Guest Post: James Haw

Hi, please tell us a little about yourself... 

Have you always wanted to write or is there a significant moment you realised, if so what was that moment? 

I’ve always wanted to write and I used to write a lot as a teenager, but then I went to university and got a job and then fell into the trap of being a full-time worker with little time for anything other than my job!  It was about a year ago that I decided that I had to follow my dreams and make time to write and so I did.

What genre do you write and why? 

I write about relationships in contemporary life.  I love to watch how people interact and try to capture that in my writing.

Is there anything you are currently working on?

I have almost completed my first novel, The Capricious Mr Turner, and will be publishing it in spring 2012.  This has been a labour of love for a little over a year and I am very excited about completing it in the very near future.

Do you ever suffer from the famous writers block and if so do you have any tips to get around it? 

Writers block is a killer sometimes!  The best way for me to get round it is to either take myself away from my laptop for a little while or concentrate on another chapter – this usually does the trick (but not always!)

Do you have any other hobbies?

Away from writing there are a few things I enjoy; I love bouldering (rock climbing without ropes) up to about 30 feet.  I also love mountain biking, although I don’t live too close to many mountains, I do get to go up some reasonably steep hills and over some rough terrain so that keeps me happy.  My other hobby is swimming – something that I just don’t get enough time to do, but try when I have a free hour.

Is there a significant person who has inspired you on a whole? 

I take my inspiration from everywhere and I do have my favourite authors, but if there is one person who is an absolute inspiration then I would have to say Brain Haw.  Brian Haw was the peace protestor who camped outside Parliament for 9 years after – he had conviction for his cause that one rarely sees and he has given me the inspiration to never give up on whatever I do.

What do you plan on writing in the future?

I have my second book already fairly well planned out and will start writing it sometime in April/May 2012.  A third will be planned shortly thereafter, the plot is already forming in my head!

Is there anything else you feel we should know about you?

I’ve had a diverse career so far that has included working as a litigator for a big UK law firm and running a nightclub for a brief period before settling into to copywriting.  I have been lucky to travel widely and experience life from many different angles and this definitely helps with my writing.

Where can we find you? 

You can find me at www.jamehaw.co.uk where you can read a little more about me, check out my blog (updated regularly) and read the first few chapters of my new book, The Capricious Mr Turner.  You can also download chapters 1 and 2 from Amazon for Kindle and the links are on the download page on my site.  I hope to see you on there soon and please feel free to leave comments on my work, blog or anything you feel you want to tell me about.