Please join me in welcoming Ian Acheson to my blog today. Ian is an Aussie who has a suspense
book out at present. He is also happy to give one commenter a chance to win his book.
He is a fellow cricket fan.
1.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Jenny,
I’m Sydney born and bred and share life with Fiona, my wife. We have two sons,
Dan (20) and Jake (17). I work as a strategy consultant having been in the
corporate world for 25+ years. I started writing in earnest 10 years when I sat
down to draft Angelguard.
2.
When you
were a child did you have a favourite book or books?
The Wind in the Willows has always been a favourite.
3.
Do you
have a favourite Genre to both read and right write?
I mostly read thrillers and suspense novels. And guess
what, that’s also what I write.
4. Did you
have favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?
I read a lot of the classics when I was young so
authors like Dickens, Austen, Hardy, Shelley, and Lawrence filled my
bookshelves. I didn’t read a lot of Christian fiction until I was about 30.
That’s when I was introduced to Frank Peretti and Jerry Jenkins, both of whom I
still read frequently.
5. When did
you know you wanted to be an author?
I wrote stories as a kid, however, stopped at the end
of university when work took over. For years I believed I had a novel in me and
in 2003 had an opportunity to see if I had. As I wrote the first draft, I
realised how much I enjoyed the process.
6. How did
you go about becoming an author?
I read Stephen King’s “On Writing” who said you need
to see if there’s a story in you first, so sit down and write. So that’s what I
did. Seven months later, the first draft of Angelguard was complete. All 707
pages of it. Yes, I thought everything that spilled out of my mind was
important.
I then found an editor who taught me how to write as
we edited and re-wrote the draft. That was the first of three or four major
re-writes.
7. If you
were not a writer what would you like to be?
As writing is only a part-time occupation for me, my
preference would be that it would be full time. I’d love to be a professional
resort hotel reviewer. What fun that would be, travelling the world, staying in
flash hotels and writing a review. (Jenny
here I would love to be a profession cricket follower going to matches and
reporting on them.)
8. Outside
reading and writing what do you like to do?
Like most Aussie men, I’m a passionate sports
follower. I particularly love soccer and cricket. As a kid I spent a lot of
time studying sports scores so I’m always looking at statistics.
As I write this I’ve got one eye on the Ashes test,
unfortunately we Aussies are doing terribly, but there’s always the second
innings. (Jenny here again as I put this
up I am watching the second test from Lords, I am a fellow Cricket fan)
I enjoy the theatre and we’re avid movie watchers.
9. Do you
have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?
Paris holds a special place in Fiona and my hearts, as
it was where we spent our honeymoon. We’d like to take a sabbatical in a few
years to live in France for a period of time. I’ve always wanted to live
overseas so I could immerse myself in another culture.
10. If you could
have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?
That’s hard. Funny, it’s an easier question to answer
if it’s dead people. There are many different combinations I can think of but
here’s goes:
Mike Dellosso and Erin Healy, two suspense authors I
greatly admire and know virtually, so it would be neat to sit down over a meal
together. Amy Grant would be the fourth as I love this lady’s heart and
hopefully she’d be happy to lead a sing along after dessert.
11. Finally
can you tell us about your current books and/or any that will
be
coming out soon. Also where we can find you on the web.
Angelguard reveals the timeless supernatural war that
continues unabated and it’s intersection with our physical world. In bringing
the warring angels and demons to the forefront of a rollicking tale that
crosses the globe, I wanted to highlight the ferocity of this conflict. The
physical story focuses on three survivors of separate acts of terrorism that
occur within weeks of each other.
Angelguard
is the first in a series called The Chronicles of the Angelguard. I’m presently
working on the second: Wrestling with Shadows. This novel will explore the
battleground for where spiritual warfare is conducted: the human heart.
Choosing the truth of God’s words rather than Satan’s taunting lies is the only
means of attaining true freedom.
You can keep in touch with Ian at:
Website: http://ianacheson.com/
Twitter: @achesonian
Giveaway:
If you would like a chance to win this book either leave a comment on the interview or a question for Ian or tell us what your favourite sport is. The give away is open to everyone but entries just saying good interview please enter me will not be entered.
The giveaway is open til Thursday 25 at 6pm Australian time.
