7x365 environment. I’ve moved on since then, but still work in high-technology environments. I’m one of the lucky few who actually have a job they love.

Apart from work and writing, I share my life with a wonderful partner in one of the most livable cities of the world – Melbourne, Australia.

Where can readers connect with you?

Blog https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graeme.rodau...
Twitter https://twitter.com/GraemeRodaughan
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Graeme-Rodaugh...

[Marie Silk]

Great interview!! The story about walking home alone was pretty sad though!

[Graeme]

(Just kidding about that one...)

[Quantum]

The barrier between memoir and memory is quite permeable.

[Graeme]

Hi Alex, thanks for offering the interview. It was fun to do, and yes, I've taken a bit of license at a couple of spots...

I have a tendency to veer towards entertainment at the first opportunity.

[Leonie]

Nice interview!

[Eldon]

Graeme wrote: "Hi Alex, thanks for offering the interview. It was fun to do, and yes, I've taken a bit of license at a couple of spots...

I have a tendency to veer towards entertainment at the first opportunity."

You succeeded again in entertaining Graeme!

[Graeme]

Thanks Leonie, and Eldon.

[Nik]

Got to it now. Cool one, Graeme!

[Graeme]

Cheers Nik,

[Scout]

Good interview, but I kind of wish the walking home alone story were true, though glad you're not scarred for life :-)

[Graeme]

There is a grain of truth in that story. A dare to get to the cow shed and back home in the pitch dark. I think I ran most of the way. About 5 years old and I found the dark scary back then.

[Scout]

Do you think that people with good imaginations find ordinary things more scary than others? My friend and I were riding down a dirt road at night as teenagers, and we began to think the moss hanging from the oak trees were tentacles reaching down for us. Very scary. I never sleep with any part of my body hanging off the bed. What could be under there waiting to grab me? And my closet doors are always completely closed at night. Probably too much info :)

[Graeme]

Absolutely. The more imagination someone has the more opportunities to visualize both good and bad outcomes.