Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Author Interview – Owen Banner

Do you plan to publish more books? Definitely. I have 7 projects on the backburners right now. At present, I am working on a novel that is closely connected to Hindsight. I can’t say much more, though. You’ll have to read Hindsight and tune into the blog to find out why.

What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time… I’m an exotic dancer. Just kidding, though some have called my dancing very exotic (okay, the word was “strange”, but it’s close enough). I actually work for a non-profit in Thailand.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Oh, that’s hard. The Philippines, Thailand, Ireland, Maine or Oregon, I could do any of those places. I once spent a few weeks on an island in Greece. Islands, beaches, ruins, warm people, good food–its got a lot that I’m looking for in a home.

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk? I wrote Hindsight with pen and paper. I prefer it, because I feel more connected with the words. But now I have a permanent knot just above my knuckle from gripping the pen so hard in all those adrenaline fueled scenes. It also took me a lot longer, because I had to retype everything that I wrote. So, this time around, I’ve taken to writing it on the computer. I’ve bought this brilliant program called Scrivener, designed specifically for writing. It lets you create index cards for your characters, store research, and go into a composition mode which allows you to pick whatever background you want to write against. Those are just a few of the features. Anybody who does a lot of writing will tell you how blinding that white screen can get after an hour. So far, it’s been working beautifully.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you? Of course, I’d love to be number one on Amazon’s best-seller list, rule the New York Times, and be picked up for a movie adaptation, but I’d settle for being able to make a living and have meaningful conversations with my readers about how entertaining and thought-provoking my novels are.

Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it? Hindsight begins with its main character, Shirley, falling out of a window with a bullet in his shoulder and another chewing through his lung. He counters the idea that your whole life flashes before you die by saying that it is only the stupid decisions that got you killed that you see. This begins a recounting of the events that have led to his death, events strung together by old sins, bad choices, and a man named Isaac with connections to Shirley’s grandfather and the IRA.

I wrote it, because I thought it had a great plot and some interesting characters that I wanted to explore. As I did that, I realized that a lot of the novel is a dissection of regret, vengeance, and redemption. How are we shaped by our sins and the wrongs done to us? How far do you let that propel you into the future? Can you make right the wrongs done in the past? These were questions I wanted to battle out amidst the gunfights, broken bones, and burning tires.

Hindsight

“I am hurtling eight stories to the pavement. There’s a bullet in my left shoulder and another chewing through my lung. I am going to die.” – Shirley O’Shea

When Shirley got out of prison three years ago, he committed himself to being there for his sister, Haley, and his aunt, Winnie–the only family he has left. Then he met Isaac, a man with connections to his grandfather and to the IRA. Isaac said he owed Shirley’s family a favor: deliver a package and get some money. But things are never that simple, are they? What should have been an easy drop-off blows Shirley’s world apart. Now he’s on the run, a continent away from those he loves, trying to figure out what he’s gotten himself into, who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in order to keep his family safe.

But Shirley has a few skeletons of his own banging on the closet doors, and the hinges are starting to come off.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Thriller

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with Owen Banner on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.owenbanner.com/

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