Book Synopsis:
James Quinn, author of the Gorilla Grant spy novels, will take you on a new adventure with his first short story anthology based around espionage, deception and intrigue.
A former spy investigates the murder of an old colleague – and uncovers a conspiracy that takes him back to the horrors of the Second World War.
A Close Protection Driver runs the gauntlet against assassins in the heart of Mexico City and is determined to keep his VIP alive… no matter the cost.
A Russian spymaster tells the tale of his nefarious plan to get an agent inside the Oval Office and to bring down American democracy, with devastating results for the future.
Enter a world of masterful suspense, action-packed adventures and thrilling twists with James Quinn’s ‘Clandestine’.
Clandestine is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
Guest Post:
MY WRITING DAY
By James Quinn
I always smile when I’m asked about my writing routine. It usually goes along the lines of “So how many pages have you written today Mr Quinn?” or “What should a real writer be writing every day?”
It’s at that point that I usually begin to cringe and mumble something vague in the hope of deflecting the question before sneaking off to the bar for another glass of wine.
First of all I still don’t consider myself a “proper” writer – whatever that means? I don’t have a writing degree, have never attended writing classes and have never received a diploma for any of the above.
I mean I’ve had half a dozen books published and they have performed reasonably well, but I still see myself as a security consultant that happens to write rather than someone who writes and is faintly connected to intelligence work. Is there Imposter syndrome at play here? Nah, not really, I just love to read and I love to write, I always have since I was a little kid (I won a school book voucher for my story about Ant-Man when I was in Primary school) and it’s something that I can always see myself doing. Writing to me is like breathing; it’s the exhalation to readings inhalation. It has always been there and despite the title of this piece, the short version is I don’t have a set routine for writing. It doesn’t work like that for me; never has, and probably never will!
I mean I wish that wasn’t the case. How I envy those organised writers that are up early and fresh faced, a latte by their sides, and a clear blank page in front of them ready to produce their opus! Mine is a little more chaotic than that, which for someone that has spent a career organising in minute detail various “information gathering” projects it is a little disconcerting. Maybe it’s me breaking free of my chains and being non-conformist.
For me writing is a very natural, organic thing. If I try to force the words they just never happen, so I’m happier to walk away and let it flow forth when it is ready. But when it finally does it comes thick and fast like machine gun bullets! Nothing for months on end and then a veritable fire-fight of words! I’m a night-time writer and a 3 am stalker of words. Why? Because that seems to be when the ideas come and to try to sleep through that is just impossible to do. So, I’m up; the office light on so as not to disturb anyone else, rough bits of paper with insane scribbling on…and then the laptop transports me in the middle of the night to a different world. But despite all that, it’s never a chore, in fact it feels the most natural thing in the world.
And I write, fast, in short bursts, not stopping and not changing things (that’s for later). My latest book – Clandestine – was completed that way. It took me three months of solid work, every day because I had something to say and words to put down.
And what happens when the flow stops or the ideas don’t make sense? That’s both the easy AND the hard part; I stop. I put it all away and wait for the next jolt of inspiration. I can hear you all gasp in horror!! But James, you must keep trying, try to make it happen! Write damn you – WRITE!!
But the thought of sitting there staring at a blank page trying to force the words or the story out – that’s just my idea of hell! So what breaks the cycle?
For me it’s travel, whether walking along the beach or getting on a plane to an overseas destination, that breaking of routine that fires the furnace, that makes the story move and the characters do wonderful things. I observe what is around me or I take the time to walk and think, clearing my head. Pretentious? Oh, probably. Realistic, hell yeah it is. It works and that’s all that matters,
Travel also gives me the chance to do the on the ground research that I may need and once that has been gathered and organised it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty; the actual writing. So when I do write it’s because I have something to stay. I write in my office usually, occasionally a hotel room, and it has to be quiet and that’s my only criteria.
Oh and coffee…..we can’t do nothing without coffee. That’s a given.
And then it starts, rolled out in my head like I’m watching a movie; scenes, plot links, dialogue, action scenes. It all comes together and I’m like an orchestra conductor…..hell, I’m goddamn Mozart!!! And then the phone rings…it’s work…can I be somewhere in two days time….err…yes, I suppose, but what I’m really thinking is that I want to carry on being Mozart for a while longer!
So the chain is broken again for a while and I have to leave my secret writing world for a more realistic (but no less secret) world of normal life.
But even that is not so bad; I’m an intelligence gatherer, so I see it as killing two birds with one stone, as an opportunity to people watch, listening to conversations in the coffee shops and bars, witnessing a situation unfolding in an airport or on a city street. After all, a writer is the spy that steals other people’s lives for his own ends.
All of them are fresh material that can be stored away for a rainy day to be used in the next book or even a future book and then be remembered for when the machine-gun writing starts again.
So write how you want. Do what works for you. Your way is different to Stephen King’s, Lee Child’s, John Le Carre’s…hell even James Quinn’s! But it is no less valid. But above all else, write to make you happy and to have fun.
I look forward to reading you.
JQ
James Quinn is the author of the “Gorilla Grant” series of spy novels. A professional security consultant and corporate intelligence operative, he currently resides in the UK but likes to travel extensively around the globe.
His latest release is “Clandestine” – a short story anthology, based around espionage, deception and intrigue. His 2022 project is The Fisherman, which introduces a new character to the world of covert intelligence.
About The Author:
James Quinn is the author of the “Gorilla Grant” series of spy novels. A professional security consultant and corporate intelligence operative, he currently resides in the UK but likes to travel extensively around the globe. His next projects are “Clandestine” – a short story anthology, based around espionage, deception and intrigue – and The Fisherman, which introduces a new character to the world of covert intelligence.
Visit the official James Quinn author website for more information about upcoming projects and events;Website: https://gorillagrant101.wixsite.com/jamesquinnTwitter: https://twitter.com/gorillagrant101Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JQ101
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