Straight From the Mouth of 'A Wanted Man' Robert Parker

Robert Parker is a new exciting voice, a married father of two, who lives in a village close to Manchester, UK. He has both a law degree and a degree in film and media production, and has worked in numerous employment positions, ranging from solicitor’s agent (essentially a courtroom gun for hire), to a van driver, to a warehouse order picker, to a commercial video director. He currently writes full time, while also making time to encourage new young readers and authors through readings and workshops at local schools and bookstores. In his spare time he adores pretty much all sport, boxing regularly for charity, loves fiction across all mediums, and his glass is always half full.

His latest book is the crime/thriller, A WANTED MAN.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

About the Book:

It’s down to fathers and fatherhood.

Ben Bracken, ex-soldier, has just got out of Strangeways.

Not by the front door.

With him, he has his ‘insurance policy’ – a bag of evidence that will guarantee his freedom, provided he can keep it safe – and he has money, carefully looked after by a friend, Jack Brooker.

Rejected by the army, disowned by his father, and any hopes of parenthood long since shattered, Ben has no anchors in his life.

No one to keep him steady. 

No one to stop his cause…

The plan: to wreak justice on the man who had put him in prison in the first place. 

Terry ‘The Turn-Up’ Masters, a nasty piece of work, whose crime organisation is based in London.

But before Ben can get started on his mission, another matter is brought to his attention: Jack’s father has been murdered and he will not rest until the killers are found.

Suddenly, Ben finds himself drawn in to helping Jack in his quest for revenge.

In the process, he descends into the fold of Manchester’s most notorious crime organisation – the Berg – the very people he wants to bring down…

This action-packed and fast-paced story will keep you turning the pages. Manchester is vividly portrayed as Ben races around the city seeking vengeance.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

Thanks for letting us interrogate you!  Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?

I had a dream that my work uniform would one day be nothing more than pajama pants and a smile – that and an obsession with storytelling since I was old enough to hold a pen.

Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?  I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?

In terms of demands, the constant pressure to create is something that I can see being a weight, but in truth the perks far outweigh any negatives. I have three young children, so to spend a lot of time with them is a huge blessing. Being able to snatch hours to write here and there is also wonderful – you can tailor your working day around whatever you need to get done.

Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?

Both! I self-published on a whim, loved the process then eventually hooked up with an agent, then a publisher. I have greatly enjoyed both processes – the freedom of the former, then the excitement of the latter. I have loved it all.

What’s the snarkiest thing you can say about the publishing industry?

There are a number of people in there… who aren’t very high up… in the grand scheme of things… and they think they are the absolute bees knees. We are talking egos a mile wide. There is a heck of a lot of snobbery to wade through at times – but be sure to make the trip, because there are some truly wonderful people in this industry. And in the crime corner of publishing, I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t been less than lovely.

Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?

They’ve been so encouraging and patient – it has taken me years to get to this point, and even when I thought I must be mad, they didn’t. I’m indebted to them, always.

What was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing process?

I can’t think of anything truly insane about the publishing process, but I did have to shut down a twitter account because I started getting messages from people who thought the protagonist of A Wanted Man was a real person, and that the adventure was somewhat autobiographical. They thanked me for my sacrifices to the country, and asked me where I was based now. The messages wouldn’t stop!

How about the social networks?  Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?

Twitter and Facebook have both been great. Hugely helpful, in terms of engaging with readers, writers and having fun. And because of targeted ads, I was able to tailor my output for exactly the kind of person that might be interested in my book.

Book sales.  Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)?  How are you making the sales happen for you?

By hitting the promotional trail hard. By engaging with readers whenever I can, as well as blogs and bloggers. By harassing my publisher to keep pushing. These are all after the event however – the best way to start this is to make sure the book is as good as it can be.

What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?

Angry screaming? Or happy screaming? Angry screaming = politics. Happy screaming = I’ve got a new book deal close to completion that I want to scream from the heavens about but I can’t just yet… fingers crossed.

Okay, too much sugar for you today!  Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in.  Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?