Today I am honoured to be part of the blog tour for Ryder on the Storm by Ray Clark. I have a guest post from Ray today, talking about his writing process and location. Ryder on the Storm is out now and you can click here to order your copy. Thanks to Ray for stopping by today and don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour for more exclusive content and reviews.
Here's what it's all about...
When builder Terry Johnson spots what he thinks is a bargain he can’t resist but to succumb to temptation. The large, detached house stands on the side of a railway track and would be perfect for his needs … and it’s cheap! But Billington Manor has a very tainted history, and the grounds upon which it stands were part of an unsolved murder back in the 1850’s. Terry is about to discover that the road to hell is not always paved with good intentions.
Based upon a true incident, Ryder On The Storm is a stand-alone supernatural crime novella from the author of the IMP series, featuring desk sergeant Maurice Cragg.
And here's the book trailer for you too!
And here's what Ray has to say all about location...
Ever since I started to take writing seriously, attending seminars, author talks, workshops and festivals on a regular basis, I listened to the professionals sharing tips on how to write: the best piece of advice they gave was, write about what you know. It’s very true, and it encompasses most aspects of your life, including location. Fans of John Grisham will notice most of his books feature a lawyer for his main character. If you love the Roy Grace series written by my friend, Peter James you will note that it’s set in Brighton – somewhere Peter knows very well.
One of the very first novels I wrote was called Calix, a cross genre novel about possession, set against the backdrop of the Salem Witch Trials. The idea started from a trip to Salem, which is a lovely but strange place. I could never shake the feeling of being watched, wherever I went. The main characters are Martin and Sue Hawthorne, born and bred in America but who had settled into a peaceful life in the Yorkshire Dales. A lot of the action takes place in a Yorkshire village, or in the centre of Leeds. Martin Hawthorne was a musician and music producer. What I had managed to do was combine a number of aspects of my life and weave them into the story. I have been a musician pretty much since I left school, and I am very familiar with the towns and the cities in and around the dales so it wasn’t too hard to maintain the atmosphere.
Seven Secrets was another Yorkshire based novel, set on the NYMR (North York Moors Railway) between Pickering and Whitby: beautiful places trapped in a bygone era where time seems to have stood still. I have travelled that stretch of line more times than I care to remember and I wanted to see how the community would cope if I unleashed hell on them.
The IMP series featuring detectives Gardener and Reilly are set in and around Leeds, and I can remember the exact moment when I realized how perfect the city would be. I had always been an avid reader of crime fiction and many years ago I worked for a company delivering holiday brochures around Yorkshire: Leeds being just one of the cities we went to. It was a Thursday in mid summer, I had almost finished my run and there was a block of shops in Beeston, about a mile from Elland Rd (Leeds Utd football ground). I drove around the back of the shops, put the tachograph on to break and had some dinner. Keeping me company was a copy of Val McDermid’s, The Wire In The Blood, featuring profiler Tony Hill. I loved the book, which was also set in Yorkshire. I remember reading a pretty bleak, dark scene and glancing up. Given that the shops of Beeston were high up I had the perfect vision of what I wanted for book 1, Impurity. The following is a paragraph is from an early chapter with a name change:
“He sighed and peered down the street. To an outsider, Rawston appeared as a reassuring scene of frost-covered, two-up-two-down, back-to-back terraced houses set against the background of a thriving textile industry. Reminiscent of an Ealing Studio’s B-movie, the closeknit community would spend the night indoors huddled around the fire, wrapping presents for their broods of children safely tucked up in bed, encompassed by the mouth-watering aroma of chestnuts roasting in the grate.”
Based on what I’ve said above I think write about what – and where – you know is extremely important. It adds so much more depth to your writing.
Author Bio
Ray’s writing career started with a 3’000 word essay on the author Graham Masterton, published by The British Fantasy Society in 1995: A book length adaptation, Manitou Man: The World of Graham Mastertonfollowed in 1998, and was immediately nominated for both the British and World Fantasy Awards in the category of best collection.
Ray’s previous publications include The Priest’s Hole and Seven Secrets, published by Damnation Books.Calix, two short story collections, A Devil’s Dozen, and A Detective’s Dozen, published by Double Dragon books of Canada. 2016 saw the first crime novel in the IMP series, Impurity. Books 2 and 3, Imperfection, andImplant followed in 2017 & 2018, published by Urbane. The IMP series follows detectives D.I. Stewart Gardener and D.S. Sean Reilly around the West Yorkshire city of Leeds.
Future publications will include book 4 in the IMP series, Impression, and a stand alone cross genre novel entitled, Spirit, featuring characters from Seven Secrets.
Thanks again to Ray for stopping by today!
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