I’m very excited to be on the blog tour for The Absent Man by Robert Enright today. I loved Robert’s first book, Doorways which rates as one of my top books ever.
The Absent Man is available to buy in paperback and ebook now here.
Robert was kind enough to answer some questions for me today, which I will share with you below but first here is a little about Robert’s new book.
Book Description:
BERMUDA JONES AND ARGYLE ARE BACK IN THE THRILLING SEQUEL TO DOORWAYS Something is killing… A woman is found dead in her flat on a freezing night in Glasgow, her heart ripped from her chest. With no signs of a weapon or forced entry. Hours later, her heart is delivered to the Necropolis on the outskirts of town. Six months after stopping the terrifying Barnaby atop Big Ben, Bermuda finds himself on the hunt for a killer in a city he doesn’t know with a police force that doesn’t want him. With no links between the victims and the death toll rising, Bermuda has to face a sceptical detective, a seemingly distracted Argyle and an unknown horror that stalks from the shadows. All in the name of answering one question… Who is The Absent Man? The Absent Man is an urban fantasy thriller that revisits The Otherside and will have you on the edge of your seat.
Q&A with Robert Enright:
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Sure. I am a 31 year old North Londoner now living in Chesham, Bucks with my awesome fiancée. I have been writing for a long old time but in the last few years I have really started to invest my time and energy into making it as an author. I have a very large family and my two older brothers both run their own respective businesses, which really inspires me to turn this self-publishing author malarkey into a real business!
2. What do you do when you are not writing?
I play a few odd video games. One of them is called ‘The Binding of Isaac’, a twisted tale of a baby hiding from his murderous mother in the basement (this is not a lie!) I also binge watch Netflix with Sophie and I have recently upped my fitness regime as I recently ran a half marathon so am trying to maintain my exercising!
3. Do you have a day job as well?
I do. I work as a HR System Manager for a private hospital on Harley Street in London.
4. When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?
I started writing when I was about 16/17 and designed some comics. (Some cooler than others) Then I dabbled with a few screen plays – the first of which was a romantic comedy about a guy who becomes cupid!! Then I wrote One by One as a screenplay then developed that into my first novel which launched in 2015. Then late last year, it was re-released by Britain’s Next Best Seller.
5. How did you choose the genre you write in?
I didn’t really. I enjoy crime and scif-fi, along with comic books and I think that really shines through in what I write. My books have been described as ‘cinematic’ and I think that’s because I write similar to what I enjoy reading! Also, I’m pretty geeky, so building a whole hidden world with monsters and swords etc was pretty cool!
6. Where do you get your ideas?
Random places. Doorways never intended to have another world in it. ‘The Otherside’ and Argyle were both added as I developed the original idea, which was about a PI who could see random clues when he took a strange medicine to cure his medical condition. So it just developed and developed and once I stumbled onto the idea, I just ran with it and I still love developing the story arc.
7. Do you ever experience writer’s block?
I did before I decided to leave my publisher. I just wasn’t enjoying how it was going and felt that I wasn’t doing what I should have been. Once I got the rights to Doorways back and cancelled the contract for this book, the words came back and I finished the book pretty quickly!
8. Do you work with an outline, or just write?
Oh I’m a planner. I have notepads of all my character bio’s and full novel plans that have about 3 or 4 bullet points per chapter, so I know how and when certain plot points happen. These inevitably change during the writing process, but I like knowing that the structre is solid before I commit to it.
9. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?
As an adult, The Passage Trilogy by Justin Cronin is still the masterpiece. It is so good and people need to read it and read it now (or after The Absent Man!). As a teenager, Garth Ennis’s run on The Punisher in the 00’s is still the best series of comic books I have ever read and is massively inspiring to me.
10. Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?
I self published my first book and did very little promotion as I had no contacts or idea of how it all worked. But I still went ahead and did it. I had my friends edit it, my brother design me a cover and I set out to get just one 5 star review from someone I didn’t know.
Now, I am loving having such great connection with authors and book bloggers, and I have had some wonderful discussions with readers! It’s amazing what can happen if you just stick at it.
11. Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
My book is about a murderous creature from another world that is ripping out the hearts of women. Sadly, this doesn’t happen in my life. I do like to inject some of my humour of my views of on certain things throughout the book, but I don’t base much of my fiction on my own experiences.
12. What was your hardest scene to write?
In The Absent Man, the hardest scene to write was Sam McAllister’s backstory. It is pretty heart breaking and wasn’t a nice task. But I think it really is worth it and I am glad with how well her character is being received.
13. How did you come up with the title?
I’m not too sure. I think it was a joke between myself and my older brother and then as the story took shape, the sinister title really worked!
14. What project are you working on now?
I am just completing a prequel novella titled ‘BERMUDA’ which documents how Bermuda Jones joined the BTCO, met Argyle and also his first case!
15. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? & What has been the best compliment?
Toughest criticism I have had was a few negative reviews where people give you proper feedback. It’s good but can be hard to read, especially when you pour 6 months of your life into something and someone tears it apart in a paragraph. But constructive criticism is great for authors! 1 star and 1 line reviews are hilarious!
Best compliment I had is a very talented author told me that he wished he had written One by One. Which is just an incredible thing to hear!
16. Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I don’t have fans but to anyone who reads this and/or any of my books, just know that all of your support is so appreciated. I cherish every single person who invests their time in my writing and if they enjoy it, then I am happy to bring that.
Thank you all. From the bottom of my heart!
Rob
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I wish you all the luck with The Absent Man.
About The Author:
Robert Enright was born and raised in North London and resides in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. Working as a HR System Manager by day, he spends his evenings and weekends writing (or binge watching TV with his fiancé).
Robert first self published One by One in March 2016 and saw it published by Britain’s Next Best Seller in October 2017.
In early 2018, DOORWAYS will be re-released as an e-book, paperback and audio book under Robert Enright’s management. The sequel, THE ABSENT MAN will also be released in early 2018. The third in the series, WORLDS APART, is set for a late 2018 launch. A prequel, titled BERMUDA, is in the works for a 2018 launch also.
For more information about Rob and his upcoming books, then feel free to check him out on social media:
Website – https://www.robertenright.co.uk
Twitter – @REnright_Author
Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/robenrightauthor
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