1. It's a bit of a secret but you're no ordinary writer, you have quite the past, without giving the game away entirely what qualities has your previous career brought to the literary table for you? 

So let’s start with a simple one, hey? My previous career involved seeing and dealing with every possible walk of life, prostitutes, junkies, managing directors – even a genuine real life spy! What is common to them all? Their human behaviour. I think listening and watching others allows you a greater understanding of why individuals behave how they do. You can gain so much just by watching and listening to interactions. Often I will ‘people watch’, just to develop an insight into their lives – and what I can’t deduce I make up in my writing. It enables me to bring my characters to life in a realist way. Next time you are sitting in public just watch. Give them names/jobs/pets/family, see where it takes you.

2. Are you an emotional writer and do you think it's a crucial quality for all writers?

If by emotional, you mean I write from the heart, then yes I am. The only way you can write successfully is by living in the work as it unfolds. To do that you must put your heart into it. You need to visibly see the trauma or elation you are writing. You need to feel the pain and the joy experienced as the plot unfolds before your eyes. It is not simply a matter of spouting words into a page. So to be a good writer it is a crucial quality, yes.

3. Are you friends with any well-known authors or other famous types and if so how have they influenced you? 

Ah, the fame and celebrity question. In my past I have met Lords and Ladies, pop stars and notorious villains. I have dined with most. Do I have their phone numbers – sadly not. Some of the people I know do make cameo appearances in my work and that amuses me. To that extent they have influenced me, it makes writing so much simpler. If only they knew! 

4. Do you believe that each book should stand on its own, or are you trying to build a series of stories with connections between each book? And on that note, 'Stella' is an addictive book, soon to be signed by a publishing house, it's also open-ended, will we get a sequel and will Stella go for the hot-shot legal hunk or will she get the girl??? Okay, I know you will cleverly evade answering the last part but I'm hanging on in there with that one because I have to know! 

Of course each book should stand on its own even if part of a series. Making a series means some of the hard work has already been done – the scene and characters already have history. Stella is addictive, it’s true. I am hoping to make it the first in a three part series. David, a sort of prequel to Stella is well underway and has some surprises already built in. The third (not yet on my website) will be Stella’s return. That will be a very interesting, page turning experience I guarantee, as for the end result – well the only way to find out will be to buy it and read it!

5. When and how did you first discover the power of words? 

The power of words has been know to me for a very long time. It’s not just the written word, but the spoken word as well. For over twenty years I have seen first hand how words can change the course of events in a life. Putting them on paper in a novel is truly different. The skill is in making the reader visualise the story in their mind as they are reading. Stella, I have ‘seen’ played so many times and each time is slightly different. For example what is going on in the background rarely appears in a novel, but when you ‘watch’ the book the background becomes more important and more fluid.

6. As a writer, what would you choose as your inspirational force?

Oh so many different inspirations. Some authors, particularly the late Jame Herbert. I read him avidly. Love his easy style. I was mid way through his last book when he sadly died. To my regret I have not been able to read him since. One day I will, that’s for sure. 

7. I happen to know you are very skilled at this but what’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

This really goes back to your opening question. I am no guru on the opposite sex, but watching and listening has helped. I think the main difference is the emotional processing that takes place. Writing something and then looking back and saying to yourself “Stella wouldn’t react like that.”, then stopping and revisiting the point. You need to try and understand the character, get under her skin and walk bout a bit.

8. You are a powerful man and there appears to be little that phases you, so on that note, what did you edit out of this book - Stella - and why?”

Ok, you are right, little phases me as I have seen so much first hand. There was a scene where Stella and Julie had a romantic encounter after their trip to London. I wrote it and liked it, but then thought to myself, ‘this could spoil their relationship and I am not sure either would risk that’, so I cut it but just left the emotion between them both hang in the air. It seemed more real that way.

9. Again, you have a past whereby retaining secrets was critical, do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Ha. Ha. Of course there are secrets in the book, that’s part of the fun. Some will read and say – yes I know about that, and others will read it and say – is that so and so, did they really? The thing is trying to spot the truth from the fiction.

10. What authors or indeed other famous sorts did you dislike at first but grew into and have they influenced the building of your characters or your plots in any way?

No names, but there have been some truly objectionable people I have met and some of their traits appear in one character in Stella in particular. It is rare for me to grow to like someone if I dislike them from the outset. David has a number of traits and in his book you will meet a far more diverse section of society with some hideous aspects of their personality.