2 June 2021
On Wednesdays on social media, people use the hashtag #WriterWednesday to chat about all things author, book and writing, including authors promoting their own work. As we love to support self-published authors, we thought we’d join in and we will be featuring a UK self-published author every Wednesday on the website.
This week, we met Stephen Havard to find out more.
Please tell us about yourself; when did you first become interested in writing?
I live in Swansea with my wife and 2 children. I’ve worked in the IT industry for over 20 years, mostly in testing but also dabbled in programming earlier on in my career.
I always enjoyed writing in school but it wasn’t until 2019 that I reignited this passion and started writing my first novel. So why did this urge to start writing again happen? Well it partly started with a dissatisfaction in my job and a sense I needed to push my deep desire to start writing again before it was too late. It has always been a dream to be a full-time author and I hope this is the start of a great adventure that will realise that dream.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes, it was the story of a boy who dreamed of being an astronaut. He spent a year building his own rocket in his garden shed before blasting off to space. I wrote this unusual story when I was 11 and I always do wonder what happened next. Maybe I need to write a sequel!
What genre/genres do your books fall under?
I’m a great fan of crime fiction and these are the books I love to read myself. My debut novel falls under this genre and so does the current novel I’m working on.
What is your latest book called, what is it about and what was the inspiration behind the book?
My debut novel ‘The Duel’ was self published by myself in November 2020 and is currently available in Kindle and Paperback. The Duel is the story of Ashley White, whose life is falling apart due to an ill-advised investment in crypto-currency. An avid quizzer, he applies to be on a new TV quiz show, a show that’s offering a mouth watering £2 million to the winner. The show is to be called ‘The Duel’ and it will be hosted by Patrick Reed, a TV presenter who is trying to revive his flagging career after a sex scandal that he was recently acquitted of in court. Ashley has applied for many TV shows before without success, but just how far will he go to appear on this one.
The idea behind ‘The Duel’ came to me in 2019 and combines my two great passions of crime/mystery fiction and quizzing. The idea for my first book took a long time to materialise inside my head, until I thought why don’t I combine my main interest with my favourite genre of writing. After appearing on many TV quiz shows myself, I’ve appeared on Pointless, Eggheads, The Chase and many others over the years, I felt I had a good understanding of the quizzing world so decided to write about this with the added element of a mystery thriller imbedded into the story.
Besides your current book, do you have any new projects coming up?
Started writing my second novel earlier this year. Been slow progress so far due to work and other personal commitments but hoping it will be ready for publication by the end of the 2021.
Once again it’s a crime thriller but this time it’s much more of a police procedural than ‘The Duel’. It also takes place in the beautiful peninsula of Gower, a place I’ve called home all my life.
Where can people find your books?
My debut novel ‘The Duel’ has been self-published and is currently available on Amazon.
What has been the greatest moment in your writing career?
Has to be self publishing ‘The Duel’, my debut novel. It was a hard slog from start to finish but I’m so proud of the book I’ve written and really appreciate the feedback I’ve got so far from everyone that’s read it.
Besides writing, what hobbies or interests do you enjoy in your spare time?
As mentioned I love quizzing and have appeared on many TV quiz shows. I’m also part of an On-Line quiz league and regularly played pub quizzes before the pandemic hit.
Big football fan and am a season ticket holder at Swansea. Also love my snooker and have been a member at my local club for over 25 years, still dreaming of my first maximum break though!
Member of WWT (Wetlands and Wildlife Trust).
Which novelists do you admire?
Big fan of crime fiction and particularly admire Peter James, Mark Billingham, Lisa Jewell and Shari Lapena.
What has been the best piece of writing advice you’ve received?
Write from the heart and about things that interest you. If you don’t want to read it then your potential readers certainly won’t.
Do you have any tips or advice for other indie authors?
Don’t be scared to self-publish. Try publishers/agents first if you want to, but don’t be afraid to go it alone. Self-publishing is not as hard as you may think and it gets your work out there if traditional publishing routes have failed.
You can find out more about Stephen on his website or via Facebook or X (Twitter).
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