Welcome back to night two of the Confessions of a
Reviewer special, featuring Iain Rob Wright.
Tonight is the conclusion to the interview with Iain
where he talks about his new book Hot Zone: An MCU Thriller, his wishes for the future and lets
us in on the secret of what’s coming next. He will also answer The Ten Confessions.
Get your drink, get your nibbles, here we go!!
COAF - Moving on to Hot Zone. Tell us a little about the story, without spoilers of course.
IRW - It starts with Ebola and gets worse. Readers will
find out who kidnapped Sarah at the end of Soft Target and they will also see
how Howard operates on his own. The plot concerns a crazy Doctor who wants to
show the West what life is like in impoverished Africa. It’s non-stop once it
gets going.
COAF
- Why the change of direction to include thrillers?
IRW - I love the TV show 24 and the Jack Reacher novels. When
I love something, I want to write it.
COAF
- Do you never get an urge to throw some horror into the story? Maybe add a
monster or two?
IRW - I often get the urge to spin the MCU into an
X-Files type of organisation. I may do this after the initial trilogy ends.
COAF
- What made you decide on a female main character?
IRW - I get a bit sick of how female characters are
portrayed. My father is a sexist and it disgusts me (although it’s indicative
of his generation rather than entirely his fault). I feel obligated to try and
create strong female characters to combat the misogyny I was raised in. Joss
Whedon had similar motives with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and if there’s anyone
I would like to emulate it is him.
COAF
- Hot Zone has some dramatic scenes in it set in London and Heathrow Airport.
How do you research for these scenes to make sure you don’t get any detail
wrong?
IRW - Google-baby! I try to keep scenes within the
spectrum of my knowledge and avoid writing about things I know nothing about, but
I fill in any mental gaps I have with copious amounts of Internet. It’s hard to
get everything right, but at least these days it’s easy to make a change if
somebody points something out after publication.
COAF
- Do you have ideas and plots for many more in the series or are you taking it
book by book?
IRW - I will write a third book which will serve as the
conclusion to the Al Al-Sharir conspiracy and then go from there. It all
depends on demand. If people want more MCU books then there will be more. Elsewise
I will retire Sarah Stone and maybe use her somewhere else.
COAF
- You seem to be a busy family man with your wife Sally and new son Jack but
what do you like to do when you are not writing.
IRW - As I said, I enjoy TV shows and moves, as well as reading,
but I also like walking the dog, going out for the day to various places and
eating at nice restaurants. Sally and I love Disney and can’t wait to take Jack
there one day. We also love board games and own a shit load. Zombicide is our
newest but Articulate and Smart Ass are the party favourites. I’m also a big
videogamer and love RPGs and Strategy Games. Sally likes HALO, FABLE, and
TRIALS FUSION. We also use to rock Guitar Hero and Wii Bowling back in the day.
COAF
- What would your ultimate wish be with your writing?
IRW - Would love to have a paperback on sale in an
airport. As an ‘Indie’ my ultimate goal is to receive some exorbitant offer
from a big publishing house, as well as getting a film deal (with a Hollywood
production company). For the moment I am extremely lucky and more than content
with making a living doing what I love. To ask any more than that is greedy and
cupidinous.
COAF
- If you could change anything from any of the books you have already written
what would it be?
IRW - Honestly nothing. I would love to have them
strenuously edited to perfection, but story-wise I think they are what they are
– to change them would ruin them. I wish I had started writing a couple years
earlier, though; that is my biggest regret. Things were a bit healthier in the
beginning. Indie Publishing is a bit of a gold rush as the moment and that is
hurting legitimate writers.
COAF
- You wrote about a character in C is for Clown called Nev Murray. Do you think
he should get his own series? Most of your fans I have spoken to say yes.
IRW - Sadly, no. Leave the audience wanting more, I say.
COAF
- What’s coming in the future from Iain Rob Wright?
IRW - I will shortly be starting work on The Gates. An
epic, multi-character, end of the world saga that will stretch for at least 3
books. Gates to Hell are going to open all over the world and humanity must
fight for its survival.
I honestly cannot thank Iain enough for this interview.
It is the first one I have hosted and he was very gracious in taking the time
to answer everything I threw at him, very candidly I might add, and gave us a
great insight into the man behind the book covers.
Now. I wanted to come up with something a little bit
different for my interviews and here it is. The Ten Confessions. In this
segment, anyone I interview will be asked exactly the same questions. I’m
basically trying to make them cringe a little and feel as if they are under
interrogation. They must answer the questions honestly. I suspect we may get a
few dodging direct answers over time but hopefully they will all play along. I
hope you enjoy Iain Rob Wright’s confessional!!
THE
TEN CONFESSIONS
1. Who would you view as your main competitor in the writing world?
I suppose Matt Shaw has become somewhat of an adversary.
He and I are polar opposites in many ways, but I can’t deny how hard he has
worked and how passionate he is. For a long time I was the only show in town,
but Matt came along out of nowhere and kicked my ass. I would like to return
the favour one day. Now there are a lot of guys doing well and it’s great to
see, as well as guys who have already made it, like David Moody, coming back to
the indie fold. J
2. What book or author have you read that you think should never have been
published?
I would never call out another author or their work as it
is not my right, but there are many many books I have given up on after a few
pages, and those have been from both indie authors and big names. I am very
fussy; more so since becoming a writer myself.
3. Are
any of the things your characters have experienced in your books been based on
something that has actually happened to you? What was it?
ASBO is the closest to my real life. I grew up in
suburban gang and was surrounded by violence. The character of Damien has a
similar arc to myself in that he sees the error of his ways (and never truly
belonged in the first place, more a victim of circumstance than truly wicked).
4. Have you ever blatantly stolen an idea or scene and adapted it for one of your
own books? If so, care to share?
The Final Winter was heavily inspired by the film Legion.
It is the closest I have come to stealing an idea. For the most part I think I
am pretty original. I mean, Sea Sick is basically Dawn of the Dead meets
Groundhog Day meets the Love Boat. Name another book anything like that?!
5. Have you ever anonymously left a bad review for someone else’s book? If so,
care to share?
Nope. Never. I can’t even leave book reviews now as
Amazon banned authors from being able to do so. Before that, I would only leave
reviews for books I enjoyed. Better to praise good behaviour than punish bad.
6. What’s the one thing you are least proud of doing in your life and why?
There are many many things which are for me and me alone
to dwell on, but most of them revolve around being a teenager and being drunk.
7. What’s the one thing you are MOST proud of doing in your life and why?
My son, of course. When Jack was born and lying against
Sally’s chest, I knew that I had made it. They legitimised all the bullshit I
had waded through to reach that moment. They erased my past and endorsed the
man I had become. It was a baptism of sorts, and when Jack was born I was
cleansed of sin. The joy and pride I felt that day has not waned and the love I
feel for Sally and our son is like a fire in my heart. They both changed my
life and to have them is more than I deserve.
8. What’s your biggest fault?
An oversized penis.
9. What is your biggest fear?
Having to do anything else. Now that I’ve achieved my
dreams of becoming a writer, there is a massive fear in my heart of doing
something wrong and losing it. My son and wife rely on me and I can’t screw up.
I get to be at home with Jack and Sally and if the writing career ends I will
have to do something else and I will lose all of that time I get to be close to
them. That terrifies me.
10. If you had to go to confession now, what would be the one thing you would need to get off your chest?
I once broke my Mother-in-law’s bathroom mirror and
blamed it on a child!
Do you think he answered honestly enough? I think he dodged a couple to be honest.
THE END
So the interview is done and dusted. Again my huge thanks to Iain for taking the time out to answer the questions and make this possible.
Don't forget to come back tomorrow night when we have the EXCLUSIVE look at the first chapter of Hot Zone.
You can see more about Iain at his website.
Iain's author page is here.
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