Friday, August 31, 2012

Author Interview with Phillip Richards: C.R.O.W.


Hey Folks, I know it's been a minute since you've heard from me and I certainly appreciate your patience.


We have a special guest today, debut author Phillip Richards has been kind enough to stop by and share a little about himself and his novel: C.R.O.W.
Phillip Richards










C.R.O.W.













Phil, we are happy to have you here with us today. Do you mind if we ask you a couple questions?

My pleasure Ahmad, I'm ready to jump on in.
What inspired you to begin writing?
I have always been into writing, since my very early teens. I was big into science fiction and often enjoyed writing short stories, especially science fiction, but nothing more than a few pages. Much of my work was often unfinished. 
I joined the army at the age of seventeen, and as soon as I had done so, my priorities shifted. Writing was no longer important to me. 
It wasn't until March 2003 when I dreamt up an idea for a story again. 
As a young and frightened soldier sat on the border between Kuwait and Iraq waiting for the order to cross the line of departure, I found myself wondering what war might be like in the future and whether there would be more frightened soldiers like me. The idea for Combat Replacement Of War didn't manage to get itself onto a page however, for another six years when I actually began writing. Unfortunately the army is pretty good at keeping me occupied!

Tell us about your latest novel in 20 words or less:  

C.R.O.W is more than just science fiction, it is about the hardship endured by soldiers at war.

What has been the most exciting part of being a published author?
Seeing people buying my book on amazon. I don't expect to make a fortune writing eBooks, if I did I would have left the army by now! When I see that books have sold, I know that somebody has seen my book, read the blurb, maybe even the opening chapters and then chosen to buy it. I think that's pretty cool.

What do you do to prepare for a writing session?

Go for a run! My job can really stress me out, and I often take it home with me. I find a long run or workout clears my mind. Because my story is about the army, albeit one in the future, I find that my inspiration is pretty much all around me, since I live the army all day every day. So all I need is to be stress free, and then writing comes to me pretty easily.

Does writing get easier with each project?

I couldn't really say, since this has been my first serious project, but perhaps I will get to tell you after the second! I don't think that I would have been able to write my story a few years ago, though. Writing a novel takes a great deal of patience, which I think I lacked before. Reading my story for the twentieth time in search of errors tried my patience to the limit!

What has been the worst part of being a published author?

I really couldn't tell you that either, since I have genuinely enjoyed everything up until now. I love to write, and seeing people buy my work is the icing on the cake.

What books have influenced your writing?

None, really. A few people have mentioned that my book reminds them of Starship Troopers but with more action, but I honestly don't see how it does! 
I liked Starship Troopers, but it spends a lot of its time talking politics, and much of the military action is based around parachute company tactics using infantry as the only weapon deployed on the ground.
My book ignores the politics and focuses its attention on low level unit tactics, the sights, the sounds, the feelings, and the military action is instead based around a concept known as 'combined arms', which is the use of multiple weapon systems and platforms in concert with one another. Many military science fiction books, Starship Troopers included, portray their characters as fearless super-humans killing their foe without pity or remorse. I wanted to show a completely different side to the 'killing machine', that is the infantry soldier. 
As for my style of writing, it is literally my voice, unaltered. I read once that you should never read other books when writing so as not to begin to emulate the writer's voice in your own work. I don't know if that's true, but I stuck to the theory and I think I did a good job!

As a writer, it is considered unprofessional and inappropriate to give a retort to a critic or criticism. Were it “politically correct” to address your critics personally, what would be the one thing you would say to them

I would thank them, so long as the criticism was constructive. A critic who simply says 'I didn't like it' is a bad critic, but one who gives clear 'reasons why' only gives me points to bear in mind for my next project.

Are you currently working on any other projects?

I'm thinking about it...

What is the last thing you read? Did you like it, hate it?

My book! For the twentieth time, searching for errors. It was awfully boring ha-ha!

What was the last movie you watched? Did you like it, hate it?

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. British film. The wife chose it. She always chooses random films that nobody hears about, but rather surprisingly it was not too bad!

Where can readers find your works and follow you ?

My eBook can be found on amazon, I have also created a blog and Facebook account for my book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008S1VH5K (UK)
http://militarysciencefictionblog.blogspot.co.uk/ (My blog)


Well thank you for stopping by and sharing with us Phil. 

My readers and I are very appreciative for your time and honesty. We hope you can stop again soon and share more about the success of C.R.O.W. and any of your future projects.

Is there anything you wanna' say to our readers?
Thanks for the opportunity and feel free to come and chat about my book, other books, or life in general!

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like a powerful book. I have a hard time even imagining the life of a soldier - good for you for sharing your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great interview! Good luck with the book.

    ReplyDelete