SUBSCRIBER SPOTLIGHT

Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk

A thrilling life

‘I’ll never forget that wonderful feeling of excitement as I ripped open the packaging to feel the heft of my first thriller He Who Pays The Piper back in 2012, ’ writes subscriber Alex Breck.

‘Living on a remote Scottish island with awful internet connection and frequent power cuts, I’d never imagined that I would ever achieve my life-long dream of being an author. However, the beautiful scenery that I look out on every single day does provide the perfect writers’ retreat. Add to that the wild Highland tales that I’m regularly regaled with and I have all the inspiration I need for my roller-coaster action-adventure and crime thrillers! This probably accounts for the fact that there is always a beautiful Scottish island location somewhere in my novels.

‘Having said that, the first book transports the reader from Scotland to California where my protagonist, Ridge Walker, finds himself in a furious chase through the deserts and mountains of Mexico and Guatemala, pursued by a cavalcade of unusual and often unpleasant characters.

‘But I allowed him to survive long enough to be thrown into a sequel in 2015, The Piper’s Lament. Here, Ridge has to risk everything to rescue a friend from merciless terrorists in Northern Pakistan. This topical book examines our attitudes to the Islamic radicalisation of British youth and features a strong female character. Proving to be a popular if unlikely hero, Ridge Walker will soon be appearing in the third of my series, The Piper’s Promise, which is set in and around Tokyo this time.

‘September 2016 saw the publication of my stand-alone thriller through Seilachan Fort. The Devil You Know is a dark crime story set partly on Gruinard Island and, like all of my novels, allows me to take a gentle dig at some of my least favourite political and cultural mores. Due to some great feedback from readers I’ve agreed to write a sequel.

‘I’ve recently launched a podcast show called Alex Breck’s Banter and I just love the writer’s life. My advice? Just do it!’

Website: http://alexbreckbooks.com/

Faith in words

‘I’ll always be grateful to Writing Magazine for putting me on the publishing path, ’ writes subscriber Tony Leonard.

‘I found the poetry articles offered excellent advice and guidance. After a while I felt confident enough to send a poem on the Holy Grail to a fantasy magazine which they accepted. I sent two further poems to a Scottish publisher and they published them in an anthology. Both publishers were featured in Writers’ News.

‘Believe you me I’ve had my share of rejections and eventually found my poetry collection shortlisted. After this disappointing experience I plucked up enough courage to perform my poetry in a local venue working with other poets; I found the experience invaluable, particularly reading my poems out aloud.

‘This was it! So I re-edited my whole collection with a fine tooth comb. I’m pleased to say a published WN subscriber recommended a publisher that seemed the right market; ironically it didn’t fit in their genre, but they thought it was very well written and decided to publish it anyway.

‘I have four plays published on the internet, the last being The Haunting of Warleggan Rectory. It’s so good to see my poetry in print; I’m so glad I didn’t give up!

‘Ancient Voices Ever Singing – in the modern world of fast communications, on-demand entertainment and scientific discovery, it’s so easy to forget that the history of Great Britain is filled with the supernatural, ranging from the dark practices of paganism to the enlightenment heralded by the introduction of the Christian faith. This unique collection of poems uncovers the spiritual history of the United Kingdom through the ages, painting a vivid picture of lifestyle, beliefs and rituals in different eras. The compelling message is that the supernatural has not gone away: that the same ancient deceptions can be identified in the modern world.’