Andrew Harding

The story in my trilogy had turned out to be strange, fascinating and shocking; born from an incident that happened to me a decade before. I knew then that writing fantasy was for me. My sister’s comment, saying my next books should have more guts to them; meaning gritty, set me on the road for my series of books.

I’m a panster. All I have is a glimmer of an idea and find a title to keep people guessing as to why I’ve chosen it. The characters definitely choose me. It’s the only way to describe it and they tell the story. All their quirks are laid bare for the reader, and me, as I have no idea where each book is going from the off. It’s exciting. I cannot describe how much I love this new world I’ve stumbled into.

Eighteen hour days are the norm for me and have been all my working life, but the diversity of jobs we have to master in the writing world, being an Indie author, is immense. Keeping all those plates spinning could get me a job in a circus, if I had the time.

As each book is published, a bit more marketing encroaches on the time I’d like to be writing. The only way around it is to become more adept at all the other jobs attached to the craft, freeing precious time. When I’ve finished scheduling the promo for my books, I look at my clock and know that I have a good twelve hours to write. Deep into the small hours is my usual finishing time. From midnight, Twitter, where I promote my books and where I keep up with my readers, slows down. It’s the best time of day for me. Once I’ve written a large scene, I go back and write in all the intricacies in the story. It should come alive on the page and fill the reader’s mind so that they feel like a watcher inside the world I’ve created. If I spend a whole weekend on a few hundred words, it was well spent in my book – never begrudged.

My characters are quirky. They aren’t completely human, either. A new breed and right bang in the middle of our lifetime; working for MI5 in the police force. Being totally dedicated to their jobs; dealing with the most gruesome serial murders that have become the norm, there’s a flip-side, and their extreme lifestyle where they let off steam is accepted by the powers-that-be. They make the most of every spare minute, be it with music, eroticism or just plain fun as they are on permanent call-out. No matter what they’re doing they drop everything for the job.

Split Decisions Book 1 tells how the first two hybrids become a couple. Yes, I’d written some erotica in the trilogy but this was a different kettle of fish, entirely. The word extreme kept filling my head. They were outrageous in every other aspect of their lives, so why not in their love life? Now I was liberated. No constraints and the characters took me on a journey I never thought anyone would touch with a barge-pole. By the time I was on chapter fourteen I approached a publisher to see if I was writing rubbish, or come to that, would anyone print a book that was so shocking and explicit in every respect.

They requested the full manuscript a few weeks after my submission of four chapters, and five weeks later I received the contract for my first book. I won’t go into detail about that year, apart from this: by the time book one was published I’d written the first four in the series. Critical Moments, book two, was published a month later. I hold copyright and published them as ebooks. My publishing experience put me through the worst year of my life and I don’t say that lightly.

The other three titles in the series: Devil’s Dyke, Wet Daddy and Medium Rare are published as ebooks. I’m currently writing #6 Dydimus. The series is seriously graphic, so be prepared to be shocked. Each book has a unique crime although the back-story runs across the series. You’ll see the cell of hybrids grow, breaking new ground in the police force, as well as witnessing their totally outrageous lifestyle.

Andrew Harding
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ebooks:

Critical Moments Book 2                        Devil’s Dyke Book 3                           Wet Daddy Book 4                          Medium Rare Book 5