WRITER 2 WRITER: An interview with author Adrian Cole

As I progress through this interview series, I've continued to meet a bunch of really fascinating and talented folks. There's plenty of camaraderie amongst people in the publishing field, at least down here in the workaday trenches, well below the mainstream glamour and glitz. With few exceptions, I've found today's self published and small press authors as well as artists and other creators that put books together, to be amiable, articulate, and supportive of one another. Their willingness to talk about themselves and their writing as well as share war stories from the field and tips for newbies, really comes through in the answers I get. I look forward to reading each of these interviews because this is also my chance to get to know my peers a bit better. And honestly, there's some amazing fiction out there just waiting to be discovered!

Adrian Cole is a prolific author who understands what it means to have to delay doing what you truly love in order to deal with the pressures of day-to-day life. I struggled for years with little to no time to write while I was raising my sons, and so I can relate to having to set aside writing to focus on something else entirely. We both reentered the author game later in life, and then had to embrace a flurry of rapid changes in the publishing field. Both of us approached social media as a necessary evil, but have found it a very useful tool, as well as a place where you can hobnob with family, friends, fans, and peers all at once. So for two people who live across the Atlantic Ocean from each other, with disparate lives that should have insured we'd never actually meet, we now have a virtual friendship. The love of books and writing brought us together, aided by the magic of the internet and a small chain of mutual friends. I'd say that's pretty remarkable, but it's not the first time that's happened to me since I started sharing my writing life with others online.

Oh, and we both count Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy as sort of a seminal influence and all time favorite read. I strive to surround myself with folks who still look back on that fondly. Frodo lives, at least in our hearts.

But don't let me hog the limelight, let's see what Adrian himself has to say...

~NANCY

WRITER 2 WRITER

An interview with author

ADRIAN COLE

• Hello Adrian! Would you please tell us a bit about yourself and your writing?

I was born in the city of Plymouth in beautiful Devonshire, England, on 22nd July 1949 and I’ve been a published writer now for over 40 years. My dad was in the Army, so I travelled about a bit as a kid and when he retired the family settled in Birmingham, where I first began to write, met many good friends in the writing game and more importantly where I met my wife, Judy, who still looks after me now. We live in Bideford in Devon, where we’ve been for 30 years. I worked as a Business Manager in a large secondary school until I retired (hooray!) over 3 years ago.

I have had some 2 dozen novels published (sf, fantasy, sword & sorcery, horror, etc) and many short stories. Pressure of work in my ‘day-job’ kept me away from writing for almost 10 years, but as I came up to retirement I got back into writing and am now very busy and write most days. I’m very pleased to say that I’ve been able to re-establish links with old friends and make new ones and am currently having my 'new wave' of stuff published in various places. I’m enjoying writing now as much as, if not more than, ever, and it’s particularly gratifying not to be distracted by what was a very pressured job.

• It's no big surprise that most writers are also avid readers. It's why we get into the business in the first place. So tell us, what kind of books do you relish most? Any favorite authors? Are you as eclectic a reader as you are a writer?

I have always been a big fan of fantastic literature, whether it’s sf, horror, fantasy. I don’t read as much fantasy these days – LOTR is my all-time favorite, probably because I was quite young when I first read it and it had such an impact on me – in fact, it was the final touchstone that got me writing. I also love Jack Vance, Michael O’Shea, Fritz Leiber and grand oldies like REH, HRH and ERB.

SF – favorite book is DUNE, but I also love Sturgeon, Walter Miller and the slightly daft British stuff by John Lymington. There are lots of others.

Horror – HPL of course, and also a big fan of Dennis Wheatley’s black magic stuff, but also love Jonathan Carroll and Dan Simmons (whose sf is also great!)

Apart from the genre stuff, I also like the James Bond books (not films) and all the spin-off series from the 60s and 70s, like Modesty Blaise and Quiller, etc. Also like pulp detective stuff, esp Mickey Spillane, Peter Cheyney and such stalwarts. And John LeCarre, as a contrast.

Also love dark age historical stuff – Bernard Cornwell stands out, and anything about the Celts and Romans – factual stuff as well.

Then there’s all the comics…

• You have a pretty substantial bibliography, with published works that go back to the 1970s. That's something to admired because many of us dream of writing, but few actually sit down to do it, let alone finish anything. What is a typical writing session for you like? Have you incorporated some little tricks-of-the-trade over the intervening years?

I do work to a sort of routine, now that I’ve settled to it. I like to spend a bit of time in bed before I get up, thinking through the next section of what I’m writing. Then after I’ve had my morning pills (I have Angina) and porridge, I go to the machine and begin. I make a point of writing at least a page, but usually do up to 2,500 words. Even on the (rare) days that I don’t feel like working, I make myself write at least one paragraph and it invariably leads to another…and then I’m settled and get on! I probably spend three times as much time thinking about a story than actually writing it, so if I’m gardening, decorating, swimming, I’m usually piecing something together mentally. I also tend to wake up around 4 am and often think through stuff for the morning before going back to sleep.

Ideas for works in progress and totally unrelated works come unbidden at any time, so I make a point of jotting them down in an ideas folder on the machine. May only be a title, but I don’t lose it.

I only write in the mornings – I find that by midday I’m not so fresh – that’s not my age, it’s how I’ve always been. I sometimes revise stuff later in the day, but usually I do my mail and so on after lunch/evenings. Of course, if the weather’s good, I bugger off to the beach!

• Many of us writerly types have other hobbies and areas of interest we pursue. Is there anything creative you do outside of writing? Does some of it somehow weave itself into the books and stories?

I love Devon and the area in which I live. I swim a lot off the nearby beach, which is one of the best in the country. I cycle up into the heart of the county along a converted railway track, and like walking. So I do get ideas from my surroundings, many of which can be easily recognized in my stories and novels – my recent sf novel THE SHADOW ACADEMY (Edge, Canada) is set in an alternative Devon/London and I’ve tried to capture something of the atmosphere and mystique of this part of the world.

• One of the toughest things for those of us with as yet unknown names in this field is getting the word out about our books. It's something I struggle with all the time, because marketing takes a lot of time away from actually writing; yet it's become a necessary evil in this age of small publishers and endless online promotions. Frankly I detest it—I feel like a door-to-door shoe salesman. Any tips or ideas you can share for making the most of an opportunity to spread the word?

Since returning to writing I’ve found things to be exactly as you say. For the most part I don’t want to have to spend ages promoting my stuff, I just want to write it! BUT it is important to get your face out there. I wasn’t on Facebook, but I have to say, I have found it a real blessing. Not only from the professional point of view (keeping apace of markets, etc) but being able to share information with fellow scribes, editors, etc. We all talk gibberish, too, but it’s great fun…I’m just amazed no one has un-friended me yet, given my rather dark sense of humour!

I also find it very useful to go out and attend certain functions – formal and informal. I’ve started going to Fantasycon (which I used to attend every year for its first 10 years or so) and I also go to signing sessions and do an occasional talk to a group. Sharing ideas, moans and so on, is vital. And I LOVE the writing community. They are wonderful people and have welcomed me and encouraged me, which makes a huge difference to me.

If I have one simple thing to say to writers, it’s simply this – DO IT.

• So Adrian, what's new or about to be released for you? Here's your chance to trot them out and show them off before the bidding starts.

It’s been a hugely exciting year for me. NICK NIGHTMARE INVESTIGATES, my first collection of stories about my eponymous occult detective was released in a beautiful special edition hardback in September 2014, and I’m hoping to have it published in paperback before too long. As added spice to that, the book has been short-listed for the British Fantasy Award for best collection of 2014, which I consider to be a real honour, given the amount of wonderful books that are out there.

There are several brand new Nick Nightmare stories coming out in various anthologies and magazines, notably In the 'Court of the Pumpkin King', a novella in NOT YOUR AVERAGE MONSTER (Bloodshot Books, US) and 'Give me the Daggers' in the revived WEIRDBOOK Magazine, no 31 (Wildside Press, US). I am in the process of completing the last story in the 2nd volume, NIGHTMARE COCKTAILS. Watch this space on that one!

Other stories just out or about to come out:

'The Frankenstein Legacy' in MAMMOTH BOOK OF FRANKENSTEIN (Robinson, UK) – a reprint from the 90s;

'Late Shift' in KITCHEN SINK GOTHIC (Paranormal Press, UK) – new horror  story, now out;

'The Shadow Navigator'  in THE HYBORIAN GAZETTE (UK), no 1, a sword and sorcery reprint, due out any day;

'Demon Driver' in DEMONOLOGY (Lycopolis  Press, UK) – new horror story, out any day now;

'His Last Portrait' in MASKS (Knightwatch Press, UK) – new horror story, will be launched at FCon;

'Running with the Tide' in CREEPING CRAWLERS (Shadow Press, UK)– new horror story, will also be launched at FCon;

'A Girl and Her Dolls' in SPECTRAL PRESS BOOK OF HORROR, 2, (Spectral Press, UK) - new horror, also to be launched at FCon;

'In the Wake of the Autumn Storm' in MAMMOTH BOOK OF JACK THE RIPPER (Robinson, UK) a new horror story, out in Oct/Nov.

There are three more short stories due out next year:

'The Third Movement' in TALES FROM THE MISKATONIC LIBRARY (PS Publishing, UK) – a new Mythos-related story

'In Blackwalk Wood' in WEIRDBOOK Magazine, no 32 - a new horror story;

A Beast by any other Name' in TERROR TALES OF CORNWALL (UK) a new horror story.

I am also working on a long term project, a trilogy of historical fantasy novels, set in an alternative Romano-Celtic Europe. The first volume, ARMINIUS, is finished, its fate as yet undecided.

• Where can we find your books and other writing?

I try to keep my website updated, so for full information on all my novels, eBooks and audio books, go to adriancscole.com 

I ought to add that I have been known, from time to time, to deliver an extract or two from a “magnum opus” – readings given at various conventions. I ought to warn people that I will be performing one such deathless classic at this year’s Fantasycon in Nottingham. If you have tears, prepare to shed them then.

Adrian thank you so much for taking the time to share your work with us!

Thank you for your interest!

[NANCY'S NOTE:] You can find Adrian Cole's Amazon US author page HERE, his Amazon UK author page is HERE, and his author website is HERE.