We’re delighted to welcome author Sam Sparks to Writing Tips Oasis. You can learn more about Sam, his background and his work as an author in an interview we carried out with him below.
Please tell us about you. Where are you from? What is your professional background and how did you become an author?
I’ve lived in Sussex for most of my life, apart from two spells in Germany. I was a Golf Professional for thirty years, making an appearance on the European Tour, so brief, literally only my Mum noticed, as I was mentioned on TV for suffering the worst defeat of the day. My opponent was the Australian Open Champion and runner up in the British Open, so not a total surprise!
I didn’t start actual “work” until 2008 when in an inexplicable turn of events I joined the Ambulance service where I stayed for 13 years, five in Emergency, the rest in non-Emergency. Hats off to Front Line staff, diamonds one and all.
What types of books do you write?
I write Vigilante / Thriller. Stories are set against the increasing public frustration of living with an ineffectual not fit for purpose Justice System. The first in the series of Heroes and Villains was “One Crime too Many”. I also write “Later Life Love” short stories in my Second Bite of the Cherry series. And some WW2 historical fiction. I’ve got into the habit of turning some books into Screenplays. A hugely enjoyable endeavour and I think it helps the writing – in a visual way. I’ve been trying to pluck up the courage to attend the LIVE Ammunition events put on by the London based Raindance Film Organisation (like Sundance I guess just with a darker sky) where you pitch (2 minutes) your film to a panel of Film Industry pros. I went to one Live Ammo just to see. Gulp.
Could you please tell us about your most recent book, its overall plot, and the main characters in it?
“One Death too Many” was the second book published in the Heroes and Villains series.
It’s loosely based on a known to me true circumstance (and therefore the inspiration) where an old lady is befriended by two ne’er do wells. Property improvements become evident to neighbours, who are somewhat mystified, she’s in her early nineties and not always sound of mind and has no family.
The old lady dies, the coroner is not entirely happy with the surrounding circumstances and records an open verdict. Neighbours are aghast at the news that the two “befrienders” (a woman and her son) are the beneficiaries of her bungalow and estate.
A rinse and repeat occurs with the same individuals; when the mother then buys into a care company, tongues really start to wag. One of the locals enlists the help of her son in law, an ex CPS prosecutor, who starts to investigate and whilst he doesn’t like what he finds, knows there’s no provable foul play. However he has connections to rectify the situation, step forward men with form of a different kind serving Queen and Country.
Are you working on any other books(s)? If so, can you please tell us what we can expect to see from you in the future?
I’m working on book three of “Rush Hour Romance” based on the real life London Metro’s “Rush Hour Crush” lonely hearts column. A German national who worked for Germany’s equivalent of Mi5 tracking drug dealers from Romania (and yes its loosely based on a real life character whom I made the acquaintance of) has to relocate to London when his identity is compromised. He gets placed as a hotel concierge and attracts the eye of the owner of an upmarket ladies fashion house.
Can you please tell us about your approach to writing? For example, do you follow structures and writing rules? Or do you write in a free flow way? Do you have any particular time of the day you like to write? Or any specific environment you prefer to sit down and write in?
Ooh er. complete and utter pantster! I wish I wasn’t, but I don’t seem to have the discipline to outline.. at least at the moment – a work in progress! I’m a ludicrously early morning writer for sure. A combination of having a father in the military and early starts at Ambulance I guess. Environment wise it’s the kitchen and later on in the day, sitting in a Bexhill seafront shelter (nicer than it sounds) that plays old music as you walk in and trigger the sensor.
Do you have any favourite authors? If so, who are they and what do you like about their work?
Ben Elton’s “Two Brothers”, Sebastian Faulks’s “ Charlotte Gray” so anything WW2 and WW1 and Robert Harris’s “An Officer and a Spy”. I just enjoy the genre. I like Hemingway’s style and use the app!
What other things do you like to get up to when you’re not writing?
I’m a poster boy, yeah I know at my age? Seriously, I work for De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill (famous amongst other things for being a Poirot venue as its Art Deco). Oh yeah the poster bit, I slap up gig posters on the seafront boards, the nearest I get to DIY. Other than that, I play guitar, dance Tango and have an occasional round of Golf. Oh and I write Tongue Lashing Rhyme (if I get a bee in my bonnet about some perceived injustice etcetera, not for everyone. ha.ha) inspired by the two Poets located 200 yards west of Tower Bridge who knock out poems to order and dispense it on the Bexhill seafront on occasion. Unlike them (poems, any subject, pay what you like), mine are predone and free! I’m on the search for a writing buddy, ideally a Cocker Spaniel.
How can people find out more about you?
Sam Sparks Writer on FB and www.samsparks.net. Oh and Tongue Lashing Rhyme on IG.