Spies on Safari follows a group of highly trained spies on a mission to find a hidden treasure that turns out to be more than they initially anticipated. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Going on safari myself! Safaris are my favourite type of vacation, and this book is inspired by one that we took in Botswana in 2022. Since I started to write my previous book, The Repurposed Spy, which I realise now was inspired by my many travel experiences in Latin America, I found that I started to look at my fellow travellers and think, “Are they tourists like me, or do they have some ulterior motive?” Then there was one safari lodge we went to where we were almost the only visitors for 100km in any direction – and I got to thinking, “If someone wanted to hide some illicit activity here, would anyone ever discover it?” With those ideas in mind, the words just flowed!

You have written an engaging cast of characters that, each on their own, would be a thrilling read. What was your approach to writing the interactions between characters to create the bond they have?

They’re all to some extent based on people I have met and worked with, though every character is a blend. I’m fascinated by how people adopt different attitudes to different people they meet, and how quickly relationships evolve. So I started with a cast of characters, and the evolution and bonding – or not! – just came about naturally as I wrote.

How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?

I try to keep a fast pace going by avoiding what I call “descriptive waffle.” Descriptions and backstories of people and places are essential, of course, but I find a lot of authors just put in too much and tend to be repetitive – making me think, “Please let’s get back to the story.” I’ve been criticised for not including enough description, so it’s obviously not something that I’ve got completely right yet.

I found writing the action scenes difficult. I don’t like gratuitous violence, and guns make me shudder! I knew what characters I had and what end result I wanted, then tried to put myself in their shoes and guess how they would react. Then I found some videos online of relevant action sequences and did my best to describe those! I’ve had good feedback, so I think I did a reasonable job.

I find a problem in well-written stories in that I always want there to be another book to keep the story going. Is there a third book planned?

Indeed there is, and I’m already 10,000 words into it! I was a little stung by criticism of The Repurposed Spy – my idea of a cliffhanger was interpreted as The End by some readers who said, “Don’t read this as there can’t be a sequel.” I hope they’ve retracted now and have been enjoying Spies on Safari.

The third book, Spies on the Silk Road, takes most of the same cast of characters to Central Asia, following a dastardly plot of thefts of high-value medical equipment from Kazakhstan through Kyrgyzstan and on to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. And yes, before you even ask, the inspiration came from a long trip that we made just a few months ago. The plots in my book may be pure fiction, but the locations, people, and food are authentic! I’m aiming for Spies on the Silk Road to be published in mid-2024.

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