Alan Carter, author of Doom Creek took some time out to have a chat with Beauty and Lace.
Get to know the author behind the book in this insightful interview:
Tell us a little about yourself…
I live in Margate, south of Hobart, where I write and spend my spare time swimming in the icy waters of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. I was born in the UK, in Sunderland where Nick Chester is from, and moved to Australia in 1991 living mainly in WA, then NZ (Marlborough) and now Tassie. I used to make documentaries for TV eg Who Do You Think You Are?
Tell us about Nick Chester…
Nick is a former undercover cop from the UK who has had to move to NZ after an operation went wrong and his cover was blown. He’s had Geordie gangsters on his tail and is trying to live the quiet life in small-town NZ with his wife Vanessa and son Paulie.
What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
An internet kill switch, adequate supplies of tea or coffee, and a nice but not too busy view out of the window. In Winter, the heater.
How do you celebrate when you finish your book?
A bottle of wine and a meal out. Maybe a swim amongst the kelp down at Blackmans Bay.
What is the most valuable piece of advice you have been given about writing?
Read a lot and read not just as a passive consumer but read it again and analyse what it is that works or doesn’t, hooks you in or doesn’t, keeps you reading or doesn’t.
Who are your favourite authors?
Louise Doughty – I recently read Apple Tree Yard (long after watching the TV series) and was blown away by the layers of storytelling. I also like Ian Rankin, Qiu Xiaolong’s Inspector Chen series, John le Carre, Michael Robotham.
If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?
Too late I’m afraid – but I would have loved to spend time with John le Carre, a giant in spy thrillers who has watched the world change and catalogued those changes. Maybe Brendan Behan too although I suspect I wouldn’t have been able to keep up the pace.
What are you currently reading?
I’m reading The Dark Remains – Ian Rankin completing William McIlvanney’s unfinished last work. A dream pairing in Scottish crime fiction.
Where can our readers follow you?
You can find me on Twitter or on FB or on the Fremantle Press site.
What is next for Alan Carter?
The next, and final, book in the WA-set Cato Kwong series – CROCODILE TEARS – will be out in November and I’m writing a standalone thriller based on a real-life murder mystery within my own family tree.
I am a mother of four beautiful children. I can’t leave a book unfinished which equals a lot of late nights! When I’m not reading you can find me in the garden, or helping out at Beauty and Lace.