It's a great platform that's allowed me to reach so many more readers and the process of getting my novel onto the website is so simple. I'd recommend it.

Creating believable characters and putting them in situations and providing obstacles that the reader can enjoy watching them get themselves out of or not as the case maybe. But it's always surprising when the writing process takes into territory that you hadn't considered for your initial story.

Anybody that takes the time to purchase and read something I have created is such a surreal feeling. You have a connection with all of these strangers who are somewhere in the world witnessing unfolding events that I produced. It's great but scary as well. But these are the people who make it all worthwhile.

My next novel is already past half way complete. It's another thriller but a different story that this time is set in Ireland instead of London. The idea came to me much quicker this time and the characters and the settings also. It's very fast paced and a real page turner if I say so myself. I'd love it to be a movie.

Too many to mention but I like Steinbeck, Upton Sinclair, and Martina Cole to name a few. I'm a big reader of biographies and political history and politics. I absolutely adored the late Christopher Hitchens whose work was just so razor sharp.

hahaha. I have to pay bills and a mortgage like everyone else. But during the day I'm always thinking up scenarios and creating characters in my head. It's something I can't turn off. I have so many ideas that it's difficult to call which ones to go with though I note them all down which something I'd recommend to all aspiring writers.

I like to keep fit and I play the drums. I 'm a big jazz fan and paly whenever I can. My daughter is an aspiring singer and actress and she has real potential but I do get called in regularly to help out with her school homework!!! Living close to the Wicklow mountains allows long walks amongst great scenery before a nice cold Guiness at the end of the hike.

I research them on-line as well as getting recommendations from friends and followers on twitter and facebook

Actually no. But I am willing to wager it was total crap!

With the novel it's a minimum of 1 hour per day and five at weekends. No exceptions. If you don't have a writing discipline you'll fall by the wayside. Of course I don't always feel like but being creative but once I'm ready I soon get into the groove. If you want to write regularly and well you must have a routine that works for you. There's no right or wrong way but you must be consistent.

Yes the Grapes of Wrath. It's such a wonderful book and heart-wrenching story. In my opinion the final scene is one of the greatest images of twentieth century literature. It's always stayed with me.

I have a wonderful designer named Charlotte Mouncey. She's incredible. For Knole Park I just gave her a few pointers and she came up with the cover that perfectly captured the mood of the book. I couldn't have done it myself

The Jungle, Upton Sinclair. I love historical politics and its a great read
Grapes of Wrath see above
Great Expectations. Dickens. The man was a genius and the book's plot and characters are so beautifully crafted and interwoven
The Gulag Archipeligo by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It's the last word in cruelty and should be compulsory reading of a warning of man's inhumanity to man
The Road To Wigan Pier- By George Orwell. Orwell was the greatest social commentator of his age. It's a book that even today has some very uncomfortable comparisons.

I like music mags or anything to do with fashion.

my kindle.

quite a few but social media is now where its at. If your not active on it or have no profile you're toast.

immaculately clear at all times. I simply cannot operate in clutter of any kind.

Tilbury in Essex. It was and still is a rough Docks town so its a rich source of characterisations for me.

As a teenager

It's a story of a gambling addicted police officer who is unwittingly set up to bring down a corrupt commanding officer. It's a really exciting story and i can't wait to finish it.

I write what interests and motivates me. I dance to my own tune....or story

Absolutely. at derekrossauthor.com i have a blog roll where i write social, commentary on everything from the burkini, to reality tv to American gun law. They're not too serious and designed to get a laugh. I get great comments on the blogs and i love writing them. They're quite short and i try and do one a week or one whenever something comes up in the news that i have a comical opinion on