Ask the Author: Rex Grainger
Answered Questions (6)
Rex Grainger
The idea of an anomalistic skeleton with skin residue due to a powerful, ancient anti-ageing source just appeared after a lot of thinking. I think it was all those Hammer horror films I've seen as a kid. I always wanted to write a book about reversing ageing and to focus on who would benefit from this. Originally, it was going to be set in Egypt, but I finally settled for Bulgaria and Turkey as there were links between the two. Bulgaria has a lot of Thracian Tombs, as well as tomb looting going on, so I thought it would be great to set it there. And also due to the Byzantine and Roman history in Bulgaria, I made my tomb a mixture of Thracian and Byzantine.
Rex Grainger
An intriguing idea kickstarts me to write. A lot of times it sounds outlandish and wacky like the one in my debut novel Elixir Stone, which features a skeleton with skin residue. I loved that idea, so that propelled me to write it, and to see what I can make of it. Also I'm inspired by other writers like Alistair Maclean, Andy McDermott, Clive Cussler, Matthew Reilly, Jack Higgins, Simon Kernick, Colin Forbes, to name a few.
Rex Grainger
Coming up with ideas in my head and turning them into a book. It's sort of like being the actors, the director, the producer, the cameraman, and canteen man in one go, and it's all hands on deck. It takes a lot of thought. It's challenging.
Rex Grainger
Just go for it. Read a lot, especially in your chosen genre, try to examine the book to see why it's good or bad, and just write. Goal setting is one of the best ways to motivate yourself to write. Give yourself a certain amount of time to work on the planning stage, the first draft stage and so forth. You won't improve if you aren't constantly writing atleast five days a week, and more you write, the more you're closer to the plot and characters. Good luck.
Rex Grainger
I just try to fight against any blockage. It's no different when your toilet is blocked; you have to try to remove whatever is clogging your imagination, and one of the methods I use is: I type one or two paragraphs from a published book, preferably of the same genre I'm writing, and voila, it seems to work in removing any blockage. It works most of the time. If I'm doing an action scene, then I will type a paragraph that features an action scene. Other methods are closing my eyes and breathing in from nose and exhaling, or go to the gym, or take a break and watch a movie, or read a passage from my favourite book. There's another method where you actually type out your feelings about why you can't write anything and how you feel. I haven't tried that yet but experts say it works.
Rex Grainger
I am currently writing the first draft of an adventure book which is the second book featuring recovering adrenaline junkie, Simon Harte and Archaeologist, Dr Jonathan Kendrick - it's set in Tibet and south Asia.
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