Website: David Rashleigh
Author's Blog: Google+
Blog: Lancashire Evening Post Interview
Twitter: @DavidRashleigh
E-Mail: david@davidrashleigh.com
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Author Description: David Rashleigh was born in Bedford, England, a descendent of a branch of the Rashleigh family that still inhabits Menabilly, near Fowey in Cornwall.
Aged 13, he won a scholarship to be educated at Bedford School. Following spectacularly bad A-level results, he spent a year travelling the world with the merchant navy, during which time he saw an awful lot of water. This was followed by a career in the RAF, best described as "inglorious and short". Eventually, he found his niche as a railway signalling engineer, at which he has enjoyed significantly greater success.
His career as an author is entirely accidental. An interest in history and especially how it surrounds us every day led to the idea for Sciron: writing the book was greatly helped by having a separate study and a deep dislike of soap operas and "reality" television. The dramatis personae in Sciron are not based on any real people, although David could not resist inflicting some facets of his own personality on more than one of the characters. Naturally, he will not own up to which people he has blessed in this manner.
Prospective readers should, however, note that Sciron is not in any way a funny book. Apart from the bit where…but that would be telling.
Besides history, David's interests include aviation (he holds a rarely-used private pilot's licence) and target shooting; the latter largely to impress his daughter's boyfriends with his easy-going but protective nature.
David first visited Lancashire (the location for much of Sciron) in 1985, intending to stay for just one week. He is still there. He lives in Penwortham with his wife and two children.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
I think that when you have to explain to your reading audience: “I want to reassure the people who live today near the old railway line that all events in Sciron, including the hauntings, are completely fictional!” you have met the primary goal of an author.
First tell us about your next book. When can we expect it in our hands? Give us a little tease about the book?
My next book is best described as a paranormal political thriller. It centres around Dan Thomas who, after suffering a brain injury, finds that he can influence people and things around him. After accidentally killing a doctor, he is recruited by a shadowy organisation as an assassin and works for them until their true purpose becomes manifest... This is the first book of a trilogy, and hopefully will be out next Spring.
We have had several UK authors in the spotlight. What is your experience in marketing from the UK to the US audience? Can you tell if there is a difference in the audience? How does social media fit into the overall scheme of things?
To be honest, I haven’t noticed a difference between the two. For the UK audience, the language, references and settings are familiar; for overseas audiences there is a whole new country to discover. Social media has been very important and has allowed me to reach a far greater audience.
You have a great cover. I am glad you gave credit to your editor and cover designer. Can you give us a link here to your editor Julie McKiernan (Editor) and Adams Graphic Design (Cover Design)?
Julie’s website is http://juleswriter.co.uk/ whilst Jim Adams, the genius behind not only the cover but also my website, is here: http://www.adamsgraphicdesign.co.uk/
Do you belong to any support groups? Are there any independent writer’s groups in the UK that you work with? You can list them here if you wish.
Actually, I don’t. Not because I don’t need them, I would almost certainly benefit from the collective wisdom of such a group. The problem is one of time: having a full-time day job as well as a family leaves little enough time for writing, let alone talking about it!
You published your first book by CreateSpace, the Independent Publishing Platform from Amazon. What was that experience like?
Incredibly easy. I would recommend them to any aspiring author. In fact, I had already published the Kindle version, and have since gone on to make my Sciron available via iTunes and Kobo. The downside to Createspace is that if you want to order copies for yourself, they insist on printing them in North Carolina and shipping them. Not a disadvantage if you are close by, but the cost of transatlantic shipping is prohibitive.
I think it was interesting that you started with the ebook first and then went back and created a paper version. I think that will be the norm one day with indie authors and authors just starting in the business. Tell us about that experience. Did you use any outsourcing in your book project? How much did you do yourself?
Apart from the cover and the editing, it’s all my own work. As I mentioned above, I started with a Kindle version but for the next one, I will use the Createspace service to produce both print and ebook, as well as having other media ready when it’s time to launch.
Author's Book List
ScironHow can a ghost haunt the top floor of a new building? A murder victim’s spirit cannot escape the former railway line where he worked and was killed. Other victims of the same incident haunt a young Yorkshire man. A former soldier is researching his father’s disappearance when he stumbles across a wartime act of sabotage.
A young couple and their son, unaware of the history of the huge stone wall that faces their flat, receive terrifying visitations. But who was the spy, codenamed Sciron, who was responsible for destruction, betrayal and death?
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the HBS Author's Spotlight plus the blog: eBook Author’s Corner. Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.
Dangerous Waters