Murder on Display: Luke Christodoulou

Murder on Display is the latest book by best selling writer Luke Christodoulou, and I choose it next in my Kindle Scout writer fest because it was released only a couple of days ago on Christmas Day to be exact. I’ve invited Luke along with the same questions – it will be interesting where and how he differs to Greg’s answers. 

Questions: 

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give someone wanting to write? 

 Just go for it. Doubt is a killer. Dive in and keep going until you have a finished novel staring back at you!

How do you approach your stories; do you plan everything out before starting, or are you more a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of a person? 

I normally get an idea creep out of the corners of my mind and it sticks around until it drives me crazy. As a mystery author I always plan the ending (twist, killer) as to be able to plant clues along the way.

Of all your characters, do you have a favorite? 

My strong female lead, named after my daughter. The Cretan, food-loving, foul-mouth Ioli Cara.

How long did it take you to write your most recent book(s)? 

 I give myself a year for each book. I finish earlier than that though, giving plenty of time for the book to go to my editor and for my proofreaders to provide feedback.

Would you rather set your story in a place and time you are familiar with, or would you rather research a totally different setting? 

My books are always set upon the Greek Isles (thus the title of the series, GREEK ISLAND MYSTERIES). I prefer to write about islands that I have visited, though I have researched and googled locations I haven’t been to before.

Do you have any little writing rituals or quirks? E.g. an object you have to have on your desk, a particular drink or snack. 

 Always at my desk, always deadly quiet and always with a coffee. Hot during the few winter months and Greek frappe during the nine month summer.

If you were stranded on a deserted island with only one book, what would it be? (Ominbuses, complete works, and how to books are forbidden!)  

And then there were none. The mother of my genre, an absolute delight!

Bio: 

Luke Christodoulou is an author, a poet and an English teacher (MA Applied Linguistics – University of Birmingham). He is, also, a coffee-movie-book-Nutella lover. His books have been widely translated and are available in five languages. His first book, THE OLYMPUS KILLER (#1 Bestseller – Thrillers), was released in April, 2014. The book was voted Book Of The Month for May on Goodreads (Psychological Thrillers). The book continued to be a fan favorite on Goodreads and was voted BOTM for June in the group Nothing Better Than Reading. In October, it was BOTM in the group Ebook Miner, proving it was one of the most talked-about thrillers of 2014.The second stand-alone thriller from the series, THE CHURCH MURDERS, was released April, 2015 to widespread critical and fan acclaim. DEATH OF A BRIDE was the third Greek Island Mystery to be released. Released in April, 2016 it followed in the footsteps of its successful predecessors. From its first week in release it hit the number one spot for books set in Greece.MURDER ON DISPLAY came out in 2017 and enriched the series. He is currently working on the fifth book of his planned Greek Island Mysteries book series. He resides in Limassol, Cyprus with his loving wife, his chatty daughter and his crazy newborn son. Hobbies include travelling the Greek Islands discovering new food and possible murder sites for his stories. He, also, enjoys telling people that he ‘kills people for a living’. Murder on Display is available Here

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Greg Meritt: The Adoption

I’m lucky, very lucky indeed to be one of the first U.K. readers of The Adoption, now on the edge of the top 500 in the Amazon charts and it’s only just been self published – how cool is that! 

The Adoption is a little out of my comfort zone reading. I have to leave the room when David Attenborough comes on the TV so a thriller with the picture of a child on the cover was always going to be a difficult choice but I’d had some conversations with Greg on Social Media via Kindle Scout and I sort of trusted him not to scare me witless.  I wasn’t disappointed. 

I’ve invited Greg into the hot seat today to find out a little more about him and his book. 

Questions:

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give someone wanting to write? 

Get a thick skin. 

How do you approach your stories; do you plan everything out before starting, or are you more a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of a person? 

Fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I’ve never been a plotter. 

Of all your characters, do you have a favorite? 

Yes, Sylvia Tran, from “The Adoption”. 

How long did it take you to write your most recent book(s)? 

About 8 months. 

What motivated you to write your novel? 

My adopted children and this thought: “What if the adoption turns out to be preplanned and not anything like we expected?” 

Name three favorite authors and why they impress you.

 Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, Dean Koontz. The stories are always intriguing and I’m always wondering what is going to happen next. I love suspense. 

Would you rather set your story in a place and time you are familiar with, or would you rather research a totally different setting?

 Place and time I’m familiar with. To be honest, I don’t care for research; I’d rather write. 

Do you have any little writing rituals or quirks? 

Door closed, no internet, no phone, no people. I don’t have nor require anything else 

How do your own experiences influence what you write ? 

Quite a lot, actually. In my debut novel, The Adoption, I pull a lot from my own home life experience and then tweak it to be a little different. Logan has a lot of my own values and beliefs. 

If you had to throw something into mount Doom to save the world, what would it be?

 I would throw HATRED into mount Doom. We all just need to get along! 

How do you deal with writer’s block? 

I grab a blank page and just start writing anything…even gibberish. This usually gets things flowing again. If not, I don’t force it but go on about my day, take long walks, exercise, etc. But I always try and write something daily. 

What is your favorite part of the writing process? (i.e. first draft, editing, etc…)

 First draft, I do not care for the editing part! I just love when the story is unfolding in front of me for the first time and even I don’t know what’s going to happen or what the characters are going to do. 

If you were stranded on a deserted island with only one book, what would it be? 

The Stand (Uncut), by Stephen King.

Thanks Greg for agreeing to be in the hot seat and continued good luck with your writing in 2016. To buy The Adoption click Here. It’s only 99p until the New Year 

Bio:
Greg Meritt is the youngest of three children. He was born in Everett, Washington, and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He has been a restaurant manager, a landscaper, a purchasing agent, and salesman. As a young person in middle school, Greg became hooked on stories after reading Stephen King’s “The Stand”, and has been reading voraciously ever since.

In 2012, he began writing his own stories and in early 2013, his short story “The Attic” was chosen out of 5,300 entries for inclusion in “The Writer’s Digest Short, Short Story Competition.”

Greg has written over thirty short stories and a novella. The Adoption is his debut novel. Greg lives in Kent, WA with his lovely wife, three adopted children and a crazy dog.