AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Hello. Thank you for visiting my blog today. I’m
Rebecca Scarberry (Scarberryfields on Twitter). I have interviewed
multi-published author, Andy Ritchie (@andyritchie999 on Twitter). I’ve enjoyed
learning more about this author, living in Darwen, Lancashire, UK. I think you
will also.
Scarberryfields:
Can you tell us a little about your nationality?
Andy
Ritchie: A simple question with a complicated answer. By birth, I’m
English. I’m also English on my Mother’s side. However, on my Father’s side,
I’m Scottish. Being either English or Scottish, I can also call myself British.
My maternal grandmother was actually born in the United States, so if I had
ever been good enough to play football at the international level, I’d have had
a choice of England, Scotland or the USA. Sadly, I’ve always been pretty
rubbish at football!
Scarberryfields:
When you finish writing a story, do you miss the characters?
Andy
Ritchie: Always. It’s a bittersweet moment when the final word of a story
is typed and I realize that the tiny little universe that I have created, and
the characters with which I have populated that world, have reached the limits
of all that they will ever do…unless, of course, I plan to write a sequel, in
which case I give them a cheery wave and tell them I’ll see them all again
soon!
Scarberryfields:
While writing, if you need help with punctuation, grammar, etcetera, where do
you turn?
Andy
Ritchie: I certainly don’t turn to my family! My wife would openly admit to
being truly terrible at grammar and punctuation, not to mention spelling, an
affliction that is clearly hereditary since both my daughters also have this
failing; in fact, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the last few years reading
through their university assignments
and commenting on their grammar and
punctuation…which is about all I was able to comment on, because the rest of
the content was always generally beyond my understanding!
Scarberryfields:
With the number of hours spent writing, do family members support you or
complain about the time spent away from them?
Andy
Ritchie: They understand why it’s important to me to spend time writing –
it’s a passion, after all. However, just because they understand it does not
necessarily mean they support it and I’ve found it very important to ensure
that I strike a suitable balance between my need to spend time writing and the
need to do whatever needs to be done around the house, with the daughters, etc.
I want to write, but I want to stay happily married a lot more!
Scarberryfields:
For research sake, do you travel to any of the places you mention in your
books?
Andy
Ritchie: Wherever possible, yes. If you’ve actually been to a place and
spent time there, it is so much easier to try to describe it. You can draw on
all your different senses, describe not only the sights, but also the sounds
and the smells and the atmosphere; it brings an authenticity to what you write.
For my most recent book, I actually walked around many of the places where
scenes were set, describing into a dictaphone everything I was experiencing…I
got some very peculiar looks from people out walking their dogs on the moors,
and even stranger looks from people out shopping in Manchester!
Scarberryfields:
When you’re writing, do you shut-off all social networks?
Andy Ritchie:
Absolutely. In fact, I try to shut-off all social interaction – period (or as
we say over this side of The Pond – ‘full stop’). I like to immerse myself in
whatever it is I’m writing, so I try to minimise distractions as much as I
possibly can, and that includes shutting the office door at home (although the
previous comment about the need for a suitable balance in avoiding a trip to
the divorce court also holds true in this respect)!
Scarberryfields:
Did you use any family members as Beta readers for your stories?
Andy
Ritchie: My recently published book had three Beta readers, only one of
whom (my sister) was a family member. By her own admission, she was fairly
ineffectual at spotting spelling mistakes and the like because she kept ‘getting
engrossed’ in the book itself (which, for my part, is pleasing). My mate
‘Dan-the-Man’ was more critical and suggested various changes to characters and
plot (most of which I duly ignored), whilst Sharon was scarily efficient in
identifying typos, grammar problems and the incorrect spelling of the word ‘phlegm’.
My eternal thanks to all of them!
Scarberryfields:
Do you feel social networking is a good tool for marketing your books?
Andy
Ritchie: Hmmmm. Tricky one this. For me, the jury’s still out on this one.
If I’m brutally honest, I’ve not seen any real evidence that interacting on
Twitter has resulted in anyone actually downloading my book; it certainly
hasn’t led to anyone providing me with honest, critical feedback, which is
perhaps what I am really looking for. In my short experience on Twitter, it
just seems to me to be a place where lots and lots of people are jumping up and
down, shouting ‘Read Me! Read Me!’ Maybe I’m just using it wrong, I’m not sure.
I’m a bit more positive about Facebook. I’m
slowly building up the number of ‘likes’ on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IveReadItHaveYou
). There seems to be more opportunity for meaningful interaction with
individuals whom you know (because they have ‘liked’ you) have a genuine
interest in what you’re writing – I just don’t get that with Twitter, even
though I’ve got 5 times as many ‘followers’ on Twitter as I have ‘likers’ on
Facebook.
The only other ‘social networking’ that I do is
my recently-started blog (www.andyritchie999.blogspot.co.uk
), though this is not really intended as a marketing vehicle; instead, I use
the blog as a means of honing my writing, of trying to convey my feelings and
emotions on whatever subject comes to mind in a way that both interests and
(hopefully) amuses the reader…okay, I do occasionally use it as a platform for
a really good rant!
Scarberryfields:
What is the last book called that you completed and published?
Andy
Ritchie: Just last week I published: ‘The
Book That THEY Do Not Want You To Read – Part 2’, the second of the three
books in the series. Part 1 was published in February 2013.
Scarberryfields: Where can readers go
to find your books?
Andy Ritchie: Both books can be
downloaded from my author page on Amazon.
In the UK:
In the US:
Great interview Rebeca, and some great honest answers by Andy. For your info Andy, I have been a hit and miss Twitter user and found that it has provided me more exposure than I thought I would ever get, great folks and I can promise you that some have downloaded your work. In fact Im on my way to find some of it now. Great job both of you.
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