Guest Author Interview - Ken Magee

Today I welcome Ken Magee to the guest author interview, read what he has to say below:

Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?
Hi. My name is Ken Magee and I’m… an author. I still find it a little difficult to say that out loud. I live in Northern Ireland and I’m delighted to have the chance to say a few words about my background.

I worked for many years in the computer industry in a wide variety of roles including programming, systems analysis and sales. In the middle of it all, I served in the Royal Navy Reserve for five years… which was hard work, but a lot of fun.

In 2010, I decided it was time to finish Dark Tidings, the book that I had started many years earlier (writing not reading). I would have finished it sooner, but life got in the way. It’s completed and published now, but I don’t think any of the original book survived the process!

I am married with two grown up children and two dogs.  I love reading, writing and words.  I have a keen interest in music, technology, movies, travel and the Internet. To keep fit I play badminton when I get the time… and I walk the dogs even when I don’t get the time.

What inspired you to start writing?
I’m not entirely sure, but it was probably playing early computer adventure games combined with reading Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series followed by Terry Pratchett’s first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic. That mixture gave me a love of fantasy, adventure and humorous writing.

I never lost the taste for the fantastic, magic and wizards, I just wish I had finished my first book, Dark Tidings, sooner… before JK Rowling stole my limelight!

If you could write the biography for somebody, who would it be?
I think I’d choose Sir Terry Pratchett. I think the man is a genius and an inspiration. I’d use the project as an opportunity to get to know the man better… and maybe steal one of his unpublished manuscripts.

What do you find is the hardest part about writing?
For me, the hardest thing is getting the words I write to match the story that I have in my head. I can see everything in my imagination, but it’s a challenge to translate that vision onto the page. I need a brain USB connection that takes the fingers and keyboard out of the writing process. (Note to self - invent that.)

I also suffer a bit from writer’s block and he’s called Rocky. My collie seems to sense when I’m on a writing roll and that’s when he decides to demand some attention. It really doesn’t help.

And the most rewarding?
To date, the most exciting thing was holding a paperback copy of my first book, Dark Tidings… that was a brilliant feeling. However, the most rewarding thing was reading the first few reviews that I got. They proved that some people had read the book, and enjoyed it. Reviews are an author’s lifeblood, so it’s still fabulous when a reader takes the time to write one, but those first few were very special to me.

What advice would you give to new or aspiring authors?
Stick at it. My book took me years to finish, but I got there. As I said a minute ago, there is no better feeling than having a printed copy of your book in your hand for the first time.

What are you working on at the moment?
I going to take a short break from writing and spend some time marketing and promoting the Dark Tidings sequel which has just been published. It’s called The Black Conspiracy and it picks up where Dark Tidings left off. Having said that, my head is full of ideas for my next book, so I’m constantly jotting them down and doing a bit of story-boarding as well.

Oh, and I’d love the two books to be turned into a movie (it’s every author’s dream), so I’m starting to research that. That might require me to learn the art of screenwriting… now there’s a project.

Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more.
 As I said, I’ve just finished my second book. It’s called The Black Conspiracy and it picks up where Dark Tidings left off. I’m promoting it under the tagline “Ancient magic has infected the Internet… is this the end for civilisation?”

In Dark Tidings, ancient magic transported Tung, a young thief, and Madrick, a has-been wizard, across a millennium. They brought the powerful magic with them and this was unwittingly spread over the Internet by Michael, a hacker whose good intentions far outstripped his common sense.

That’s where The Black Conspiracy starts… civilisation simply can’t handle the unforeseen consequences of the magic and the only people who can prevent the ensuing catastrophe are the three, some would say ‘idiots’, who created the mess in the first place. To make matters even worse, evil wizards have followed Tung and Madrick through time. They’re determined to hunt down and destroy the pair, and with them, our modern way of life.

Saving the world is never easy, but it has just got a whole lot harder.
I love interacting with people so if you want to find out more, please email me at ken.magee@gametheworld.com and/or connect with me on Twitter @KenMageeAuthor.
Thank you very much again for this opportunity to talk about me and my books.

You can find my books at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ken-Magee/e/B006ISWTR0/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Thanks to Ken for sharing his time, the next guest author interview is with Lena Horn on Tuesday.