Interview with thriller author Ian Walkley

Today we have thriller author Ian Walkley to tell us a bit about himself and his novel No Remorse.

Ian is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn commentor during this virtual book tour. If you want to be entered in the drawing, make sure to leave your e-mail address with your comment below. And to increase your chances of winning, follow his tour and comment at other stops.

Bio:

Prior to becoming a novelist, Ian Walkley was a social and market researcher, managing a successful market research agency and a regular contributor to a national marketing magazine. He co-authored and edited two publications on small business.

Ian began writing No Remorse in 2008 and it was published in January 2012 by Marq Books. He is currently writing his second novel and planning the sequel to No Remorse. He continues to undertake marketing consulting part-time.

Ian enjoys applying experience from consumer research to the motivations and behavior of characters, and researching the locations, weapons and other technical aspects of his stories.

He lives in Brisbane, Australia with his wife and three children.

Welcome, Ian. Please tell us about your current release.

No Remorse is a fast paced action thriller. The independent Kirkus Reviews described the book thus: “Walkley’s beefy prose and rousing action sequences deliver a thriller to satisfy any adrenaline addict.”

A top Amazon reviewer said of No Remorse: "It has more action, more adventure and more thrills per page than any novel I have recently read." 

While it is primarily a plot-driven romp, the novel also considers a number of topical themes, from slavery to corruption in the global financial system, terrorism, and the illegal arms trade.

The story follows Lee McCloud, an ex-soldier and Tally, a female computer geek, in the search for two teenage girls kidnapped in Mexico. They find themselves caught up in a global network of slave traders and terrorists, and a conspiracy that sees them as disposable in a much broader plot.

What inspired you to write this book?

I used to travel a good deal for work, and frequently bought a book at the airport to read on the plane. I wrote this book for people who are usually too busy to read. It's not meant to be deep, just a book you can’t put down. It appeals to both male and female readers who like action thrillers. And while it is plot driven, its themes about the mistreatment of women, human trafficking, and the manipulation of the financial system have been described as a reflection of reality, but at times confronting.

Excerpt:

The long journey had been a nightmare, bouncing along in trucks and noisy cargo planes. First, they had thrown Sophia and Danni into the back of a truck filled with crates of vegetables, barely enough room to move, struggling to breathe in air that reeked like steamed cabbage. Crammed in with them were two others, Jeanette from Toronto, and Erika, from Sweden, who explained in stilted English that she was an exchange student, taken in Mexico City. Jeanette cried as she told them three men grabbed her as she was walking through the grounds of her hotel to the pool. The two bottles of water they’d been given were soon empty, and they sucked water from the lettuce leaves in one of the crates. Sophia tried to reassure the others, to talk her own confidence up. Air trickling in through a small ventilation grill couldn’t disperse the heat and fumes, and after a while Jeanette began to retch. The stench was revolting, and soon all four of them had emptied their stomachs into a plastic bucket they found in the corner.

"I'm so sorry, Sophe." Danni said, as the truck lumbered along. "I wish I'd never suggested we go shopping by ourselves."

Sophia shook her head and held Danni close and said words she was not so sure of herself. "They'll get us back, I'm sure of it." Still, she cursed herself for nagging their parents to let her and Danni go shopping. It should have been safe, only ten minutes from their hotel. But it wasn’t.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m working on a crime thriller set in Australia. There’s a preview at the end of No Remorse. It is about a woman vigilante Kasey who acts as bait to catch bad guys. When she goes to a country town called Deception Crossing to look after her dying husband she encounters an American she was in love with several years before she met her husband. There are lots of bad things happening in Deception Crossing and soon Kasey and the American find themselves and their loved ones under serious threat.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Good question. I guess because I always wrote reports in my job I thought I was a writer all my life. But after finishing the first draft of No Remorse I realized I was only just a babe in the woods as far as creative writing goes. I learned a lot in the three and a half years it took to get No Remorse to a publishable condition. But I’m still learning every day, and I am years from being experienced.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Because I work as a consultant, I tend to have short-term projects. Which means I divide my time between marketing the first book (25%), writing (50%) and consulting (25%). And I do housework and walk the dogs too.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I'll get up at odd hours in the middle of the night to write for an hour or two. And after reading someone else’s novel I sometimes find myself writing in their style. But the editing brings it back to my hard-boiled, fast paced style.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A pilot in the air force. Unfortunately, my hearing wasn’t good enough when I went for the tests.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

The two best things I did as an aspiring writing were to attend writing courses, and to employ an editor to help improve my manuscript. I would recommend those things to anyone else with ambitions to become a writer.

What are some way readers can connect with you?

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks, Ian. Readers, remember to leave your e-mail addy with your comment if you want a chance at the $50 Amazon gift card giveaway!