Tell us something about yourself that not many people know: When I was about ten years old, I saw a ghost in my room. I was terrified, and I called for my parents. It was so real I have never forgotten about it after all this time. It was the ghost of a man in uniform kneeling in front of a fireplace. The ghost never looked at me, but it wasn’t threatening in any way—just disturbing for a child. When my parents came racing into the room it disappeared.

Why did you choose the themes in your book and were you aware of them from the start? I am writing about Australian ghost towns that really exist today. Some are tourist attractions. The theme is about a ghost town setting and all the evil that lurks from going one hundred and fifty years back to their original gold mining era. I always do my research on strange happenings in these towns so I am aware from the start which pathway the storyline is going to take.

How difficult was it for you to write this book? Did you face any obstacles? Not difficult at all. It all seemed to flow nicely from one scene to another. I focus on creating conflict, choice and consequence in every chapter as a structure. I work ahead and envisage the next scene from a creative perspective. I always know where I am heading with the story. The only watch out was making sure the book sounded genuine with Australian dialogue in speech.

Do you always write in this genre or do you like to break out of the box? Yes, however, I am starting to explore supernatural thrillers with a crime fiction element.

What are your writing habits or idiosyncrasies? I like to write in the morning when my mind is fresh. I may walk around the lake near my home on a sunny warm day and it helps with ideas for the next scene in the book. I think it’s important that authors have a creative outlet where they can generate thoughts and ideas. I write in the third person omniscient and that can be hard to do because you about all the characters, their thoughts and emotions.

What would you do differently next time? Every book has a list of things you would do differently next time. Most of that comes from feedback from the ARC team and reviewers. My biggest watch out is was I advertised Haunting in Old Tailem as a standalone read even though it was book three in the series. Some readers felt like they needed more background and were critical about it in reviews–some found it OK. You just can’t please everyone. But I do believe it’s hard to get readers interested in your series if they have not read the first book. From a marketing perspective, it’s better if they start from the beginning, even if the author feels it can be read as a standalone.

With hindsight, what would you say to yourself as a fledgling writer? Keep going and don’t give up. It takes time to establish your readership and fans of your work. If you get a negative review just accept it for what it is–one person’s opinion only. Don’t let it bog you down.

If you worked with a professional editor, what was the experience like? Professional editors play a critical role in the construct of the book. They can help make a book a success or failure depending on how well they do their job. A good editor is worth their weight in gold and if you find one that you can have a good relationship with–stick with them. My editor works in the USA because all my work needs to be in American English and has to be tailored to the nuances of that market. The majority of my books are sold in the USA and that is my market place.

What’s next for your writing? I am writing a new series of supernatural thrillers. Its called the Zack Bolder Supernatural Thriller Series. I’m enjoying writing this series because my writing style seems to be adaptable to this genre. The first book is called Bolder Blindsided. “An Australian alpine ghost town. A priest turned supernatural detective. A missing persons cold case. Will Bolder track down the voracious demon?” It will be launched on 5 January 2021.