Today we have the honor to feature an amazing author of an action story THE ORANGE MOON AFFAIR.
Let AFN Clarke to share with us his own personal story:
TBM: How do you imagine the ideal
reader of your book?
AFN Clarke: I imagine the ideal
reader of my thriller/suspense books to be someone who savours being immersed
in a good story, a fast paced plot with twists and turns, layers of intrigue,
contemporary themes, characters with depth, and imaginative and thought
provoking content that keeps them guessing to the very last page and leaves
them wanting more.
Anyone reading my satirical books
would relish an outlandish story with larger-than-life characters and have a wicked
and irreverent sense of humour. A reader of my literary works? Someone with a
thoughtful, passionate nature interested in the nuances of human behaviour and
how people deal with life when it throws them unexpected curve balls.
TBM: How was the writer inside of
you born?
AFN Clarke: When I was young my
family moved around a lot – we lived in exotic places like Hong Kong, India,
Libya and Iran and I was exposed to many different cultures and ways of life.
To me it was a great adventure, and so from the time I could read I sought out
books that created that same sense of adventure, transporting me to another
world even more enthralling than my own. I was a voracious reader, devouring
all the classics as well as books by new and unknown authors. So it was natural
I wanted to express myself using words to create new worlds, new ideas, new
images, tastes, sounds and smells to bring my stories to life. But I didn’t
become an “author” till I was in my late twenties. I served in the British
Parachute Regiment, two tours of Northern Ireland that left me without most of
my insides, trying to understand what the violence, conflict and damage to
generations of people affected by such a war was all about. It was then I wrote
my first book, a memoir called “Contact”, and the rest is history. It became a
best seller and thrust me onto a path of writing that has taken me on many
adventures since.
TBM: What genres do you work with
and why are you attracted to these forms of writing?
AFN Clarke: I think the way I write
is the way I live life – I delve into different genres, and use each genre to explore
ideas from a different perspective. Literary fiction allows me to explore the
more human, vulnerable side of life. With satire I can use my irreverent sense
of humour to say things I could never get away with normally. But I am most
attracted to the mystery/thriller/suspense genre in recent times as it allows
me to create a sense of heightened excitement and expectation in my readers. I
am fortunate to have such a rich background to draw on. I was an officer in
Britain’s elite Parachute Regiment, fought terrorism, used weapons and advanced
communication technology, have knowledge of the intelligence community, drove
racecars, flew planes and helicopters, lived all over the world including places
embroiled in controversy and revolution like Iran and Libya. Add to that my
natural curiosity about everything, love of research, and excitement at being
challenged to create a story that is more imaginative, thought provoking and
multi layered than your typical “good versus evil, hero gets the girl” kind of
thriller - and you start to see what
motivates me to sit down each day and let the words flow.
TBM: As a reader, what elements of a
story do you love, or do you hate?
AFN Clarke: I love a story that
enthralls me. That captures my imagination with an unusual plot, rich or quirky
characters, unexpected themes, that makes me look at life through different
eyes for a while, expanding my world, not making it smaller. I love writing that
flows, that creates images, sights, sounds, smells, textures. Writing that’s
evocative!
I don’t like books that are
predictable, or characters that are shallow. I dislike books that go on forever
with a simple story that is dragged out like molasses. And I don’t like books
that are all “black” and “slit-your-wrists depressive” – life is more complex than
that. If I want to be depressed, all I have to do is watch the news on TV. I
don’t want to curl up with a book like that.
TBM: What inspired you to write “The
Orange Moon Affair” and what do you hope your readers will take away from this
book?
AFN Clarke: I was inspired to write “The
Orange Moon Affair” and the Thomas Gunn thriller series by my own sense of
adventure and experiences in life and the life of a great friend who, sadly, is
no longer with us. Terry Forrestal was an outstanding human being with a
background in Special Forces. His life, at times, read like a James Bond novel,
but was far more complex than 007’s.
I think he would like Thomas Gunn, the
central character. He’s former Special Forces, trained in assassination, covert
operations and international espionage. He’s also a compassionate, caring,
passionate lover of life who desperately wants to leave his old life behind
him. So while I hope my readers can indulge themselves in a thrilling and
intriguing page-turner, I also hope it provides a deeply enriching experience
as they witness the very human inner turmoil of someone like Thomas. A trained
killer with a conscience, with values, ethics, desires and dreams that are constantly
being challenged.
I also hope they will gain a lot of
food for thought, by the very real possibility of what takes place in this
book, the seedy players of international intrigue, deceit and corruption that
live in the darkest shadows of our lives and manipulate world affairs for their
own ends, more than we’d like to think or hope for.
TBM: How long did it take you to
write this book and what did you do the day that you finished it?
AFN Clarke: This book took me about
3 months of full time writing to finish, then a month of editing, rewriting,
editing, rewriting etc. It was a very intense period where I lived and breathed
being every character in the book most of my waking hours and also when asleep.
So when I finished, it was like the end of a marathon! I danced around the room
with my wife, who was glad to have her husband back and not be living with
Thomas Gunn each day, had a large glass of Single Malt Whisky, then sat and
stared out the window for hours. I know it sounds strange, but I actually go
through a low period after I finish each book. It’s like giving birth to a new
being and the process takes its toll. This whole new world no longer has to be
sustained and nurtured in my mind. So I feel kind of empty for a while, there’s
more silence in my brain, which is a good thing. Until the creative ideas come
roaring back and I start writing all over again. I give thanks for my
extraordinary wife who is also my chief critic, editor and marketing diva. How
she puts up with me, I will never know J
TBM: What would you like to say to
your readers?
AFN Clarke: What I would like to say
to my readers is that if they choose to read any of my books, my greatest wish
for them is that they have an entertaining, thought provoking and truly
enriching experience, so that when they close the last page they sit for a
moment with a satisfied smile on their faces, and feel the time they spent
reading was worth it. But more than anything, I simply encourage readers to
keep reading. I am astonished at how many people in the world have never read a
novel, when books are so easy to find with the explosion of ebooks and
publishing in general. So I say, be adventurous. Explore new authors, new
books, new genres. Some you will like, others you won’t, that’s fine! But there
is so much richness, depth and pleasure to be found in the reading experience, so
go for it and be excited by what you discover.
TBM: What’s your greatest strength
as a writer?
AFN Clarke: I think my greatest
strength is my ability to have a general idea of where I want to go with my
stories but allowing them and the characters to write themselves. Rather than forcing a fixed idea, my books
and characters take on a life of their own taking me where they want to go as
much as the other way around. It takes a leap of faith and great trust to do
this and probably a little insanity. But I’ve never been able to outline a book
on paper and then write to that – it doesn’t work for me even though it does
for many other writers. When I write to a plan, that story doesn’t breathe and
expand and contract the way life does.
TBM: Why should the reader read “The
Orange Moon Affair”?
AFN Clarke: If you’re a bit like me - and love the suspense and action of a good
thriller where new twists and turns make you hold your breath, wondering where
the next page will take you, and you also relish getting to know fascinating
characters with real life challenges being played out on a world stage, as well
as thrive on new insights into what might be happening behind-the-scenes in the
world of international intrigue - then I
think you might just like this book. I’d be delighted if you’d join me for the
ride, and let me know how you find it.
