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17 October 2024

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.

Recently we met Dave Holwill to find out more.

Please tell us about yourself; when did you first become interested in writing?
Like most writers I’ve always been interested in writing. I used to make up all kinds of stories about my toys when I was a kid and ever so occasionally I would write them down. I first thought about taking it seriously as a teenager when my A level history teacher told me to stop putting jokes in my essays and maybe try using them as a force for good and write creatively. After that I left a myriad of unfinished novels and short stories in my wake as I spent the next stage of my life trying to juggle playing guitar in a series of rock bands, holding down a day job and trying to keep my family solvent. It wasn’t until my mid-thirties I accepted I probably wasn’t going to be a rock star and forced myself to sit down and finish writing a book. I told myself it had to be in front of people before I turned forty and published my first rom-com, Weekend Rockstars, in 2016, not long after my 39th birthday.

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
No. But I found one in a box in my attic that I must have written when I was still at primary school. Hedgehog Force vs D.O.G. (quite the reflection of the kind of toys, tv and comics I would have been into in the mid-‘80s). The hedgehogs of hedgehog force seem to have been invented purely for a gag about an inflatable aircraft carrier so it proves I’ve never been scared of using a completely ludicrous premise for one terrible joke.

My wonderful grandfather, a man with nothing but encouragement for any of my ambitions (he also tried to play his piano along with me chugging Metallica riffs on a classical guitar), had typed it out for me, leaving gaps so I could draw my own illustrations.

What genre/genres do your books fall under?
I write rom-coms as Dave Holwill and Folk Horror as D.A. Holwill (though still with far too many jokes).

What is your latest book called, what is it about and what was the inspiration behind the book?
Since I made the move to full-time editing two years ago, I haven’t actually written much. I’ve been far too busy fixing other people’s books, which is good for my business, but not so much for my creative muscles.

I did manage to get three books released in my Wicker Dogs Folk Horror series before my writing stalled so dramatically, in which a young couple move to a small Dartmoor town with its own unique way of dealing with newcomers.

The series came to me sitting in the beer garden of the Warren House Inn on Dartmoor. It’s on the other side of the road from the pub in the middle of the moors, surrounded by rolling hills, topped with tors. I was just considering how easy it would be to wander out into the green without paying my tab when people began appearing from nowhere in strange costumes. It had very strong Wicker Man vibes and I suspected I’d be hunted down and sacrificed to the ancient gods of the moor were I to try and do a runner. So rather than testing my theory I wrote a book about it.

Besides your current book, do you have any new projects coming up?
On my hard drive there are almost complete drafts of the last two books in the current arc of the Wicker Dogs series, which will resolve the cliffhanger I left at the end of Jack Sharpnails in a very satisfying way. I can only apologise for leaving it hanging so long, but I promise it will be worth the wait. There’s also a Weekend Rockstars 3 plot, and the germ of an idea for another book in the Straight (Ish) White Male series, so those who prefer my rom-com universe (in which far fewer people are eaten by dogs) shouldn’t feel left out. I’m neglecting both sides of my writing equally.

There is also a first draft of a possible sequel to my tale of a murderous grandmother, The Craft Room, but I haven’t looked at it in four years, and I’m scared of what might be in there.

Where can people find your books?
All my books are Amazon exclusives and enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. You can find the full list at author.to/daveholwill or visit my websites.

What has been the greatest moment in your writing career?
Honestly, writing THE END on the last page of my first book. It felt so good to finally finish something that I’d started. It took another two years before it was actually the end, and I finally got it out into the world, but after years of abandoned projects it was a wonderful thing. I love all the messages I get from people who have enjoyed my work, and I know that should be top of my list, but writing is a lonely and very personal business, so that first finished project will always beat any other accolade.

Besides writing, what hobbies or interests do you enjoy in your spare time?
I have a full-time freelance editing business, a wife, two step-children and an awful lot of pets to look after alongside the writing, and I also play guitar and bass in at least three bands at any one time so spare time is a rare commodity. Sleeping is a thing I enjoy, when I get time.

Which novelists do you admire?
I admire the obvious, such as George Orwell (I named my cat after him), Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and Stephen King. Recently I’ve also been reading a lot of Keith A.Pearson and Matt Dunn, whose modern, male, take on the time-honoured rom-com genre picks up the gauntlet laid down by David Nicholls and Nick Hornby. Catriona Ward has also raised the bar for anybody out there writing horror right now. To be honest, if you’ve managed to write a novel and put it out there for people to judge, I will admire you.

What has been the best piece of writing advice you’ve received?
Don’t worry if it’s any good or not while you’re writing it, just finish the draft, you can fix it later.

Do you have any tips or advice for other indie authors?
Learn about marketing, take all the free courses you can find. If you can afford to take an editing/proof-reading course, do that as well. It won’t replace a good proof-reader/editor (I am contractually obliged to say that), but it will make their job easier, and cheaper for you in the long term (that really is true). Just like in modern art and Jazz, you need to know all the rules before you’re allowed to break them.

You can find out more about Dave and his work on his websites Dave Holwill or D.A. Holwill, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter) or YouTube.