Meet the Indie Author
PG Devlim
What made you decide to become a writer?
Writing did not become a serious goal for me until my mid-twenties. Before that, I liked the idea of being a writer and admired authors such as James Herbert, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Clive Barker and Sven Hassell, but I did not consider it as a career option.
So it wasn’t until I was thirty that the desire really became a goal. At that age, I spent six weeks living alone in the wilderness in Northern Scotland. Just me, my tent, some food and basic equipment, and a notepad. That gave me plenty of time to reflect on everything really and it was then that I realised how much I wanted to be a writer (I’d been writing before this but it was quite haphazard). During my retreat, I had intended on writing positive and uplifting books, but after I returned to society, I fell back into that monotonous day job routine. I still wanted to write, but it was not until I had undergone a lot of healing that I really began to work towards this as a viable life choice, and the stories were much darker.
How do you decide your plots?
Well, I am currently writing about powerful female vampires and their naked male servers, so how do I explain this… :)
When I was younger, like a lot of kids, I was bullied at school. That left a mark on me throughout much of my adult life. I hate bullies and abusers, but I am also aware that they need help and healing too. For the Sisters of Annis series, I took a female protagonist (Lilly Armitage) and set her in an abusive relationship with a controlling partner. My first chapter in Vampire’s Key is a shock to the system that shows an uncensored picture of what this experience is like for so many women (and some men).
I never experienced domestic abuse but I do know what it is like to be powerless before stronger people and how trapped you feel by it, how vulnerable, how at their mercy you are. I wanted to show how victims can free themselves from such people and environments, and once free, how they might soar. It is a parallel, in a way, of my own journey and experiences.
So that’s the crux of it really, I started with a vulnerable woman trapped in an abusive relationship and threw her into a world of powerful female vampires (the opposite of Lilly’s past) served by handsome naked men. I didn’t actually start out with a premise much further than that of a ‘woman fleeing an abusive partner encounters a world of vampires’. The erotic elements were added in as the world opened up (and what a dark, opulent and delightfully seductive world the Sisters of Annis inhabit!).
Are they taken from events that have happened to you?
Well, the abusive part has in different ways, so I know what some of that feels like. I also know the terror of it and the self-hatred that comes up afterwards.
I’m not a vampire, but then there is a lot more to the Sisters of Annis’ world beyond the powerful ‘female vampires and their handsome naked male servers’ (and yes, I have experienced some elements of this) concept. There is also death and the void, along with a variety of meditations and sexual-spiritual practices. To an extent these are exaggerated and embellished from genuine spiritual practices that I have been involved in: shamanic drumming and trance work (for an experience of the void), kundalini yoga (chakra meditations), sound magic (creating altered states of consciousness).
Thus, some of the spiritual practices and experiences that I include in my writing are things I have in some way experienced.
Do you base your characters on real people – or do you prefer to be fully creative and make them up?
I start with a person facing a problem such as Lilly (Vampire’s Key) in an abusive relationship or Kurt (Katie’s Server) searching for his missing fiancée. I tend to develop them from there but don’t base them on people I know. It is more likely that I will encounter someone who has a characteristic (such as the way they walk or talk) that I use to develop my writing, that aspect of that person may then be included in my writing.
How many books have you written and/or published and which is your favourite? Why?
For the Sisters of Annis series, I have written and published three books: Vampire’s Key (Series book 1), Katie’s Server (my first Sisters of Annis novella) and recently Vampire’s Fire (Series book 2). Unpublished and in various draft stages, I have written about another four or five books and novellas, some of which are set in the Sisters of Annis world.
Having a favourite is a tricky one as each book has elements that I love and reminders of how hard some of the writing was:
I like Katie’s Server because it is a short sharp entry into the Sisters of Annis world without the need for too much world building or backstory (saying that, it still took me a lot of time to write).
I like Vampire’s Key because it was the first book set in the Sisters of Annis world and as such featured the very hot nightclub ‘The Countess’ where the reader first encounters the powerful female vampires and their naked male servers.
Vampire’s Fire has a different vibe for me. I spent a long time working on the American chapters, trying to make them as realistic as I could, and I really like them. However, it was a hard book to write, took a long time and a lot of discipline to keep going. I think of it as a bit of a problem child (one that I still love!). It’s a book that I think of as smouldering as it waits for the right time to catch light and touch many people.
Tell me more about your favourite book – the plot, characters, setting, POV, tense…
For this, I’m going to settle on Vampire’s Key (just don’t tell the other books!). We follow Lilly who is a young English woman living in a violent relationship that she is determined to escape. She is drawn into a world of powerful female vampires and their naked male servers. As such, we follow her induction into the Sisters of Annis who are threatened with the return of an old enemy.
Lady Mortimer is another central character in the series and is part of an organisation dedicated to stopping the Sisters of Annis. She is also struggling as a woman in a man’s world, even more so as the group she belongs to are very militaristic.
Adrian Frazer is one of the men that hunts vampires and has a secret that Lady Mortimer uncovers… And you’ll have to read Vampire’s Key to discover more!
The books are set in the modern world, predominantly in Britain, but the sisters are hidden from human society and as such form an underworld amidst our own world.
What comes first for you – the plot or the characters? And why?
I think they just flow naturally together. A woman fleeing an abusive relationship encounters powerful female vampires and their naked male servers. That explosive chemistry creates a world.
As I go on, and write and rewrite (and rewrite) I remake the world more from characters than plot. I set out with an overall direction (plot) and characters then add their own nuances. The end result will still be the same, but the journey may change quite dramatically, and as an author that’s quite an enjoyable experience.
As to ‘why’? This just works naturally for me. I’m a big believer in finding your own process/path. We can read what the greats do or did, but ultimately we’re all individuals and as such have our own methods.
Did you need to do research for your book? If so, how much did you do, how did you do it?
Yes, definitely, although there are some things that I have experienced myself so I can just write straight from the heart, so to speak. I read academic books to help me bring some realism and work with specific beta readers to advise me on culture and dialect. My goal is to try and be as accurate as I can with different characters, respecting their backgrounds and cultures and bringing authenticity to my writing, even if I then take the characters in a very different direction from their cultural roots.
Would you travel to the area where your book is set?
Yes. I have travelled to a few areas, particularly the northern coast of Anglia (Norfolk) which was the setting for Amy’s lighthouse in Vampire’s Key. London I have visited numerous times, but unfortunately, I have not yet made it across the Pond to America.
Do you already know the area?
In reference to Norfolk, no, I did not. USA too, especially for Adrian and Gabriela’s chapters that was all internet research: YouTube videos, google maps, and two very helpful beta readers. But, then there’s also a kind of archetypal experience of a place that we all share: I’m sure many can relate to those wonderfully cluttered and disorganised (or semi-organised) second-hand bookshops that hold so many wonderful books. One book might catch our eye but it is just out of reach, or under a pile of other books that need to be carefully moved so that we can take a look at that specific item. That’s exactly how I wanted The Grimoire (Vampire’s Key & Vampire’s Fire) to feel. Add in a leaning Tudor house - of which Britain has so many - and site the shop in an out-of-the-way cul-de-sac, and you have, if I wrote it well enough, an unusual, but very cool place to visit.
Have you written about that area because it’s a place you know?
Well, not really. The island (featured in the Sisters of Annis series), for example, is based on St Michaels Mount, off the coast of Cornwall, but I’ve never visited, although I do plan to visit in the future.
Have you used the original name of the area or manipulated place names?
I prefer to use original place names. As mentioned, I visited north Norfolk and went on to include local names, though Amy’s lighthouse is fictitious.
How do you feel about killing off popular characters? Is it something you enjoy doing in your own books? Have you done it?
For me, it’s a wrench to kill my characters. I feel that they may have so much more to tell us. I’m not a fan of killing characters and then suddenly resurrecting them here there and everywhere, even though I do explore that possibility in my writing, but I actually take the readers beyond life and into death and aim to really examine some esoteric teachings in this respect.. This is something I will be exploring more as the Sisters of Annis series develops. Vampire’s Key, the first book in the series, already takes the reader beyond life.
And yes, I’ve killed a few characters here and there.
Would you write any genre or do you stick to one?
At the moment, I am just going with my internal flow, which is dark erotica, but actually I started out writing a paranormal story, with only one love scene and it wasn’t explicit. I would write another genre, but for now, I’m drawn to the world of dark erotica and have a number of different stories that I wish to share with the world.
Do you write under a pseudonym or your own name?
Pseudonym. My author name is PG Devlim. When I started out it was something to hide behind because of the subjects I was writing about, but I am gradually stepping out from the dark shadows of my past so this will change in some way in the future.
How many hours a day or week would you say you spend writing?
This varies. I’ve just taken one week off from the day job specifically to write, and spent today completing two chapters for two different stories. I don’t time myself and I don’t pay close attention to word count. I write for as long as I feel inspired or until I am at a good place to take a break. A chapter end is a good spot to step away from the story or a sudden twist or hook that creates the perfect place to pick the story up again. So I’m more of a spontaneous writer. I do like to start early in the morning, ideally as soon as I am up and ready, and have just bought a new laptop so that I can now write outside, which I am loving!
Is it a potential career for you, is it something you do outside your day job?
My intention was to create something that was as professional as I could make it with good immersive descriptions and a hotly erotic backdrop that underlies the Sisters of Annis world. I think, from reader feedback, I have realised this to some extent and I know that there is much more to expand upon.
With this in mind, and thinking of all the other story ideas that I have bubbling away at the background of my mind, I am certain that I can turn this into a full-time career. That is the goal, so please buy my books!
Is writing therapeutic for you, or does it cause you to stress out?
Both. Mainly the former. It can be as refreshing as a chilled glass of something delicious on a sizzling sunny day, or it can be a fiery inferno of intimate relationships that heats everything up, or it can be dark and brutal, bloody and selfish and primal, but none of that will work if the writing isn’t flowing, and some days, in the past, I‘d sit and write and delete, I’d write again and delete again. I’d literally pull a chapter apart, taking out lines, putting in lines, cutting a sentence here and pasting it there, then shifting it all around again, or I might just rewrite the whole chapter, and yet another time, I’ll just sit and let it flow. That’s when writing is just bliss! But, yes, there can be a very infernal element to writing which turns it into pure hell!
Vampire’s Key https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082VJX1FZ
Vampire’s Fire https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CW8FN4YT
Katie’s Server https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C19SY42G
Doreen Hopwood
What made you decide to become a writer?
I was always writing as a child, and as I grew up, I fell into writing poetry, usually very long story poems! I became interested in feminine spirituality, fairy lore and mythology, and had quite a few poems published in a popular publication of that genre. I have published poetry in several creative writing group publications over the years, as well as performing at events and Open Mic nights. My novel ‘A Dynasty of Dragons’ started out as an exercise for the writing group – a short story called ‘Molly’s Garden’.
How do you decide your plots? Are they taken from events that have happened to you? Do you base your characters on real people – or do you prefer to be fully creative and make them up?
I didn’t plot any of this novel, it just happened – sounds mad, but true. My characters are taken from mythology and from my imagination – I have used some family names for a few of my human characters.
What comes first for you – the plot or the characters? And why?
It is hard for me to separate them as regards my first novel – both were intertwined from the start. The plot is more important in the second novel.
How many books have you written and/or published and which is your favourite? Why?
‘A Dynasty of Dragons’ is my first published novel, and I am currently working on my second.
Tell me more about your favourite book – the plot, characters, setting, POV, tense
Obviously my first – I created a fantasy world I would like to live in myself – I love the idea that in another dimension people were watching us develop as a species and making a deliberate choice NOT to be like us, and although they themselves live in a far from perfect world, they have learned from OUR mistakes.
What is your favourite genre to write in? Tell me why.
Fantasy because your imagination can run riot!
Did you need to do research for your book? If so, how much did you do, how did you do it?
One of the benefits of being an older author is that I have a lifetime of knowledge, learning and experience to draw on. I doubt I could have written this book forty years ago. Life is a great teacher. I really researched very little – just the odd bits and pieces I wasn’t sure of – again, one of the benefits of writing about things you have been interested in your whole life. I am also hugely influenced by the journalist, author and as some used to call him, ‘rogue archaeologist’, Graham Hancock. His book ‘Fingerprints of the Gods’ blew me away.
Would you travel to the area where your book is set? Do you already know the area? Have you written about that area because it’s a place you know? Have you used the original name of the area or manipulated place names?
I have visited and am familiar with most of the places in my novel, and because I love them, it was a joy to put them in the story. Most of the place names in the fantasy world are made-up.
How do you feel about killing off popular characters? Is it something you enjoy doing in your own books? Have you done it?
I didn’t kill anyone off in my novel, although I thought about it, and then decided against it, as I decided the character in question was going to be quite a player in my second novel. I am considering killing off someone in the second novel.
Would you write any genre or do you stick to one?
I am a great believer in writing about what you know – what I know is suited to writing fantasy, so I’ll stick with that.
Does your family read your work? If not, would you like them to? Are you books their thing? Would it bother you if they weren’t interested in reading any of them?
Yes, my family read my work and have been extremely supportive. I don’t think it would bother me if they didn’t because I know fantasy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. They help me in as much as they tend not to interrupt me when they know I am writing unless they have to.
How many hours a day or week would you say you spend writing? Is it a potential career for you, is it something you do outside your day job?
My first novel took me six years to complete because it was very much a part-time enterprise – mostly ‘homework’ for my writing group, not something I took very seriously at all at first. I have a very busy life, but I did begin to spend more time as the story took on a life of its own and really began to develop, but even then, I sometimes wouldn’t go near it for weeks due to other pressures. It’s not a career choice for me, it’s something I do for the great pleasure it brings me.
Is writing therapeutic for you, or does it cause you to stress out?
It is very therapeutic – I just sit down at the computer, go with the flow, and forget about everything else for a while.
How do you market your books?
As this is my first book, I am very new at this. I have contacted a few sites on Facebook and have been lucky enough to have had my promotional video accepted. The county libraries are giving me a promotional event, and this is being advertised on the libraries’ social media sites; the local paper is attending and I am being interviewed by another published author who promotes local authors – she is also advertising the event throughout the area. My novel is also being sold by two local shops and there are a few book fayres coming up. My book is primarily available on Amazon, of course.
Tell me why you market them this way – how it helps. Would you be open to help when it comes to marketing and promoting your work?
Promoting through the Facebook sites helps reach a wide audience – one of these sites has 1.5million followers. Local groups, events and shops promote my book locally – I live in a popular tourist area, and we have lots of visitors throughout the year. I am open to any help when it comes to marketing and promotion.
How do you react to reviews? Would you prefer just good ones or are you okay to receive a bad one occasionally? How does this make you feel?
It’s early days yet and so far, only good ones, but I am wise enough to understand (through my own online business) that you can’t please everyone, and some people will write horrible things rather than just say ‘Nah, not my cup of tea.’ That’s life. Obviously the more good reviews the better.
Stephen Havard
What made you decide to become a writer?
Writing a book had also been something I’d always wanted to do, but like most things that passion had been put on the backburner with work and family life taking precedence. Then in March 2020 lockdown happened, and my life, along with the rest of the country changed completely. I was ‘working from home’ permanently and my daily commute of over 2 hours had suddenly disappeared. Despite the awful circumstances of the pandemic and lockdown, I sensed this was an opportunity to follow that dream of writing a novel.
How do you decide your plots? Are they taken from events that have happened to you? Do you base your characters on real people – or do you prefer to be fully creative and make them up?
Whilst the yearning to write a novel had always been strong inside me, what to write about was another reason why I’d never gone for it. Yet during those first few weeks of lockdown the idea of my debut novel locked into place, and it was an idea that was staring me in the face all along if I’m being honest now. Why not write about my other great passion, that of quizzing! And that’s what I did over the next seven months as ‘The Duel’ took shape.
It incorporated the world of quizzing, which I knew well after appearing on numerous TV quiz shows such as ‘The Chase’, ‘Pointless’ and ‘Eggheads’. It meant I could hit the ground running as I didn’t need to do extensive research of the subject matter.
‘The Duel’ was self-published in November 2020 and has been well received by readers that have bought it. It’s a story I’m very pleased to have told at last and hope it may lead to a full-time writing career eventually (fingers crossed).
How many books have you written and/or published, and which is your favourite? Why?
I’ve published 2 books so far, a full-length novel and a novella, with a third currently in progress. The 3 books are all interlinked around the same overarching story that started in ‘The Duel’. My favourite has to be that first book as that was where the story and characters were first portrayed and when this crazy and exciting journey that I find myself on started.
Is writing therapeutic for you, or does it cause you to stress out?
Since publishing my first novel in 2020, I’ve found the writing process a great way to relax from everyday life as I immerse myself in the story and characters I’m creating. As someone who also suffers with my mental health, I’ve also found that writing is an outlet for me to destress after work or at times when I’m feeling low. Writing and quizzing are my main passions, and both help me relax, the latter also helping make me a more confident person.
Would you write any genre, or do you stick to one?
I generally like to read crime thrillers, and this is the genre I’ve naturally found myself writing in. I’m also finding that all my books so far involve the world of quizzing in some way so aiming to move away from that with my next one. A new detective series is in my mind so watch this space!
How many hours a day or week would you say you spend writing? Is it a potential career for you, is it something you do outside your day job?
Unfortunately, I have to write around my day job which means a fairly haphazard pattern to the process. The dream is to one day leave the world of IT behind me and become a full-time author. It’s a dream I’m determined to achieve.
How do you market your books?
Social media is my main avenue of marketing my books, with X (still preferred Twitter as a name) being my main focus of targeting readers to my work. I’ve also done a couple of radio interviews and had an article in two local newspapers as I’ve tried to diversify my marketing approach as much as possible.
Tell me why you market them this way – how it helps. Would you be open to help when it comes to marketing and promoting your work?
I’ve used social media as it seemed the best way to target my work to a wider audience and also to connect with authors from around the world. I must admit I do find social media quite a tough nut to crack though, and sales have dried up after initial success. I know this lack of success is down to me as I don’t tweet regularly enough to grow my followers or keep engaged with the followers I already have. It’s something I know I need to do better at if I’m going to grow my sales in a meaningful way.
How do you react to reviews? Would you prefer just good ones or are you okay to receive a bad one occasionally? How does this make you feel?
I find constructive criticism welcome as I feel it improves me as an author but what I can’t abide are negative and nasty reviews from trolls. I’ve had a couple from the same individual where its pretty clear they haven’t read the book and have just decided to be cruel and vindictive for the sake of it. I must admit these types of review do make me sad and angry.
Website - Stephen Havard - Author
Books on amazon - The Duel : How far would you go to win? eBook : Havard, Stephen: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
A Deadly Mistake: Amazon.co.uk: Havard, Stephen: 9798373660266: Books
