Inside the Mind - STUART G YATES

My nan was a great reader, especially of Agatha Christie. To please her, I wrote a short Whodunit, bashing it out on my brother's Olivetti typewriter. I stitched it together and waited nervously for her to read it. She did and, more importantly, she couldn't guess who the perpetrator of the crime was! This inspired me to write more. As I avidly devoured every Agatha Christie I could get my hands on, I discovered Jack Higgins. This, for me, was a revelation! I wanted to write the same sort of gritty, British thrillers he did. So, I did. This was in the early 70s. In 1979, I submitted my first completed novel and, in 2009, I was fortunate to have a book accepted by a small, Indie press. I've never looked back and now have over 50 books published.

My latest book is a Western. 'Left for Dead' is the first in a series that follows the blood-soaked career of Hahmood, a stone-cold killer who stops at nothing to get what he wants. Unlike other so-called heroes, Hahmood has no conscience. He is unrelenting and deadly. He will appear in a series of 5 novels, and a further series in which he mellows somewhat and teams up with a highly moral sheriff to serve and protect the local community. I hope you enjoy his journey.

This is such a difficult question, to be honest. Sometimes, they simply spring into my head, other times, I tap into memories of people I know or have known. For my British thrillers, I almost always use people I know (and some of them are not very nice!) My Westerns are littered with characters lifted from the many films I've watched. I love films and always strive to write as if I'm watching the big screen.

I start early in the morning, usually before 7 am. I try to write a chapter, polishing it until I'm happy with it. I do this most days. When the book is completed, I return to it and go through it from start to finish, fixing all those annoying errors, editing, adding, removing. I love writing, so it never seems a chore.

Setting my own timetable.

Getting known. It is SO difficult to get readers to notice you. My first Western, Unflinching, was number one in Canada, but despite that, my other books have struggled to gain readership. I don't understand that. Marketing and promoting, for me, are difficult concepts. I'm not a natural salesman. I'm quiet, reserved, uncomfortable in shouting out my achievements. I much prefer to let my words do the talking for me. And publicity is SO expensive, with so many sharks out there. It really is a massive struggle.

I sometimes use Scrivener to try to organise my drafts, but really the only tools I use are a notebook, Word and not much else.

It's the same as most writers tell you - don't give up. If you have that urge, that buzz about your writing, then do it. Sales, fame, riches, none of those things are important. What is, is that your words are put down on paper. I hear from so many people, 'I'd love to write a book'. My answer is always the same: Do it! I taught myself to write because I had the desire to do so. The best way to develop your skills as a writer is to write and READ. Read good books, immerse yourself in this wonderful profession and write for the sheer love of it.

I don't. It's a minefield, and unfortunately, I have been preyed upon by unscrupulous marketeers out there (of which there are SO many, all promising you the Earth) who have relieved me of what little cash I have. So, no more. I'll try my best, putting out ads on Facebook and X. I know it's not perfect but until I win the Lottery there's not much else I can do.

I'm always working on a new book. Recently, a publisher has accepted a WW2 book of mine, which will be out next Spring. It is loosely based on my Dad's exploits in Normandy. He didn't tell me much, but what he did impart was absolutely horrifying. Presently, I'm working on a new series of WW2 thrillers about the SOE in Northern France. Then, I'll be working on a British thriller I'm planning out, set in the Seventies (there's that Jack Higgins link again), a real, gritty, realistic portrayal of small-time gansters in my home town. I hope it does well.