PAC Interview: Pete Adams
The Portsmouth Authors Collective is a group of local authors who have come together to promote not only their own work but also that of other members. Members of the Collective publish a full array of fiction and non-fiction titles. In our latest interview, I talk to crime novelist Pete Adams.
~
Loree: Welcome to the blog, Pete, and thanks for agreeing to the interview. We’ve known each other for some time, now, but I’m looking forward to finding out more about you and your ‘writing journey’.
By your own account, you came to writing fairly late. Can you tell us a little about that?
Pete: I
came to reading (novels) late. I’ve a slightly obsessive nature. I am also an
architect and my thoughts were filled always with this, as a student, meeting
my architect heroes – growing intellectual thought in design. I have a
successful practice but when I was 40, a recession hit me. I couldn’t sleep. My
doctor suggested a hobby but I had no other interests.
I went to the central library,
the hobbies section – it was a blur. A librarian took an interest, and when I
told her of my plight she suggested reading (der). I confessed to an
interest in mediaeval history: she suggested The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. And
so commenced my second obsession – I read so much: history, crime and psychological
thrillers.
I would take out ten or more books at a time, and after a while I built an email dialogue with the head librarian, renewing books and then commenting on the books I read. Later, I received an email asking why I was not taking out so many books. I responded that I’d started writing. She actively encouraged me. Libraries and Librarians are so important.
Loree: You’ve published nine novels
so far. That’s pretty impressive. Do you have a writing routine?
Pete: I’ve written 14 books altogether (three are nonsense
tales, written and illustrated by me). Nine books are published, and the other five
are contracted to my publisher. Book ten, Blood
Sport, is due out end of January/February
2023. The immediate sequel, A
Choir of Assassins is planned for
later in the year.
I don’t have a routine as such, unless you count being an early riser (stupid ‘a’ clock according to June, my partner), always between 4 and 5 a.m. For me it’s important NOT to have a writing routine. It’s setting myself up for failure – what if I didn’t write at that time? Having said that, I cannot stand deadlines and try to be at least two books ahead of my publisher.
Loree: What’s your writing process
look like? Do you set yourself goals?
Pete: I
edit strongly as I go along, often rewriting and restructuring, so when I
finish it’s hardly a ‘first draft’. I also have several WIP running at the same
time; currently three books, A
Deadly Queen, Extreme Unction and Pop’s
Dead. I’m also writing for an American
cookbook publication that invited writers from around the world to send a short
story attached to a recipe – my story is called: ‘Cooking the Books’.
Goals? No, except I do know the series will be 14 books long, with an all-embracing title ‘Divine Breath – Sub Rosa’. It is an emotional journey revealing a lot about myself, my history, my beliefs and motivations; sometimes hard to talk about in public.
Loree: Do you seek feedback from beta
readers?
Pete: Beta readers can confuse the hell out of you – I put faith in my abilities. I do use book tours that cover the world and this has given me excellent feedback and reviews from all over—the USA and Australia, India, Philippines, Scandinavia and Europe. My publisher is Scandinavian, with an HQ in Tokyo, and they market internationally, even in China.
Loree: What are the themes you find
yourself returning to?
Pete: I write crime thrillers, but you must look beneath the surface for the real meanings. I always have an underlying theme of social justice but there is more. I’m a strong and proud socialist. As the momentum gathers in the 14-book series, readers are now also realising that the central protagonists are ‘foils’ and the strong characters, driving the plots, are women. Men, with a few exceptions, have fucked this world up … Sub Rosa. All will be revealed in book 13.
Loree: You write about some pretty dark
stuff. Why crime fiction? Do you have connections with the criminal underworld?
Please, fess up.
Pete: I
come from a large London family. Dad was from Stepney, East End, from a ‘shady’
family. He went to school with Charlie Kray. He was a window cleaner in Stepney
where I had a car cleaning round. Dad cautioned me about the East End but I was
in awe of the family and friends. He was a well-liked ‘gentle’ character, a
truly lovely man who did not fit and, he was right. I know this now.
My mum was the 13th child of 14 from Bermondsey, south of the river. A loving beautiful family full of London humour and goodwill – everyone a socialist. “We never sing Land of Hope and Glory because we were forced to sing it in school and we had no shoes”. I grew up with that passion – NOTE: 14 books, revelations in book 13 – coincidence?
Loree: Wow. That’s quite a backstory. I’m sure
there’s still a lot of unmined material there for you.
You started out self-publishing, and your books were later
picked up by a traditional publisher, how did that happen?
Pete: An agent said that describing my books as comedy would not get me a publisher, suggesting that if I self-published I would almost certainly get picked up. He liked my books and guided me. On meeting my first publisher I was told: “I like your crime thrillers. They make me laugh, cry and think.” They marketed my books under crime thrillers.
Loree: Having experienced both sorts
of publishing, do you have any advice to pass on?
Pete: Think
before defining your genre.
To self-publish you need to know
what you are doing. I didn’t, but I was guided and I was lucky, or maybe naïve.
When asked whether I could do something, I answered yes, then worked out how to
do it.
I am currently with Next Chapter,
an excellent publisher. Not one of the mainstream, but certainly one of the
stronger independents. They are supportive, especially considering my books are
not ‘traditional’. A blogger in the US labels them ‘quirky’ and loves them for
that. My current publisher has opened up world-wide markets, with my books,
ebooks, paperbacks, and hardbacks now for sale in bookshops internationally. My
titles are also out in audiobook. If you self-publish that is a hell of a lot
of work and COST.
Whichever route you take, you will have to immerse yourself in the marketing (sigh).
Loree: You’re infamous on Facebook
for your eye-rolling sense of humour and there’s a lot of dark humour in your
books. Ever think about doing stand-up?
Pete: I used to do after dinner speaking. These days I’m too serious, my books ARE serious. If I speak in public these days, sometimes, I cry. I’m an embarrassment. Despite my outgoing persona, I love the solitude of my study and the inside of my head.
Loree: As a writer, what’s been your
proudest achievement?
Pete: Having police officers contact me to say I have it right. I despise cliché cops: ‘Shut it. You— my office now!’ It’s why I introduced Pride and Prejudice into the police station. The central character is Jack (nicknamed Jane) Austin (deliberate misspelling). It all grew from there.
Loree: How has Portsmouth inspired
you?
Pete: Portsmouth
is my adopted home and I love it. Only the Larkin’s Barkin’ books are not set in
Portsmouth, being set in the past in the East End of London. These books provide
roots to how ‘Divine Breath – Sub Rosa’ evolved.
Loree: Thank you for talking to me, Pete. You’ve given us a fascinating glimpse into the man beneath the hat.
Comments