As mentioned in my earlier blog, Seven Sisters Down Under is a true-life memoir. I kept a journal on the daily activities whilst in Australia and this journal became an essential tool for the writing of my book. I had all the information I required at my disposal.
This first book sold well, within three months I had recouped every penny I’d laid out. However, in early 2008, the time of its release, bookstores were prevalent in every county. As a self published author, I needed to promote my book in every way I could think of, taking copies with me wherever I travelled. It wasn’t long before the first print run of 500 were sold. In the meantime, buoyed by success, my mind was already buzzing with an idea for my next book, Against All Odds — the first in a trilogy of psychological thrillers which had at its core, the devastation brought about by the infamous Credit Crunch. The first spark of the financial nightmare was ignited in the 1980s, brought about by deregulation of the banking sector. What followed in mid 2008 beggared belief as thousands of small businesses were forced into bankruptcy due to the inability of securing a loan. To this day, banks have not regained the trust they previously held. Anger and frustration were universally felt. My way of dealing with the anger, was to write about this actual occurrence. Driving home reality through fictitious characters
Here’s the rub, I didn't have a journal to assist me this time. Nor did I have ready-made characters. Nevertheless, television news programs were a rich source, giving daily blow-by-blow accounts of the fallout worldwide. As to the characters, I could now play God and produce my own — formulated in my mind and acting out their role in my books. My four main characters are: Lyn Porter, a feisty independent florist, James Fairbank, a public-school educated solicitor, Vinny Conway, a foul-mouthed private detective and a devious rogue banker named Carl Erikson.