Interview A. W. Lambert

by

L. C. Wright

1) Congratulations on your book coming out and if you would, please tell us a little about yourself.

London born and bred and an avid reader. Only when retired could I follow my passion. After extensive experience with newspaper and magazine articles and short story writing, I moved into full length fiction. My first success, A Treacherous Past, was published by Wings in November 2008. Since then a further five novels have been accepted by Wings, together with two others by a different publisher.

2) I’m always interested in a person’s creative writing process. Please tell us the progression of going from a blank sheet of paper to a novel.

That first blank screen is daunting to the extreme and it’s not until I see a written page or two that I relax. No amount of advance, remote cogitation helps, I can only progress on the hoof, at the keyboard and it matters not that frequently those original pages have to be completely re-written; they are the initial springboard needed to kick start me. From then on it becomes instinctive and the impetus builds.

3) Stephen King’s writing style is to write everything down to get all the ideas out of his head and then go back and edit. Dean Koontz told me that his style is to write one page and then edit eight to ten times before moving to the next page. How do you move from page to page?

I tend to write short chapters in the style of one of James Patterson. Pacing myself is crucial. As a result I have developed a routine during which I attempt to write just one or two complete chapters per sitting. Then, at the start of my next session, I re-read and carry out the first rewrite of those chapters before progressing. On completion of the novel, I put it to one side for a week or two then carry out what I hope to be the final re-write.

4) I believe anything can become fodder for a book idea. Where do you look to find yours?

The answer to that must be anywhere and everywhere. For instance, I’m an avid newspaper reader and my latest novel, ‘Sleeping Dogs’, came from the newspaper coverage of the seventieth anniversary of the Battle of Britton: what if something happened back then that wasn’t discovered until the present day? And  what if something sinister lay behind that discovery? The same applies to any snippet of information that triggers the ‘what if’ question in my mind. Never stop looking and listening.

5) Tell us about this book and if there are others in the works.

The significance of ‘Sleeping Dogs’ was enhanced by being a former pilot myself. Most of the Battle of Britain was fought from airfields in the south east of England, where I live. Also, significantly, all my novels feature an ex-Police Detective Inspector, Theo Stern, a private investigator in the area. Follow ups have two storylines in progress, one another Theo Stern adventure, the other a breakaway story. I have yet to decide which to go with.  

6) With every author I’ve known, they all complain that sometimes, life gets in the way. How do you overcome the daily issues that plague us all in order to complete your work?

I consider myself extremely fortunate in that at the age of 54 I was able to retire from full time work and concentrate on my passion. Now, at 73, with eight published novels under my belt and a wife who not only supports me to the hilt, but is my most ruthless, proof-reading critic, I, enviously, have very few daily issues to plague me. Age does have some small benefits.     

7) Some books are character driven. Others are story driven. How would you classify this book and do you feel one method to be better than the other?

All my novels are mainly story driven. However, when writing a series of stories using the same main characters, character interaction with other main players is important. It is hoped that when picking up the next novel, my reader will feel familiar and comfortable with that relationship. Think Holmes and Watson, Morse and Lewis, Marples and Stringer—all combinations are well loved. I try to engender such relationships within my dialogue.

8) I’ve written in 1^st person and 3^rd person formats and feel challenged with both. Do you have a preference or does the story dictate how this goes?

I, too, have written in both and done exercises writing pieces in both. I eventually found 3^rd person more my style. Like many, I suspect, the freedom of being able to move between characters, see the story from more than one aspect, is the attraction. However, a novel in the 1^st person is tantalizing and should a storyline come along that I felt more suited to it, I wouldn’t hesitate. Haven’t seen that storyline yet though! 

9) Finally, if you had one thing to tell any writer in the world something that would be of benefit, what would that be?

That’s easy. Sit down and write. Don’t succumb to excuses. Marathon runners have a saying; if you don’t do the miles, you’ll never do the miles! Writing is no different. It’s all too easy to back away, tell yourself there are other things need doing. There might well be, but if you don’t do the words, you’ll never do the words. Make time. If you really want to write, if it’s a true passion, it’s the only way.