Craig Ford interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

My name is Craig Ford, I am an author, ethical hacker, cyber security professional living in Brisbane Queensland Australia. I am a regular columnist for the women in security magazine and a freelance journalist for several over publications. I am well known for previous contributions to CSO online, where I contributed around 100 pieces for the publication over 2019-2020. 

When did your love of books begin?

My love for books didn’t start until sometime in my 20’s, I always loved a good fantasy story but I much preferred to enjoy this as a youngster via movies. I was a very slow reader growing up and found it challenging to read large volumes of work. As I started to become an adult and work towards becoming an IT professional in the 2000’s I pushed myself to get better, be better which greatly helped me with this skill. One of my friends lent me a book, saying that I would love it, it was Eragon from the inheritance series. He was right I did, I read the whole series and found a love for a good book. I am not a huge reader but do still regularly partake in a good book when life allows (we are all so busy these days it’s hard to find the time). 

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

It’s funny really if anyone had asked me possibly four or five years ago if I would write a book, I would have laughed at them, I probably would have laughed at them if they said I would one day write cyber security articles as a freelance journalist. It was never an ambition or desire of mine to do it, growing up or even after I found the interest in fantasy books.

The desire to write my first book came about firstly with writing articles for CSO, I had attended a cyber security conference and was a little puzzled by the fact that they were only talking about government and very large enterprises. I worked for an MSP at the time and couldn’t understand why no one was talking about them, how they held all the keys to the kingdom, how big a threat they could be to clients if breached. So after the conference I approached CSO with an article all about the topic, which they published and then I kept writing them and they kept publishing.

After a while a colleague told me that they loved my articles, they were easy to understand, fun to read, and that I should consider writing a book in a similar style. That’s how my first book A Hacker I Am was born. I am now starting to write my sixth book (three currently with the publisher being prepared for publishing.) I guess you can say I have definitely caught the writing bug now. 

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

I found it a bit confusing, to begin with, not knowing what was the right way to do things, learning how things are supposed to be. The writing part of it was easy, it’s the marketing and self-promotion part that is more of a challenge. Once you figure out how things work, it's quite enjoyable, you get to enjoy the experience of writing just let it flow and worry about the details/finner points later.

Honestly, I love being an author now, even if it is a surprise to even myself. I have changed from my first two books being self-published to now having a publisher for the next three books in my new series. 

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

Just enjoy the writing experience, don’t get too disheartened or bogged down in all of the finer technical details or the process once you have your draft. That’s just part of the process, its not always fun but if you can focus on the amazing part of writing your stories, you will be like me and get hooked on writing. 

Tell us about your book/books:

My first two books are the A Hacker I Am series. i.e A Hacker I Am and A Hacker I Am Vol2. These two books were written to help share my thoughts and knowledge on approximately 50 topics per book. They are aimed at people wanting to either get into the industry or just want to learn more about it. Its aimed at people who don’t know anything about the industry or topic and can be understood by technical and nontechnical readers.

The books tell readers about the topics with stories and scenarios to make understanding the complex topics simply. They use as little jargon as possible and try and make the journey fun for the readers. The other fun part is you can pick up either of the books, choose a chapter that interests you and read it. You don’t need to read them front to back, just read them however you want.

The new series I have been working on that will have the first instalment released in October this year is the Foresight series. I currently have the first three instalments written which will be released by my publisher as suitable after the release of the first book Foresight later this year.

This book is a bit different to my first series, this is a hacker fantasy book or a cyberpunk novel. It's based around a female character Sam, who is a high school student who lives two lives, one as a very skilled hacker vigilante and another as the average girl next door. She is smart, spunky and we get to follow her journey as she learns how to navigate her life both the one in the real world and the hacker world.

I wrote this book for a particular purpose, I wanted to help create a strong female role model, a character that young girls to read about and encourage them to have a career in cyber security, to know that it could be a cool career, that it is not just a boys club. I am hoping that by doing this we can help change some perspectives, break away from Hollywood stereotypes and just create some interest in the field by both boys and girls. I cant wait to see how it can help make a difference. 

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I think it's pretty clear, the community is so open and friendly. I love that. You don’t find that same openness in many other industries so it's refreshing. 

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

Love the journey, enjoy the experience from reading my books but share what you learn especially with the A Hacker I Am series, which help keep everyone safe from cyber threats. With my new series, it’s a great story (Even if I am biased) I think you will all love it, even if it's not something you would normally read. It is not technical, so don’t let that scare you off. Once you read it though, share it, buy a copy for any young women you know, help me get them into this amazing industry of mine, show them that a STEM career is rewarding and cool. It's not just for boys, it's for everyone. Help me change minds and create an even better future for the industry and these young women.

Of course, I am certain young men will love it too, so share it with them as well, open their eyes to how cool female hackers are, that boys and girls are welcome here. Let's do this together. 

Where can people connect with you?

You can go to my author site www.craigfordauthor.com or any of my socials:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a-hacker-i-am-book/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AHackerIam

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CraigFord_Cyber

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahackeriam/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvxcl9G_H1redBfC_DO8zrw

There are a lot of choices, so you decide which is better for you.