Today I’m delighted to be hosting author Harvey Black!
Harvey is here to share a little about the inspiration behind his
intriguing military thrillers and to reveal the cover for his latest release ‘The Red Effect’.
So, Harvey, what started you writing about such a fascinating
subject?
I have wanted to write a novel since I was
a teenager. Enthralled by Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, E.E. Doc Smith’s Lensmen
series and Edgar Rice Burroughs, I felt sure my first would be of the SF genre.
Joining the army changed all of that and my
passion now is for military history. ‘Devils with Wings’, a military thriller, based around the adventures of two young
Fallschirmjäger paratroopers during the early part of World War II, is a
fictionalised adventure based on the famous assault on the impregnable Belgian
fortress, Eben Emael.
What do you think makes your books special?
I try to visit the locations in person. For
Devils with Wings: Silk Drop, I walked the routes, up to 18 miles, in Crete, during
the hottest part of the day, where my characters would have marched. Most of the
descriptions in the novel, of what they can see, was written in situ.
I have just finished the first of my Cold
War trilogy of novels, The Red Effect. Having spent a number of years in
British Army Intelligence during the Cold War years, I have a deep insight into
the undercurrents and flashpoints that occurred between the Soviet Union and
the West.
I have number of authors I follow, ranging
from Stephen Leather, Simon Scarrow, Bernard Corwall, Gerald Seymor to Ian
Rankin. Since i have been writing my own novels, I have played a close interest
in newer authors, such as S.J.A.Turney and Stephen England. I am currently
reading 'Marias' Mules' IV.
What is your plan going forward? Do you have other books in the
pipeline?
There will be ten books in the 'Devils with
Wings' series, Book 4, will be published towards the end of the year. The Red
Effect now finished, I will focus on Book 2, The Black Effect, where the
confrontation between East and West continues.
Have you learned from your writing/publishing experience? What will you do differently next time?
More structure to my chapters in advance,
focus on my characterisation and improving my dialogue, key to keeping the
story moving.
Tell us a little about lessons learnt so far?
Edit, edit, edit! Even when you have your
editing done professionally, you still need to check your manuscript again and
again.
Out in April – The
Red Effect.
Thank you so much for sharing with us, Harvey. I would just like to finish by saying I have
read Devils with Wings (recommended by my adult son, who is an avid reader of
historical) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Devils with Wings: ref=sib_dp_kd
Devils with Wings Silk: Drop: ref=sib_dp_kd
Devils with Wings: Frozen Sun: ref=sib_dp_kd
