Author Interview: Charles Harris

​Who are you? 

Charles Harris – martial arts black belt, author, film writer-director and script consultant. 

---

​Where do you live?

London, UK

---

​What’s your home life like?

It’s been fairly chaotic recently as we’ve had builders in, but things are settling down now. I’m not one of those writers who likes noise and distraction. I need to know that I’m not going to be interrupted, so that I can lose myself in whatever I’m working on. The cats prefer it too.

---

What genre(s) to you like to write? To read?

I like to read novels and short stories with strong, interesting characters, in situations which challenge them. Stories which have a meaning and deal with issues in the real world, but are still entertaining and exciting.
 
Too many genre novels forget to be relevant and too many supposedly relevant novels forget to be interesting. You need both. I think it’s important to write as well as you can, with detail and freshness, but without sacrificing pace. I like a good story that is readable and also thought provoking.
 
And I feel you invariably end up writing best what you most enjoy reading. At least, for me. I find myself writing the books I want to read.
 
My debut novel “The Breaking of Liam Glass” has been called both a satire and a thriller, genres I’m very happy with. 

---

Why did you start writing?

I started when I was beginning to look for work as a director and realised I needed scripts to direct. But the only scriptwriter I could afford was myself!  So, I set about learning to write too.
 
Later I found I enjoyed the writing so much I decided to try some short stories and now novels. There’s more freedom than film-making. You don’t have to please a financier and the actors do what they’re told (mostly). 

---

What do you do when you’re not writing?

I read a lot. I feed our two cats. And I practise Aikido.

---

Where do you like to go when looking for a new book to read?

I have no shortage of places. We’re lucky in that we have a good number of independent bookshops round here, so I often go in and chat to the booksellers, who make good recommendations.
 
Then we have three excellent libraries within walking distance. I buy online. I download a large number of books onto my kindle – and then there’s a pile of books waiting to be read in my study. I don’t think I’m going to run out any time soon.

---

At what point do you call it quits when reading a new book?

I always like to give a new book a try, but I’m stopped by cliché characters more than anything else. Then there’s simple bad writing – I recently gave up a book which wasn’t bad at the start, but then the writing got worse and worse.
 
The break point came when it described someone “feeling tears in their throat.” Have you ever felt tears in your throat? I’m sure I never have. Good editors should pick up on such things, but I find good editors are not so common nowadays.

---

Are you independently or traditionally published?

I’m traditionally published.

---

​How many books/stories have you published so far?

I’ve published the one novel so far, and a collection of short stories, with a novella which should be out soon. I’ve also had many short stories published in magazines and two short-listed for awards.
 
Before the novel, I wrote two non-fiction books on screenwriting and a little book on Police slang, which I’m very fond of. Police slang can be very funny and very revealing. It covers slang from all over the UK, and I’ve even had police buying it to find out what other forces are using!

---

​What book/story are you currently promoting or working on? 

My latest baby is my debut novel – a satirical thriller about fake news – “The Breaking of Liam Glass.”

---

What’s the elevator pitch?

A young, desperate journalist lands a dream job on a tabloid by faking a story with the help of a scurrilous PR agent, but when he finds he’s putting real lives at risk, he is forced to face up to what he has become. 

---

How long have you been working on it?

I started it in 2010, had three publishers bidding for it in 2013 but the publisher who I chose didn’t deliver, so I changed to Marble City at the beginning of last year. Mark Turner of Marble City has done a great job and I think the book looks tremendous, both in print and e-book.
 
I’ve been working on two other novels in between, so I estimate I spent about two and a half to three years actively writing it, with a few more months consulting on layout, cover, marketing and so on.

---

​When will it be available to buy? Where?

Liam Glass came out last June. It hit Amazon’s best-seller lists on launch and afterwards, including #1 for satire Hot New Releases. I’m also delighted to say that it’s had only 4 and 5-star reviews – last time I looked it was averaging 4.7, which I’m delighted with. It’s available on Amazon, in paperback and Kindle, as well as all good bookshops.

---

How can readers follow you?

I have a blog, where I write each week about issues related to books, fake news and writing, with reviews of books you may have missed. If you sign up to my newsletter here you can also currently get my collection of unusual short stories “The Cupboard” for free.

---

​Anything you’d like to add?

Thank you for having me.

---

My sincere gratitude to Charles for taking the time to participate in this interview. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him as a fellow author and wish him loads of success in the future.

I had to say that, otherwise he threatened to use his Aikido skills on my pasty American Ass! (just kidding)

Nicholas Adams

Just a small town boy with an overactive imagination.