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KG Childs Talks To www.sharpsbooks.co.uk

K.G.Childs is a serving member of the British army. He joined at the age of 15 and now on reaching 30 has fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a published writer. He started writing at school and after a number of years experience in the army has once again picked up his pen to write The Fortress City under the pen name K.G.Childs in memory of both his Grandfathers. 


(Sharps Book Co.)Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

(K.G. Childs)I was born in England to a father with Scottish heritage and a Welsh mother. My father was in the army, so we travelled extensively when I was child. Due to the lack of schools for those over nine, in the country we were living, I was sent to a boarding school in North Wales, called Rydal. It was at the age of ten that I realised I had a passion for writing.

Fifteen years ago I joined the army. Since then, I have been to many countries and have served on operations in a number of countries. I have spent six of the last fifteen years with Airborne Forces. It is only since meeting my wife that I have had the courage to recapture my dream of becoming an author.
 

(SB)Why have you decided to publish under the pen name of K.G. Childs?

(KGC)K.G. Childs is a tribute to my dearly departed Grandfathers, as they helped bring me up in the few years that I was in school and my parents were abroad. ‘K’ is the initial of my Dad’s father and G is for my Grandfather on my mother’s side. Childs is my mother’s maiden name.
 

(SB)As a new author what was it that drew you into writing and what has been the biggest obstacle that you have had to overcome to get to this point?

(KGC)As I have already stated, I have wanted to be an author since I was ten. I decided to write this book because of a comment by my Dad. He enjoys reading, as much as anybody, but he does not like picking up a book, where the author is too busy trying to show you how clever they are rather than telling you a story, which, in the long run, what a book is supposed to do. So with this in mind, I decided to write my parents a book that would do nothing more pretentious than entertain.

The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was my own fears. I have leapt out of planes, travelled to many dangerous countries and pushed my body to its physical limit, but the thought of writing something for the public to read, scared me more than anything else. Again, I have my wife to thank for giving me the strength to publish my book. I now believe that if the public enjoy reading ‘The Fortress City’ half as much as I did writing it then I have achieved my goal.


(SB)What organisations, if any, did you find helped you to try and get yourself off the ground and publish your first novel? Do you feel there was enough support available to you?

(KGC)My agent helped me get off the ground. He worked hard to get me a publishing deal. Unfortunately, as he told me from the start, there seems to be a bias against first time writers. I can understand this, as big firms are out to make money and as is human nature will take the sure deal. However, I feel that this is the wrong attitude, as they could miss out on ‘the next big thing’, i.e. a certain young wizard, who has captured the imagination of the world.


(SB)Every author has a different method of avoiding the dreaded “writer’s block”, how did you go about getting this novel off the ground? Was it a regimented system of so many words a day or locking yourself away from the world whilst you had the inspiration?

(KGC)The idea for ‘The Fortress City’ came to me, while I was sitting in the middle of the desert. I knew the start and had an idea of how I wanted to finish it, but I had to think of how to get there. Before I started writing each chapter I brainstormed with my wife. When I was certain of where the chapter was going, I would start writing. By the time I had finished the chapter it would be totally different, as the original ideas would lead to new and better ones.

I do not have any regimented system, because I do not feel that pushing the story lends itself to an enjoyable read. What I mean by this, is; everybody has days that are worse than others. If I was to push myself to write a certain amount of pages on one of those days, it may spoil the overall effect of my tale. When I write, I make sure that I am in the mood for it. Just like reading a good book, I believe that you must lose yourself in writing a good book. Luckily for me, there were not many days when I was not in the mood to write ‘The Fortress City’. However on the odd days that the ideas would not come, I simply put it down and relaxed. I have found, so far, that if you do not push it, your imagination will run wild with you.


(SB)What advice can you give to anyone who is trying to get their book published or even those who are budding writers just starting out on their journey?

(KGC)The biggest piece of advice I can give is; do not give up. Although I am not massively experienced in the literary world, having spoken to my agent, reading up on the business and browsing the internet, I can only surmise that nine times out of ten a persons ‘lucky break’ is down to timing. I am stealing a phrase from my agent when I say, “A writer may have the best manuscript in the world, but if it does not fit in with a publishers schedule, or what they deem is marketable, then they will not choose it,” I use my earlier example of a young wizard, who goes to a magical school.


(SB)When writing do you find yourself drawing on your experiences in the forces and are there any plans for a move into military fiction or indeed fact?

(KGC)I do draw on my experiences in the army. Let’s be honest, you have to write what you know. I have used my own personal experience to better explain a number of different emotions that the characters experience and I have also used viable tactics from both modern and ancient warfare to try and add a little realism to the battle scenes.

I may make a foray into military fiction one day, but at the moment I am enjoying writing fantasy/ action/adventure stories, as I feel that the imagination can have more fun. I have no intention of writing military fact. I believe that a book should tell a story. I am not a teacher and will not profess to be one; I am a storyteller, who wants nothing more than to entertain.


(SB)How do you feel about ex-military personnel writing their accounts down and doing, sometimes very controversially, exposés on certain operations and conflicts? Some of the examples that immediately spring to mind are Andy Mcnab and Chris Ryan’s efforts to explain the actions of the now infamous section “Bravo Two Zero”.

(KGC)Everybody will try to catch a break in anyway that they can. The two writers that you have mentioned are both experienced soldiers, who have taken their chances and have become very successful. I do believe that it is wrong discussing operations and conflicts, where other people were involved, especially if you throw them in a bad light. At the end of the day you are only hearing the story from one, or in this case two points of view, but that is just my opinion.

Obviously I have read a number of operationally motivated stories and watched them on television. However, I have also heard a few truths and half truths about certain missions through the military grapevine. I am not saying that it is the case, but when you read these ‘expose’ type stories, have a look where they are on the shelf in the book store. Normally, they are in the fiction section, as are all later stories from the same writers.


(SB)Your fist book “The Fortress City” has just been published and is now available, could you give us a brief overview of the story? Where did the inspiration for the book come from?

(KGC)The story revolves around a number of characters. However it follows the main character from baby to man. He grows up in a foreign town, where he is treated with contempt and as an outsider, which shows itself in the form of bullying youths and fearful public figures. Aged seventeen, our hero is forced to take a journey, where not only does he begin to discover, who he is, but he also becomes more powerful, as the story goes on. However, as he gains in power, he discovers that there are consequences to his actions, so he must learn when and how to use his power. Along the way he meets a number of interesting characters; some who become his friend and a host, who want to kill him. It is about an awkward boy, who becomes a powerful warrior, leading a small army against insurmountable odds.

The inspiration has come from a number of sources. I have adapted incidents that I have seen or heard of. I have used personal emotions and experiences. I have also taken inspiration from situations that I and the teams I have worked with have found ourselves in, but mostly imagination has played the biggest role.


(SB)At this stage are there plans for a sequel? Do you think about sequels when you are writing the story or is it a case of seeing where you end up and then developing the character further?

(KGC)The sequel is finished and the third in the trilogy is underway. When writing “The Fortress City” I did not think of the sequel. However, I did finish it, leaving it open for sequels. Writing the second one, which has the working title, ‘The Lake of fire” I did write small sub plots into it, which will become more obvious in the third. Each book is a number of years later, not only developing the characters from the first book further, but introducing new family members, which brings a further three-D look into their lives. The separate journeys introduce new, exciting characters, who all help spirit you away into the world of Earit and the nation of Anlam.

by..Sharp's Book Co