Kimberly Menozzi, Author
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Thursday Thirteen: 13 Questions for Chris Hollis, Author

18/4/2013

24 Comments

 
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Ciao a tutti! Hi, everybody! It's time for another Thursday Thirteen, and this week I have a special treat for everyone. You see, back in 2008-9, I had the pleasure of meeting a number of good writers on the Harper-Collins Authonomy website. I read many great books while they were still in their development stage, but there was one book in particular which stood out in my estimation. One, a psychological thriller (which is not a genre I normally read), was so good, I read all of the available sample and asked for more of it. I was generously given the still-incomplete manuscript to read at my leisure. To this day, it is the only book I've managed to read while sitting at my computer.

Well, now, that book - called Affinities - is available for purchase, along with another thriller, Subculture. Both are well worth a read, but you might also want to get to know the author a little better, first.

So please sit back, relax and enjoy this interview with the lovely and talented (and former Authonomite), Chris Hollis!

Thirteen Questions for Chris Hollis, Author

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1) So, Chris - tell me something about yourself.

Well, I’m a mid-thirties writer, fighting off life while I try to make my mark. Writing is the one job in entertainment where you can still be considered at the start of your career in your thirties. Many of the greats didn’t reach their stride until their kids were all grown up (not that I have any).

2) When did you first get bitten by the writing bug?

That’s not so easy to pin down. Winding back the clock, I was originally an aspiring (failed) cartoonist, then a director-without-a-camera, which turned into a screenwriter. Book writing evolved some point in my early twenties. I dabble. It’s always been one of my problems – disciplined, but rarely focussed.

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3) Tell me about your books.

I have two available as of 2013 – Subculture and Affinities. Both are thrillers, and fast, but the similarity ends there. Subculture is an action-packed, breakneck, A-to-B kind of affair, whereas Affinities is a good deal more complex. Even I can’t remember all the different threads I wove into it. Every inanimate object has a specific pathway through the novel, developing in the reader’s eye, something like a character.

4) Which book was the greater challenge to write?

Easily Affinities. That kind of detail takes time to get right. After six years of putting it together, I just wanted to write a nice linear plot, something you could read on a sun lounger in a couple of days. That’s Subculture. Still, both are child’s play compared to a couple I have on my desktop. Ten years hasn’t been enough to call them finished...

5) How much research do you do when you're writing?

Copious and endless. Google images helps me to write descriptions, then I look up sunset times, weather forecasts, road names, people names. You can’t afford not to research every last little detail. It also helps to write Q&As as you go along, to remind yourself what the overriding point of the novel is. Then you can research your own research!

6) What genre do you prefer to read? What are your favorite books in that genre?

I’m into soft sci-fi and paranormal. Different genres, but they boil down to the same thing – an ordinary protagonist versus a strange adversary. Giant monsters and spooks. Think Triffids, Martians, vampires in a 1990s sense. Vampires are a bit different now, I feel. Less edgy, less fun.


You can’t afford not to research every last little detail.
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7) What made you decide to be an Indie author?

I would have baulked at the concept ten years ago, determined to follow in the footsteps of the people who inspired me. Then one day I realised it should be the readers who decide what they like, and nobody else. So now I’m out there, along with two billion other authors, walking the fine line between shameless self-promotion, and blindly hoping to get noticed.

8) When you're writing, do you need noise or silence?

Great question. Silence, and it’s a bone of contention. When I’m doing a first draft, ambient noise is acceptable, but when it comes to doing that perfect paragraph – I mean the one where every word just flows poetically – it has to be silent like the grave for miles around. Hence why my output isn’t higher. One book a year is hard enough as it is when you struggle to concentrate like I do.

9) What's your typical writing day like?

Few and far between, really. Sometimes, I stay late in the office and pace up and down, proof reading, lapping up the solitude. But those rare pajama days amount to maybe seven hours of writing, and five of procrastination. They’re fantastic for getting the house clean!

10) Where did the ideas for your books come from/what inspired them?

Someone once said to me “think of a terrorist”, and I had the image I think most people would – a Middle-Eastern bearded man, with a vendetta that many Westerners perhaps wouldn’t understand. I didn’t like the stereotype, and so I decided to make terrorists who were homegrown, but still organised en-masse. The other ground, I felt, had been over trodden. [note: that book became Subculture]

Affinities, at conception, was a one-man play. Every chapter was supposed be a different night in the same location, with just one character. Turns out that would be boring as hell, so I scrapped the idea as I learned how much a story needs both dialogue, and autonomy. You can still see the roots in the first five chapters, though.
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11) Say your books take off and you start earning Stephen King money: What is the first thing you purchase?

Remember the speedboat David Beckham rode along the Thames, holding the Olympic torch? I heard they couldn’t sell it. I’d have that. There were lights shining into the water jets that made it look all futuristic.

12) Give me a completely random fact about yourself.

I was the one who left the office window open overnight. Feels good to clear the air.

13) Any final words of advice or declarations to make?

It seems to me that every writer around is part of a gold rush for the ebook market right now, with many struggling to get as many books out there as quickly as they can. My advice is relax. Better to have three great books than six that are merely okay, right? You’ll be tagged with those books for the rest of your life (and then beyond). The other tip is go sit in a sauna. Quiet thinking time, and also nice and warm.

And there you have them, Thirteen Questions for Chris Hollis, Author!

I hope you've enjoyed getting to know him, today. If you're intrigued and would like to learn more about Chris, you can visit his website.

His books are available on Amazon US and UK, in both paperback and ebook.

Affinities (US ebook)
Affinities (UK ebook)

Subculture (US ebook)
Subculture (UK ebook)




No eye candy today (well, unless you count Chris himself) but drop by tomorrow for a tasty treat!

Ciao for now!
24 Comments
Anthony North link
18/4/2013 04:35:17 am

Great interview. No 7 hit a chord with me.

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Kimberly Menozzi link
18/4/2013 07:19:33 am

Thanks, Anthony! I was so pleased that he agreed to share his thoughts with us. And #7 resonated with me, too. Heh.

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CountryDew link
18/4/2013 07:00:51 am

That was a great interview. I loved his answer to #12.

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Kimberly Menozzi link
18/4/2013 07:20:29 am

Thanks! I really enjoyed his responses, too. I groaned *and* laughed at #12, myself. LOL!

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Jennifer Leeland link
18/4/2013 08:23:11 am

I, too, have issues focusing. I love the advice Chris offers. Great interview, Kim.

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Kimberly Menozzi link
18/4/2013 09:21:28 am

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Jennifer. :)

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Colleen@Looseleafnotes link
18/4/2013 08:59:50 am

Love that random fact. I can't imagine what it was like to do research before google.

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Kimberly Menozzi link
18/4/2013 09:25:00 am

Wasn't it great? LOL! And I remember, it was darned difficult having to go to libraries and pore over their files/microfiche/old magazines and newspapers to find stuff out. I like it much better, nowadays. ;)

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Paige Tyler link
18/4/2013 10:49:03 am

Great interview! The books sound great!

*hugs*
Paige

My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/

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Kimberly Menozzi link
18/4/2013 11:48:09 am

Thanks, Paige! Chris' books are definitely worth checking out.

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Alice Audrey link
18/4/2013 11:17:25 am

Mid 30's is nothing. Lots of writers don't even start until their 40's.

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Kimberly Menozzi link
18/4/2013 12:21:51 pm

It's funny, for a while, I considered myself privileged to get Ask Me if I'm Happy published before I turned 40!

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Adelle Laudan link
18/4/2013 02:16:45 pm

Am I the only one who noticed how HOT Chris is? Sorry, had to get that out of the way first lol
I have dipped my toe in the thriller pool with my serial killer novel. It's nice to hear the ins and outs from another author of similar genre.
Thanks for sharing. Happy T13!

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Kimberly Menozzi link
18/4/2013 03:40:20 pm

LOL! I'm sure Chris will be pleased. (And I've teased him about it before, so... I'm sure he's used to it.)

I find it's often very encouraging and enlightening to see how other writers in our chosen genres go about the task of writing. Always interesting, as well.

You're most welcome - and I'm so happy you enjoyed the interview, Adelle! :)

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Heather link
18/4/2013 10:47:48 pm

Nice interview, Kimberly. Sorry so late to check in this week!

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Kimberly Menozzi link
19/4/2013 01:46:39 am

No problem, Heather - thanks for coming by! :)

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Shelley Munro link
19/4/2013 12:33:50 am

It was great to meet you, Chris. Google is such a great tool for writers. I have no idea how people managed before the net!
Fresh air is great for washing away cobwebs.

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Kimberly Menozzi link
19/4/2013 01:47:46 am

Thanks, Shelley! And I agree, before Google, writing was so much harder to do sometimes. :)

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Novroz link
19/4/2013 09:28:09 am

Great interview. I can learn from this as I am preparing to make another Q& A with an author.

thank you Kimberly

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Kimberly Menozzi link
19/4/2013 09:56:52 am

Thanks, Novroz! I'm glad it was helpful for you - I always enjoy the interviews I do with writers, because it's fun to see how differently a supposedly "like" mind works. :)

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The Gal Herself link
19/4/2013 02:49:26 pm

First of all, I feel so busted as I was scrolling down, looking for the beefcake.

Secondly, I was interested in Chris' take on vampires. As one who found them fascinating when I was a teenage girl, I too think they have lost something with their current ubiquity.

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Kimberly Menozzi link
19/4/2013 03:05:15 pm

Gotcha! LOL! Yeah, I felt that Chris was beefcake enough this time around. ;)

I find myself agreeing with you and Chris, too, regarding vampires. They're not as exciting, nowadays, are they?

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Chris Hollis link
20/4/2013 04:01:02 am

Hi guys,

First off, it's great to see how many of you liked the interview. I'm always thrilled when anyone takes the time to read something I've put together.

Kimberley's been trying to get me to bring the beefcake for years, but how many authors do you know who strip for interviews?? I'm not sure if I should really be the one to buck the trend.

I can remember researching my first novel on Yahoo, in the days before Wikipedia. The process was laborious, and by now (the third draft) I've come to realise how much I rely upon research to get my facts straight. It's almost as though I store no useful information in my brain whatsoever. Why bother when the internet can do it for you?

Anyway, I'm procrastinating again, so back to the writing. This is just a brief note to say hello, and just to prove I can take advice as well as dish it out, I'm going to take a leaf from Shelley's book and take the afternoon off to enjoy the sunshine. We don't see a lot of it in the North of England!

All the best,


Chris

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Kimberly Menozzi link
20/4/2013 06:59:26 am

Thanks again, Chris for giving me a little of your time and doing this interview.

Go enjoy your sunshine, and remember: I'll get you yet, my pretty! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAA!!!

(Don't worry folks, it's a strictly Platonic love I have for the guy - he's just so easy to tease!)

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    Kimberly Menozzi

    Author. Happily Married. Survivor of life with two deranged kitties.

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