Welcome Ade ‘Author 2 Author’ Blog Chat. Thanks so much for stopping by,
please make yourself at home and we’ll begin…
Adrian (Ade) Hawkins lives in Norwich, Norfolk, with his loving, patient
partner and two beastilicious moggies.
He wrote a trilogy of
screenplays when he was 18 that are mostly bad but punctuated by surprisingly
good bits, then took 12 years to write a novel after spending far too long
faffing about with conceptual ideas.
“Falling” is the first novel
of the Spirits & Shards series, but is not first chronologically. It is the
precursor to the first full volume, a tale of those who plot to expose a
sinister conspiracy. The series will regularly be punctuated by these smaller
character-based stories that inform and expand the high-concept world these
creations inhabit.
His favourite authors include
Douglas Adams, JRR Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Ian Fleming and Rob Grant and Doug
Naylor.
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So tell everyone a
little more about yourself?
I’m
a stupidly ambitious author who hopes he’s half as good as he thinks he is when
I’m full of confidence and way better than I think I am when I’m having a
crisis of insecurity.
An how would you
describe Falling: A Spirits & Shards Novel' tho those who don’t know about
it?
It’s a tragic love story, a kind of
metaphysical journey about the highs and lows of being in love. It can lift you
above the clouds or bury you beneath the cold, hard ground.
What Genre is your
work mainly? Do you tend to stay in the same vein or are you hoping (if not
already) to explore new ventures?
The Spirits & Shards series is
dark science fantasy, but I’ve written a spy novella I hope to release for free
soon, titled The Golden Years.
Share with us a quote
from one of your favourite characters?
This is a bit of a cheat, as it’s a
character’s thought rather than dialogue, but this snippet is from the mind of
Jerin in Falling: A peaceful, happy life… why was it so unattainable?
Is it hard to come up
with new ideas and/or plots?
I find plots harder than ideas. I
come up with new ideas and concepts all the time, but writing a workable plot
around them is tricky. All plots have been done, how do you mix it up? That
takes more work, to break free of the clichés.
Can you finish the
storyline? ;
~I couldn’t believe
my eyes when I saw her standing there; she had a French stick in one hand,
tapping it against her lips like a heathen whore, chaos written on her face. In
her other hand …. “she held a mobile phone, into which she was
gabbing away like no one or nothing else in the entire world was anywhere near
as important as what she had racing through her no-doubt minuscule mind.”
Lol I love it! We should collaborate. Hahaha!
How long does it take you to complete a finished book?
Depends on the story. Falling took
around nine months. I’ll let you know how long Firebrand took when it’s done!
What inspired you to write your book?
I’ve been conceptualising for years,
but couldn’t find an entry point. Then it came to me: a heavily fictionalised
version of my own life at that time. It just fit.
Who was the easiest
character to write and why? Hardest and why?
Jerin was paradoxically both the
easiest and hardest, because he was comprised mostly of me. Characters like
Juli and Alezi were surprisingly easy to write, and the dialogue between Jerin
and Kol came pretty easily.
Are your characters
based on real people? People you may know or TV/Movie stars?
Jerin is based loosely on myself.
Elements of Juli were based even more loosely on my partner, but the final
character ended up being completely unrecognisable as being anything like her,
which is probably for the best! Some characters are based on friends and
colleagues I’ve known. The relationship between cops Haikyo and Rogimar in
Firebrand is inspired by Riggs and Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon.
Without giving
anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in 'Falling'?
Ooh, tricky one… the dialogue scenes
between Jerin and Kol, and those between Juli and Alezi. I was happy with how
they came out - the humour, the pain… for me, it just worked. I hope my readers
agree.
If 'Falling' had a
theme song, what would it be and why?
Endlessly by Muse. Anyone who’s read
it will tell you why it’s a good fit!
There are many such themes for
Firebrand, but for me, Unnatural Selection by Muse is the best one for the
opening, after the first scene of the first chapter (I’m such a terrible tease,
aren’t I?)
So you listen to
music while you write your books?
Sometimes. I have a 128-strong
playlist to get me in the mood, songs for different characters and situations
to get my mind in the right place.
It consists of Muse, Foo Fighters,
Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Offspring, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Johnny Cash, and the odd
song here and there by a few other artists.
What’s up next for
you?
After The Golden Years comes Spirits
& Shards: Firebrand, which will be around 200k or more by the time it’s
done. Epic just about does it justice!
What inspired you to
be a writer? Is there anything in particular that spurred you on?
Obsession, I guess. My brain just
won’t shut up, but my fingers tapping on keys until its myriad thoughts are on
the screen seems to sate it… for a while. Then I have to type some more.
Is there anyone else
besides you in your family who write?
No. I seem to be unique in that
regard. I’m the nerdy intellectual one.
Lol I wish I could
say the same but I struggle for the limelight among my siblings, they all have
their own talents and trades ‘shakes fist’ haha!
Do you have any other
Talents or hobbies other than your literary wand?
I draw and paint, and am interested in
learning the guitar.
What’s came first the
chicken or the egg? Lol
The egg laid by whatever the chicken
evolved from… depending on how gradual that evolution was.
A little background
into your writing: when did you start? What was your first piece? First
published piece, tell us about your general history…
Crikey. Long story alert!
I used to stay up until about 3am
writing ideas about an alien invasion in a notebook, but I got stuck. I was,
frankly, crap. But I loved to draw, and I found myself imagining the story
behind these various characters.
A couple of years later, me and a
mate were discussing EU Star Wars characters, and I created one called Adrian
Darkstar. There aren’t enough heroes called Adrian, I felt! Shut up!
Anyway, that became the basis of
‘Dark Nemesis’, a trilogy of screenplays that weren’t entirely awful despite
following the Star Wars blueprint rather too closely. I started with part V,
then IV, then VI, then went back to I… it had a structure for everything up to
IX.
But it fell on the back burner, and I
spent years conceptualising, obsessing that whatever I created had to be
completely original… until I realised that was impossible. Once I admitted that
to myself, it freed me. I still see similarities and hate it, but that’s the
reality of writing.
I finally had the idea for Falling
and began writing that, intending it to be set in the real world, but as I
wrote it, I realised it made more sense as an entry point to what would become
the Spirits & Shards series.
Facebook led me to meet many other
authors, some of whom spurred me on, some of whom gave in to petty jealousy and
had nothing but vitriol over my self-publishing endeavours… I know I could have
made Falling a better book, but I also knew it would take me another six months
to a year to do that. Writing is never perfect. I’m always learning, and as
such, I’ll continue to make mistakes.
Do you have any
favorite books or authors?
The
Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy by the legendary Douglas Adams will likely
always be my favourite. I’m currently reading A Song of Ice & Fire by GRR
Martin, and I’m just in awe.
So what else you
working on?
I’ve got plans for many more books to
come. I released a proof-of-concept short called ‘Twenty-Thirteen’ on Kobo and
Kindle to gauge the interest in a full novel based on that concept.
The next Spirits & Shards novel after Firebrand is
the second ‘tales’ story, Hysteria.
Here could you give
us a few words to people who haven’t yet read your book (s), sell your work ;)
How
to sell myself without sounding like a conceited douche, tough one?
Ah you’re not a douche ;)
Ha!
I think I have a particularly visual style, and the characters always come
first. It’s all about the human story. Without that, there’s no substance. It’s
about the journey, the emotion. Every character comes out of a story
differently to how they came in.
I edit my own work, so I
have to pay extra close attention to ensure I don’t mess up. That can be tough.
Every time I pick up Falling or search it for a reference, I’m petrified I’ll
find a mistake I missed!
Falling isn’t just aimed
at the sci-fan crowd, it’s a tale for anyone who enjoys a good story… just not
kids. There isn’t too much swearing, and it isn’t too explicit, but it does
have dark moments, and characters die.
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| Falling |
As the headaches that once blighted Jerin’s
otherwise care-free existence return, he is offered a new wonder-drug, never
pausing to consider how strangely perfect it sounds.
Jerin soon discovers that these new capsules
have a most unexpected side effect, allowing him a glimpse into the secret life
of the partner he now rarely sees.
Falling is a story of love, loss and
self-discovery, set in a high-concept universe.
An apocalyptic short. Four friends meet up for a drink in their local pub, only for the ground to fall around them.
This story is a proof of concept to see whether anyone is interested in reading a full novel, with this likely serving as the first chapter. If you enjoy it and want to read more, please post a review saying so - I'm listening!
Please do not pay for this ebook. It is available completely free here....CLICK HERE (Please pester Amazon until they make it free here too. Thank you.)
This story is a proof of concept to see whether anyone is interested in reading a full novel, with this likely serving as the first chapter. If you enjoy it and want to read more, please post a review saying so - I'm listening!
Please do not pay for this ebook. It is available completely free here....CLICK HERE (Please pester Amazon until they make it free here too. Thank you.)
And here are the links you can find AJ. Oh and before I
forget he’s looking for a model for his covers and posters that are willing to
go topless lmao!!! ;)
Goodreads (Falling
page)
Goodreads (Author
page)
Amazon
(Author page)
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