Author Interview: L K Jay
Tell us a little about yourself, and what drives you to write.
During the day I work in education and at night I am a martial arts super-hero. Well I like to kid myself anyway! I actually have a 2nd Dan black belt in taekwondo but I can assure you, I definitely cannot fly. Writing is my other activity and it is one of the key things that drives me in life.
I think the first thing that drives me with writing is the creative process. I love living in my imagination, creating characters and stories and the secret world that inhabits. Writing is also a good valve for the day job. Education can be a very stressful environment to work in and writing helps me to cut myself off from that, switch off and go somewhere else rather than become stressed out with the pressure to perform and the constant chopping and changing from the government. And I suppose there is the dream that one day, I will become successful enough to give up the day job and write full time. No more early mornings, now that definitely keeps me on track!
That's certainly something we all look forward to! Do you have a particular role model?
Well I can tell you who it isn’t and that is Michael Gove, the education minister! Grrr...! I think in terms of writing it would have to be Ian Rankin. I am a massive fan of his work, both the Rebus novels and the more recent Malcolm Fox novels. And I don’t care what anyone else says, ‘Open Doors’ was great fun! What I think I like about him is that Rankin manages to write clever crime fiction that is intelligent and sharp with characters that become real people. I’ve never met the man, but when I’ve seen him on The Review Show he always strikes me as being very clever but down to earth as well.
Just what you'd expect from the creator of Rebus! Tell us, what’s your proudest achievement?
There are a few. I think in terms of writing it would have to be writing, and finishing, novels and stories and managing the whole projectso that they appear on Amazon as complete pieces of work. But that is work in progress and I hope that that keeps on developing, I haven’t achieved everything I want to there yet!
In other areas of my life, when I used to do some martial arts journalism, I managed to get some really good interviews. I interviewed Sarah Stevenson, the Olympic medallist in taekwondo and Diana Lee Inosanto, Bruce Lee’s god-daughter. I think getting my 2nd Dan in taekwondo was an achievement, as was competing when I was in my thirties and getting several titles and going abroad to compete. I’ve retired now though, I ran out of puff! Lastly, I think getting into Cambridge University to do my teacher training, I only applied there as a bet as I only had a 2:2 from an ordinary university but I got an interview and got in! My posh aunt refused to believe it and I had to get my course tutor to write me a note before she would believe me.
Cambridge! That is impressive - but any regrets in life?
Well if you’ve read The Ghost Hunters Club, it could possibly be not punching the character Stewart in the face while I had the chance to. Yes I know that that would be illegal and morally wrong but it would have been both hilarious and very satisfying as well.
Seriously, I think not taking up writing earlier. I didn’t start writing seriously until I was in my thirties and that was a good ten years that I could have spent working on my stories. However, I don’t think that I had the experience or confidence to write like I do now, so perhaps things do happen for a reason.
I remember having a conversation with one of my old bosses and I said that I regretted not taking up taekwondo when I was much younger as I could have been seriously good in my twenties. He gave me some sage advice which was to not regret what I haven’t done in the past, just be happy that I discovered taekwondo when I did and I can probably say the same about my writing. At least I started writing when I did as never starting would have been much worse.
I've got to agree there - certainly better late than never. - Moving on what's your secret ambition?
Well I’m not a particularly secretive person but I suppose it would be to be so successful at writing that I could go full time and give up the day job. It would also be nice to own a house with a handsome husband inhabiting it too, but neither appear to be on the cards at the moment so I’ll just concentrate on writing and trying my best to fulfil my ambition of writing so I don’t have to get up so early in the morning for work!
You really are craving that lay-in aren't you? Well, the books are certainly coming thick and fast, where do you get your ideas from?
I usually start off with the spark of idea that niggles away at me for ages. I often have a scene in my head and I find it difficult to get rid of until I have put it down on paper. I had the idea for Two Penny Blue for years before I started it as well as the plot for The Listening Post. On the other hand, external influences can give me ideas as well. I first got the idea for The Ghost Hunters Club after having the worst date that anyone can hope to have, it was too good to ignore and so one of the characters and plot lines was born. For my latest novel, The Policeman Who Was Afraid of the Dark, I had the idea of a date that ends in violence in my head for a while but it was one of my friends from taekwondo, who also happened to be a policeman, who helped me to develop the story and gave me enormous help with the research.
To date, only one member of the ghost hunter club has actually met a ghost! - Is there someone in the spirit world you'd particularly like to meet?
Ha ha, I know this might sound a bit corny but I would really like to meet William Shakespeare. The man was a genius but he was a glovers son from a country town. He had to marry Anne Hathaway in a bit of a hurry and my bet was that he was a bit of a lad and would have been a real character to know. Also, as we don’t know a great deal about him, to see what he actually looked like and hear what his voice sounded like would be a real treat.
I’d also like to have words with Joseph Conrad, just to let him know how much I hated his novel ‘Heart of Darkness’. We had to study it in the Sixth Form and I thought it was turgid crap. I know that I’m supposed to think his writing is the work of genius but seriously, the man wrote entire pages about rivets. I’d tell him what his novels needed were a good action scene or his characters getting laid.
Nothing corny about wanting to meet our Bill - one last question before you go - you've already got an impressive number of spooky tales under your belt, is there anything new in the pipeline?
As already mentioned, I’ve got a new novel coming out shortly called ‘The Policeman Who Was Afraid of the Dark’. There’s no ghosts in this one I’m afraid but there is plenty of action! It is a crime novel and the main character is called Detective Constable Saul Watson. He is stuck in the town of Westbech in the fictional Fenland Constabulary; he is an ex undercover Met officer and after a traumatic experience that broke up his marriage, he finds himself bored and single and dealing with the culture shock of living in the Fens. He goes out with a good looking woman for the first time in ages, spends the night with her and wakes up next to her dead body. He is blamed for her murder and he has to go on the run in order to prove his innocence. I really enjoyed writing this story, I’ve wanted to write a crime story for ages but finding something different was a real challenge as the genre is saturated. I hope I have done something a little different though and I really liked the characters I created so I’m going to use them again. Later on this year, I will be releasing another novel called ‘The Little Camera’ which tells the dual story of a mixed-race youth in Leeds and his struggle to stay on the right side of the law and the story of a half-jewish boy’s journey as he escapes across Europe in the Second World War. But I haven’t finished with The Ghost Hunters Club either! I’ve planned a sequel and I’ll start writing that later on this year, there’s going to be lots more ghost hunting action to come; the ladies will be back and there’s a couple more surprise ghosts in store!
I'm sure we're all looking forward to meeting the fiesty ladies again. Thanks so much for dropping by, and wish you every success with your ebooks, published and planned. Be sure to keep us all updated!
During the day I work in education and at night I am a martial arts super-hero. Well I like to kid myself anyway! I actually have a 2nd Dan black belt in taekwondo but I can assure you, I definitely cannot fly. Writing is my other activity and it is one of the key things that drives me in life.
I think the first thing that drives me with writing is the creative process. I love living in my imagination, creating characters and stories and the secret world that inhabits. Writing is also a good valve for the day job. Education can be a very stressful environment to work in and writing helps me to cut myself off from that, switch off and go somewhere else rather than become stressed out with the pressure to perform and the constant chopping and changing from the government. And I suppose there is the dream that one day, I will become successful enough to give up the day job and write full time. No more early mornings, now that definitely keeps me on track!
That's certainly something we all look forward to! Do you have a particular role model?
Well I can tell you who it isn’t and that is Michael Gove, the education minister! Grrr...! I think in terms of writing it would have to be Ian Rankin. I am a massive fan of his work, both the Rebus novels and the more recent Malcolm Fox novels. And I don’t care what anyone else says, ‘Open Doors’ was great fun! What I think I like about him is that Rankin manages to write clever crime fiction that is intelligent and sharp with characters that become real people. I’ve never met the man, but when I’ve seen him on The Review Show he always strikes me as being very clever but down to earth as well.
Just what you'd expect from the creator of Rebus! Tell us, what’s your proudest achievement?
There are a few. I think in terms of writing it would have to be writing, and finishing, novels and stories and managing the whole projectso that they appear on Amazon as complete pieces of work. But that is work in progress and I hope that that keeps on developing, I haven’t achieved everything I want to there yet!
In other areas of my life, when I used to do some martial arts journalism, I managed to get some really good interviews. I interviewed Sarah Stevenson, the Olympic medallist in taekwondo and Diana Lee Inosanto, Bruce Lee’s god-daughter. I think getting my 2nd Dan in taekwondo was an achievement, as was competing when I was in my thirties and getting several titles and going abroad to compete. I’ve retired now though, I ran out of puff! Lastly, I think getting into Cambridge University to do my teacher training, I only applied there as a bet as I only had a 2:2 from an ordinary university but I got an interview and got in! My posh aunt refused to believe it and I had to get my course tutor to write me a note before she would believe me.
Cambridge! That is impressive - but any regrets in life?
Well if you’ve read The Ghost Hunters Club, it could possibly be not punching the character Stewart in the face while I had the chance to. Yes I know that that would be illegal and morally wrong but it would have been both hilarious and very satisfying as well.
Seriously, I think not taking up writing earlier. I didn’t start writing seriously until I was in my thirties and that was a good ten years that I could have spent working on my stories. However, I don’t think that I had the experience or confidence to write like I do now, so perhaps things do happen for a reason.
I remember having a conversation with one of my old bosses and I said that I regretted not taking up taekwondo when I was much younger as I could have been seriously good in my twenties. He gave me some sage advice which was to not regret what I haven’t done in the past, just be happy that I discovered taekwondo when I did and I can probably say the same about my writing. At least I started writing when I did as never starting would have been much worse.
I've got to agree there - certainly better late than never. - Moving on what's your secret ambition?
Well I’m not a particularly secretive person but I suppose it would be to be so successful at writing that I could go full time and give up the day job. It would also be nice to own a house with a handsome husband inhabiting it too, but neither appear to be on the cards at the moment so I’ll just concentrate on writing and trying my best to fulfil my ambition of writing so I don’t have to get up so early in the morning for work!
You really are craving that lay-in aren't you? Well, the books are certainly coming thick and fast, where do you get your ideas from?
I usually start off with the spark of idea that niggles away at me for ages. I often have a scene in my head and I find it difficult to get rid of until I have put it down on paper. I had the idea for Two Penny Blue for years before I started it as well as the plot for The Listening Post. On the other hand, external influences can give me ideas as well. I first got the idea for The Ghost Hunters Club after having the worst date that anyone can hope to have, it was too good to ignore and so one of the characters and plot lines was born. For my latest novel, The Policeman Who Was Afraid of the Dark, I had the idea of a date that ends in violence in my head for a while but it was one of my friends from taekwondo, who also happened to be a policeman, who helped me to develop the story and gave me enormous help with the research.
To date, only one member of the ghost hunter club has actually met a ghost! - Is there someone in the spirit world you'd particularly like to meet?
Ha ha, I know this might sound a bit corny but I would really like to meet William Shakespeare. The man was a genius but he was a glovers son from a country town. He had to marry Anne Hathaway in a bit of a hurry and my bet was that he was a bit of a lad and would have been a real character to know. Also, as we don’t know a great deal about him, to see what he actually looked like and hear what his voice sounded like would be a real treat.
I’d also like to have words with Joseph Conrad, just to let him know how much I hated his novel ‘Heart of Darkness’. We had to study it in the Sixth Form and I thought it was turgid crap. I know that I’m supposed to think his writing is the work of genius but seriously, the man wrote entire pages about rivets. I’d tell him what his novels needed were a good action scene or his characters getting laid.
Nothing corny about wanting to meet our Bill - one last question before you go - you've already got an impressive number of spooky tales under your belt, is there anything new in the pipeline?
As already mentioned, I’ve got a new novel coming out shortly called ‘The Policeman Who Was Afraid of the Dark’. There’s no ghosts in this one I’m afraid but there is plenty of action! It is a crime novel and the main character is called Detective Constable Saul Watson. He is stuck in the town of Westbech in the fictional Fenland Constabulary; he is an ex undercover Met officer and after a traumatic experience that broke up his marriage, he finds himself bored and single and dealing with the culture shock of living in the Fens. He goes out with a good looking woman for the first time in ages, spends the night with her and wakes up next to her dead body. He is blamed for her murder and he has to go on the run in order to prove his innocence. I really enjoyed writing this story, I’ve wanted to write a crime story for ages but finding something different was a real challenge as the genre is saturated. I hope I have done something a little different though and I really liked the characters I created so I’m going to use them again. Later on this year, I will be releasing another novel called ‘The Little Camera’ which tells the dual story of a mixed-race youth in Leeds and his struggle to stay on the right side of the law and the story of a half-jewish boy’s journey as he escapes across Europe in the Second World War. But I haven’t finished with The Ghost Hunters Club either! I’ve planned a sequel and I’ll start writing that later on this year, there’s going to be lots more ghost hunting action to come; the ladies will be back and there’s a couple more surprise ghosts in store!
I'm sure we're all looking forward to meeting the fiesty ladies again. Thanks so much for dropping by, and wish you every success with your ebooks, published and planned. Be sure to keep us all updated!
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