Interview with Ryan Spier, author of Postcards from Berlin

Today I am pleased to be interviewing Ryan Spier, an emerging author specialising in e-books.

Welcome Ryan, glad you could make it here today.

Can you tell us more about 'Postcards from Berlin'?

I can, but where to start? Its basically about a 15 year old boy who grew up in Nazi Germany. I’ve set it around the time of Hitler’s suicide and the fall of the Third Reich. Some of the Tuomas’ views (he’s the main character) reflect my own POV and how I think I might have reacted if I’d been in a similar situation.

I’ve tried to make it action packed as well as believable with some strong characters, both good, bad, mislead and tragic. Tuomas is captured by Russians after his unit is wiped out. Luckily for him he’s kept a diary of events and how he feels about what has happened. British Intelligence realise he has potential to be a Nazi hunter and recruit him to identify Nazi’s both hiding in Berlin and later South America. The British Intelligence officers helped liberate Auschwitz and send two survivors back to Berlin, their home before they were condemned. They join Tuomas and the Intelligence officers in their quest.


What inspired you to write this book? The journal idea has echoes of Anne Frank.

Mentioning echoes of Anne Frank is an enormous compliment. I read her diary a few years ago and constantly think what she would have done if she had survived. The idea of Tuomas writing a journal was born from me reading The Diary of Anne Frank.

I’ve always been fascinated with World War Two, especially hearing accounts of Holocaust survivors and how they survived the camps, triumphed and lived their lives after enduring such pain and loss. I first discovered the Holocaust in a history project when I was 9 or 10 and I guess the faces of the people in the striped pyjamas has haunted me a bit ever since. Anyone who has survived something horrendous deserves admiration. I guess my inspiration comes from my own feelings about what happened from 1930 until 1945. The war, for Jews began long before 1939.

The final, small incident that finally inspired me to write Postcards From Berlin was watching a documentary about a war bunker that still exists in Berlin. Explorers found small helmets that would have been worn by the Hitler youth. So, I guess Anne Frank’s diary, my long fascination with World War 2 and personal feelings all contributed to the book.

What research did you do for this book?

A small amount of technical research and a lifetimes research reading bio’s and survivor accounts and books on The Final Solution. Reading the book and watching the film Schindler's List. Building up a picture of how people felt, what they endured I hope made the story believable, up to a point. Watching documentaries and hearing eye witness accounts. My research for this book probably goes back to when I was 9 or 10.


Your book ends on an interesting note. Do you intend to write a sequel or companion book going into the future?

I’ve a few very vague ideas for a sequel. At the moment I’m writing a horror story and planning a sequel for another book I finished a few months ago. I found Postcards From Berlin difficult to write because some of it is upsetting, because its based on fact. So it takes me longer to write than all of the make believe horror I write. But, I do hope to write a sequel set twenty or so years after the war and have some of the characters living the best lives they can, whilst dealing with their memories and whatever may befall them in the future.


How long did it take to write your book? Did anything change much during editing?

I completely changed the opening because I thought the original one was weak and the publisher recommended it needed to be stronger. I had to add in some technical detail about weapons and locations. This is down to films and books being very high tech these days. So the reader and viewer expects accuracy. Also because it based on fact I had to get everything right for my own satisfaction.

Postcards took 8 weeks to write and about a month to edit and correct. Then I left it and wrote a horror story, edited that and did one final edit on Postcards before I sent it to a publisher. I tend to edit everything twice, leave it for a while then come back and do one final edit.

What changed was punctuation, the opening scene and a few details. The overall storyline didn’t change at all. Just a bit of polishing.

You said once that you just sit down and write whatever comes into your head, is that really true or do you make a plan for your stories?

That statement is actually and factually completely true. When I first started writing I would write a list of what to include in a chapter. But that soon stopped. Once I began to write I found I was adding so much more that the chapter guide thing was a complete waste of time. I like to write 2000 words a day. The most I’ve done is 4800. 2000 is nice because you can read through what you’ve done while its still fresh make sure it’s come out the way you wanted it.

I’ve written a lot of short stories, 2000-8000 word ones in one or two attempts and that was from an idea that just popped into my head after I read, listened to or heard something.

So basically there is no plan. Just write what is behind your eyes and hope its not all waffle.

Can you tell us more about your other books and where all of them are available to buy?

Postcards From Berlin is available from ma2books.co.uk. Ma2books also released my first novel, Angel of Retribution. Angel is a story of a man who wakes up in a morgue and realises he is dead. He has no real memory of his old life, only vague hints of what he once was. His instinct guides him as his memory gradually comes back. As time goes on his memory returns and he comes to realise he is an angel brought back from the dead to right the wrongs done to him and others. Only the truly righteous are brought back. The main character, Richard Webb is guided by an older angel as he avenges what happened to him and his family. There’s also a back story of what happened to the older angel and how both men meet up. I wrote this story after listening to 2 songs and watching a news report on people smuggling and the sex slave trade. The songs were The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg by Iron Maiden and Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen. The title was originally going to be Retribution by I changed it to Angel of Retribution once I finished the book.

I’ve written 2 other novels-Death Has No Mercy and Born of Blood, neither of which have been published because I’m still editing them.
Death is an extremely violent, but not gory horror story about a terrorist who unleashes an extremely dangerous, highly contagious virus in the London underground and it spreads though blood and saliva. It s influenced by films like Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later. The bulk of the story has a group of survivors trying to fight their way through the infected zone to a safe zone. The infected zone is London and their aren’t many survivors.

Born of Blood is set in the trenches of World War One and has a main character, a bit similar to Tuomas in Postcards and how he feels about his 3 years in the trenches and what has happened to him. I’ve tried to keep the war as a realistic portrayal, until the vampires arrive. The soldiers kill all the vampires, except one who the main character falls in love with. So its sort of a war love story where both the main characters save each other from their inevitable fate.

I’m currently writing my fifth novel which is about an assassin who is captured, escapes a high security prison, but get shot and dies. She is sent to hell for her crimes. While she is in hell 3 of the most deadliest souls escape and the devil tells her he will give her new life if she can catch them, but she must escape from hell first.

Interview with Jillian Brookes-Ward, author of Saving Nathaniel

I'm delighted to re start my interviews by welcoming Jillian Brookes-Ward, the author of 'Saving Nathaniel', a book I think will strike a chord with many people. It is being published very soon by Night Publishing.

Can you tell us more about your novel?

Saving Nathaniel is a gentle romance with a dark edge.

Nathaniel is a lonely businessman, living by himself in a large house and still grieving over the deaths of his wife and baby. His housekeeper has an accident and cannot work and she ropes in her elder sister, Megan, as her substitute. Megan and Nathaniel quickly bond and before long, the true depth of his grief and guilt become evident. Together they weather illness, nightmares, arguments, inappropriate behaviour and physical violence, and Megan gently helps him come to terms with his past and look forward to the future – until it is time for her to leave. Then he realises how much he has come to depend on her stabilising influence, and how fond he has become of her. He wants her back.


What gave you the idea for Saving Nathaniel?

I couldn’t honestly say when the original idea came to me, but basically, sad men touch me deeply. I always want to hug them and make them feel better. The story started with imagining what would make a man so utterly miserable - the answer, of course was loss and its resultant unutterable, insurmountable grief. It grew from that thought. I wanted to tell a story that demonstrated how a compassionate woman with a kind word, a gentle touch and a little bit of sass could make a difference to such a man’s life and to enable him to have another chance of happiness.


Would you describe it as a conventional romance?

I suppose so in that it involves normal people we can all identify with in a situation that can happen to any of us. Many people will know a man who has lost his wife and become consumed by grief and many a woman will recognise some of themselves in Megan. I just brought them together.

What sets it apart from the horde of other romance novels?

In traditional romance, it is often the muscle bound handsome young man who is the hero of the piece, sweeping the damsel in distress off her feet and away into the sunset. I think Saving Nathaniel is different because the main characters are not pretty young things. They are more mature; he is 55 she is 45. It is different also in that he is not the hero, he is the victim of unresolved emotional turmoil. She, Megan, is his saviour. It is her strength and support that helps him comes to terms with his past and look forward to a future.

Did you write it according to a structure, or just let it flow?

I am not a structured writer by any means. I don’t make a plan or even notes. I can’t do ‘once upon a time’ and finish with ‘the end’. I start with a key event and spread out forward and back from it, adding and subtracting as I go along. Each new scene will join to the next or the previous one like adding links to a chain until the story is complete. An odd thing I do is write without chapter breaks. The whole work will be one continuous flow of words. Reading through when I’m finished will show me where the breaks come. Sometimes it is obvious, other times not so. I also like to break up a whole book into separate ‘stories’. That means you can read a chapter and leave the story, coming back at the next chapter without losing the thread.

In these cynical times, do you think that romance novels are more popular or less?

I would like to think more popular. Most everyday lives are dominated by all manner of trials and tribulations and there is always need for a little escapism. If a reader can seek a quiet moment of refuge from their own lives in a fantasy or a historical drama, why not in a romance? There is gentle comfort in following characters as they overcome all manner of obstacles, and as each page turns, fall in love. And if the reader gets that warm fuzzy feeling a happy ending brings, so much the better.


Can you tell us more about your other novels?

I have two other novels up for reading on Authonomy.com.

Linda Loves…? is a romance based around a complicated ménage-a-trois. A woman loves two very different men, her husband Tom and her lover, Adam. Between them, they make up one perfect man. Her happy triangle is broken when Adam falls seriously ill. In a bizarre twist, she persuades Tom to allow her lover to move into their home to recuperate. Tom realises the depth of her feelings for Adam, yet he himself is loved no less. He makes a momentous decision. He will allow them to continue to see each other. By the time Linda discovers she is pregnant, the men are getting along pretty well and unite in their support and love for her and the baby. But which one of them is the father?

My second novel(la), On the Fly, is a bit of a diversion for me. It is a saucy, light-hearted romp through the sexual shenanigans of Brian MacDonald, a game angling instructor. During the course of a single season, Brian encounters a variety of women but one in particular, Lily, remains an enigma to him. Beautiful and sexually adventurous, she often takes him by surprise and gives him some of his best experiences. But it seems there may be more to the mysterious woman than meets the eye.

The book I am currently working on evolved from a real life coincidence. It was originally a flash fiction story that expanded, but has come to a standstill at the moment.

Thank you Jillian. I am very fond of 'Saving Nathaniel', and I look forward to seeing it in print.

Winner of the August/ September Night Reading Poll

It just occurred to me to put poll results on my blog- duh! I hadn't thought of it before.

Anyway- the winner of the August/ September poll was Cerys Black with 'Bradan' in a poll which logged 234 votes - congrats Cerys!

Visit Night Reading

I really like 'Bradan', it is more original than a vampire story, sexier than a romance and more gripping than a 'whydunit'.

Me on Authors On Show

Lorraine, the fearless leader of Authors On Show, kindly asked to feature me on their 'Thank You' Page. This is for people who have been supporting AOS since its conception.

Authors On Show is a site which promotes unpublished authors (well, authors who aren't published YET!). It was the idea of Lorraine Holloway-White, and others. She has worked really hard to get it all going, with the input and help of her 'minions' Lori; Nicole; Sessha, Gail and Louise (and any others I've forgotten). Most, if not all, of the minions are authors too, awaiting publishing.

You can tell AOS is successful because Lorraine keeps employing more and more staff...!

I really don't think I've done much to help, but obviously I have. Maybe it was in my sleep LOL!

Here is my page on AOS, it will be there for one week:

http://authorsonshow.com/promotions/

Thanks AOS :-D