Indieview Shaun Jeffrey, author of, the Kult

Special HOT BREAKING NEWS!!!

I just received an email from Shaun with this great offer. Here  it is from the man himself:

“I’ve started my newsletter campaign, now just to get people to sign up. If anyone would like to help, here’s the scoop: Sign up to the newsletter and receive a coupon code to download ebook, Dead Man’s Eye for free.

OK – now that you’re back.

The Back Flap

People are predictable. That’s what makes them easy to kill.

Acting out of misguided loyalty to his friends, police officer Prosper Snow is goaded into helping them perform a copycat killing, but when the real killer comes after him, it’s not only his life on the line, but his family’s too. Now if he goes to his colleagues for help, he risks being arrested for murder. If he doesn’t, he risks being killed.

About the Book

What is the book about?

The book is about a serial killer called The Oracle who murders people and then makes macabre artworks out of their bodies. Detective Chief Inspector Prosper Snow is in charge of the case, but he is put in a predicament when his childhood friends come to him to uphold a pact they made to get revenge on those that wrong them. The group of friends usually only beat someone up, but now one of them wants someone murdered. And to get away with it, he wants them to blame it on The Oracle.

When did you start writing the book?

I started writing the book about six years ago, but it went through a number of revisions before I was happy with it.

Where did you get the idea from?

As with any story I write, I pay the Gods of inspiration for my ideas. I have a Paypal account with them to make it easier.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Understatement! I struggle with everything where writing’s concerned, from finding time to write to actually getting the words onto the screen or page.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

My characters were fictitious until I breathed life into them. Now they are real. Or at least the actors are, as the book was optioned for film by Gharial Productions, and I was lucky enough to fly out to the States to see some of the shoot. It was very cool, but also very surreal seeing people playing characters I’d created, and seeing them brought to life. Now I’m eagerly waiting to see the finished film.

Do you have a target reader?

Target reader! I’m happy to shoot at any of them, regardless whether they have a target on them or not.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

My writing process involves parking my butt in any available space and then just plugging away making one word follow another in the hope that some of them might make sense.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just Chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. It depends on the story. Sometimes it will grow organically as I go along, which I find more interesting as that way I don’t know what’s going to happen at all, and the characters take over. When I’ve outlined, I don’t write masses and masses of information, just enough to give me a rough map to follow.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I usually edit after I’ve finished, as my first task is just to finish the story before I lose the enthusiasm for the story.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

I love listening to music as I write, but in reality, I don’t really hear it as I get too engrossed in what I’m writing, but it helps cut out other distractions. The music I listen to is dark and grungy, such as Korn, Slipknot, Rammstein etc.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I have submitted to agents before, and did have one for a while, but when she failed to sell anything for me, we parted company. A good agent can be indispensable to getting the most money for your work, but a bad agent is no better than having no agent at all.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

As far as marketing is concerned, it’s a continual process. Writing the book is the easy part. Selling it is hard. I often threaten people to buy a copy, or hold someone dear to them as a hostage until they relent.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a house in a cemetery, so I guess it comes as no surprise that my fiction veers towards the dark side of the spectrum.

What would you like readers to know about you?

That I research all of my novels by doing what I write about for real. As of yet, I have not been charged with my crimes.

What are you working on now?

I’ve been working on another novel featuring the protagonist from The Kult. Yet again he’s put into a difficult situation, and people around him are not safe. As the first line says: ‘Murder makes monsters of people. Prosper Snow knew that better than most.’

End of Interview

You can buy the Kult here.