Today i’m joining the blog tour for U-Boat 931: Attack On America. I’m sharing my Q&A with the author with thanks to Zoe O’Farrell for inviting me on the tour and to Ian T Gwilliams for answering my questions!

Have you always wanted to write?

Always had an inclination to write but it was only recently that I did.

What were your previous jobs? Have they helped you with your writing process?

I worked for Rolls-Royce motor cars and Airbus UK, for twenty years each, both in a blue and white collar role. This did not really help me with the writing process.

What wwas your inspiration for U-Boat 931:Attack On America?

My inspiration for ‘Attack on America’ came from my love of all things to do with history, especially World War Two. I’m constantly reading factual accounts about the period.

How do you construct your characters? Do they have traits of people you know?

I began constructing my characters by imagining their traits and looks, but then I began to incorporate family and friends into the story and I found it was easier to describe these instead.

What is your writing process like? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m a plotter. The whole story is in my head, from start to finish. I write each chapter in order, but then return to each one, going over the finer details and adding substance to the plot.

How did you research U-Boat 931: Attack On America? Did you enjoy it?

 I did huge amounts of research, some of it leading to other avenues for the overall plot. I enjoyed the research immensely, as it opened my eyes to many facts that I was unaware of. When writing the story, a simple line could need lots of research. For example, a character is driving a car, this could lead to many questions in itself; what type of car was it, was this car built in that period, how long would it take to travel fifty miles, and so on and so forth.

Who are your favourite writers? Are you influenced by them?

Favourite writers are Stephen E. Ambrose, Damien Lewis, Sven Hassel. I have been influenced by these authors, combining facts from the period, together with fiction, then moulding the two elements into my novel.

If you could invite three people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be and why?

• Tom Hanks, for his involvement in Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers etc. I could ask about his experiences doing research and filming the war scenes.

Winston Churchill, to ask him how and why he made the decisions  

he did, both good and bad, right through his political life.

Queen Elizabeth I, to be able to get her perspective on the time  

she lived in, and compare it to ours. Plus the good, the bad and the ugly surrounding her father.

Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with and why?

Reinhard Heydrich. I believe this man was instrumental in the answer to the ‘Jewish question’ and it was possibly a good day for humanity when he was assassinated.

Who would play the main character/s in a film version of U-Boat 931: Attack On America?

Kenneth Branagh or Colin Firth for Captain Prince, Tom Wlaschiha as Captain Roth and Daniel Bruhl to play Fuchs.

What do you do in your spare time?

I play lots of golf, (13 h/cap), reading, walking, model making and eating out.

What is next for you?

I’m writing the sequel to AoA, and looking forward to more holidays abroad if I can.

Favourites:

Book: Adolf Hitler, my part in his downfall, by Spike Milligan

Film: Terminator 2

Band/Singer: I enjoy all types of music. I love listening to classical music, whilst writing, but I can get lost in a session of Led Zep, played loudly through my sound system.

TV show: Chicago PD

Colour: Purple

Place: Dubai

Biscuit: Chocolate Digestive

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U-Boat 931: Attack On America is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: