Startacus Member Ross Harrison on his new book- Acts of Violence
by Startacus Admin
We’d previously featured Ross Harrison back in June last year, when we chatted to him about his journey into Self-Publishing.
Ross Harrison is a writer and self-publisher of science fantasy books and ebooks and since he’s now a fully fledged Startacus member, and he’s just launched his latest ebook Acts of Violence, we thought it only right to find out more about his latest offering and to give his launch a little Startacus airtime. (We’re good to Startacus members like that you know!) Anyhow...over to Ross to find out more:
Ross, Tell us about the new book - what's it about?
Acts of Violence is a thriller with noir tones and a mild sci-fi backdrop. It recounts twenty-four hours in the life of Jack Mason.
Jack returns home one morning to find a girl dead and mutilated in his apartment. Everyone wants him for it. The investigating detective will stop at nothing to put him in the execution chamber, as he failed to do so ten years earlier for the same crime. The murder makes the city’s crime lord think Jack stole something vital to his operations. And he knows his son’s death was at Jack’s hands.
Nowhere is safe for Jack, and he only has until morning to prove his innocence and point the cops at something bigger: people trafficking. But he has more questions than answers, and all he has to go on is a name given to him by a homeless girl who doesn’t trust him.
Where can we buy it, apart from in "All good book shops" that is?!
To begin with at least, Acts of Violence will only be available as an e-book. From Monday 20 January, it will be available on Amazon Kindle, and all other e-formats through Smashwords. Soon after this, Smashwords will distribute it to a range of online retailers such as Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Waterstones, Sony, etc.
The Smashwords page is here
My Amazon author page is here
What's your favourite part of writing a book?
Starting. And finishing. And reading it in full for the first time.
I tend not to plan my books all that much, other than the important, pivotal parts, so I very much enjoy watching how things develop on their own. All I have to do is press the right keys on the keyboard and try not to annoy the characters.
When naming your characters, do you work out the meaning behind the names, or is it just what rings true?
I should probably pretend to put a lot of thought into my characters’ names, but…I don’t. Most come to me fairly easily, or I’ll have a few to mull over and choose the one that sounds best.
In my other books, many names I have to come up with are for aliens. With some of these, I start with a letter and then experiment one letter at a time until I have something resembling a name. Others, I choose a normal name and then through the magic of Z’s, X’s and K’z, mostly, I make them alien. Like ‘Zak’ – a good, old-fashioned alien name.
For Acts of Violence, the sci-fi aspect is heavily toned down, almost to the point of irrelevance. There are no aliens in the city. No weird names. Jack Mason, Detective Lawrence, Cole Webster. All normal names, each of which came to me easily rang true to the character.
Jack Mason was actually the name of another book’s protagonist. I intended to modify that book and make it bloom from the unfinished draft, but it quickly transformed into something completely different. Into Acts of Violence. But I kept the name.
What's next for Ross Harrison and how can other Startacus members (apart from via your Startacus profile) get in touch? Twitter? Blog?
I’m about to start working on a super-mega-ultra-secret project. I actually wrote what that was before remembering that it was super-mega-ultra-secret, and deleting it. So there’s that. I’m also about halfway through the third book in my main series, NEXUS, so I’ll be continuing on with that. Now that I’ve written a thriller, I’ve got a taste for it, and have written down plenty of ideas for other ones, so there’s always a chance I won’t be able to resist the urge to start one of those.
My various links are:
Website/Blog: http://www.ross-harrison.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StarWraith
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AuthoRoss
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5828926.Ross_Harrison
Perhaps it would be nice if you dropped Ross a message to wish him well - or at best give his book sales a little nudge and buy the e-book - We will be for sure.
If you are interested in becoming a writer yourself, you might like our previous guide on Self Publishing - the basics and if you’d like a little airtime on Startacus, firstly make sure you are a Startacus member (it’s free to join you know!) and give us a shout at editorial@startacus.net
Join Startacus - the Self Start Society!
If you like what you see here on Startacus, why not become a member of our growing community? It's free! And you'll get all this - exclusive access to our Business Toolkit, discounts and offers galore for your business via our member only business deals, the chance to network and connect with loads of fellow self-starters, and maybe even become our celebrated 'Self-Starter of the Week' and tell the world your startup tale! Join right here for free
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
At one-day event Ideation NI Thon, students will get the chance to solve global and local sustainability, environmental, city and health problems.
The lowdown on how an Australian startup generated global sales for their innovative product, "weighted blankets"...
At 82% the UK takes 4th place in the list of countries being most ready for automation and robotics, whilst 30% of UK population’s jobs are at risk of automation.
Recent research by Starling bank shows that in 2019, women earned up to £12,319 less per year than their male colleagues of the same age and within the same industry
Brandtech group, You & Mr Jones, has invested in ethical video startup Good-Loop who have closed a US $1.6m seed funding round.
2019 saw celebrities contribute to start-up investments in record numbers, surpassing a previous spike in 2015.
If you’re feeling under pressure from creditors, here is a brief breakdown of what, in the UK, is considered aggression and harassment from creditors.
The Digital DNA Awards, held in partnership with MCS Group, celebrate the best tech talent, from companies of all sizes, excelling in the world of Digital and Tech and not just in NI...
According to analysis by the Centre for Entrepreneurs, business formations reached new record in 2019 with more than five new tech startups launching every hour...
InsurTech businesses take note! Lloyd’s Lab is back and they are seeking solutions that have the potential to create real commercial value for the Lloyd’s market.
Published on: 22nd January 2014
.png)
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Ideation NI Thon at NI Science Festival sets out to solve global issues 17th Jan 2020 At one-day event Ideation NI Thon, students will get the chance to solve global and local sustainability, environmental, city and health problems.
- 2019 stats show that the gender pay gap continues 14th Jan 2020 Recent research by Starling bank shows that in 2019, women earned up to £12,319 less per year than their male colleagues of the same age and within the same industry
- Digital DNA Awards 2020 nominations now open 13th Jan 2020 The Digital DNA Awards, held in partnership with MCS Group, celebrate the best tech talent, from companies of all sizes, excelling in the world of Digital and Tech and not just in NI...
- Five new tech startups launched every hour in 2019 13th Jan 2020 According to analysis by the Centre for Entrepreneurs, business formations reached new record in 2019 with more than five new tech startups launching every hour...
