Maurice Perkins interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

When did your love of books begin?

My love of books began when I was a young child although my first steps were reluctant ones. It was astuteness of a librarian that got me into reading and I have never stopped since.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I didn’t really have any thoughts about becoming an author until the lockdown of 2020 due to Covid-19. I had began sharing some of my funny stories every day on Facebook. It was some friends who suggested I collate them into a book. I elected to self-publish via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), never imagining that so many people would want to by and read my books.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

The KDP process took a little navigating. In particular the formatting etc. but I was keen to make the style my own. I have told my life through a series of funny stories, in the style that I would take if I was sat in the pub talking to my mates. I also chose to illustrate my books with the odd photograph and cartoon that I had penned in my youth about certain funny or momentous occasions.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Becoming an author is an easy process if you have a story that you can tell. There are different hurdles to progress dependent upon the genre you choose to write in and the length of what you want to write about. Some people concentrate on short stories or novellas. Whilst others wish to convey expansive environments and complex plots. A lot depends on what you want to do.

Tell us about your book/books:

My first three books are memoirs. My life told in a series of funny stories. The style is raw and gritty, certainly not for the faint of heart. They candidly tell about the troubled teenager I was, the rascal in the Royal Navy and how I have managed to grow as a person and develop a career that seemed so far out of reach for a council estate kid who left school with no qualifications. The fourth book I published is a post-apocalyptic survival story about a motley group of individuals who bond together to forge out a safe place to live. There are others though, from another place who are in equal jeopardy. The fates of the two groups are inextricably linked. I am currently writing a dark comedy thriller based on revenge when some ex-armed forces veterans stumble into a gang turf war in Manchester.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

Being part of a large community of like-minded souls who enjoy reading and writing is quite fulfilling. There are numerous people who are keen to help, or point aspiring authors and readers in the right direction. I am fascinated by the success of many people who have elected to independently publish their work. I now read about 75% independent authors and the rest from those more well known and have taken the traditional route.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

I am pleased and pleasantly surprised that new readers continue to buy and review my books. I honestly didn’t think I would sell many outside my network of family and friends.  You have given me the confidence to continue writing and I am hoping that my cheeky approach to life, will help me to continue telling my stories.

Where can people connect with you?

If anyone wants to know more about me or my writing, I have a basic Amazon author page, which lists all my books and can be found from this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maurice-Perkins/e/B08CM447T3