Author: Andrew R. Williams
Question and Answer Interview:
Where did you grow up?
I was brought up in the north of England. Until eight, I lived in Droylsden near Manchester, then my parents move to Frodsham. At the time, Frodsham was just a small village. It is now much larger as new housing estates grew up.
Tell us your latest news?
A few weeks ago, I made the big decision to retire. I am now concentring on my writing but it is still a hobby. The big excitement is I have been invited to Comic Com in Liverpool in November. Hopefully, I will speak to readers there, interest them in by books and hopefully convert them to loyal fans.
When and why did you begin writing?
I began writing fiction following the 2005 publication of his first book, a technical tome about domestic building surveys. As technical writing was a success, I decided to write science fiction, but my first attempts ended up in the bin.(reference files on my computer)
Do you have writing goals?
My late mother said on several occasions, “You’ll never write anything. You haven’t got an imagination.” I hope she wasn’t right. Four sci-fi books and a novel published, and I can feel another one coming on!
I am hoping to increase my readership by going to events like Comic Com. See above.
If anyone would like to join me on facebook, on my website or gateway please do
My GATEWAY
https://www.arwilliamsgateway.com/ Will be open soon
Tell us about Arcadia's Children 4: Exodus and what inspired you to write it?
Arcadia’s Children 4: Exodus is a natural progression from the other three books in the series.
So what is Arcadia’s Children 4 : Exodus about?
I will quote from the book blurb
Ed Pushley is a dangerous man. With his mind being influenced by the spirit of a dead spettro he agrees to go to Midway and buy teleport equipment so that the Great Ones can leave Arcadia, a dying world. Yalt also goes with him.
Mick Tarmy, Claire Hyndman and Nonie Tomio (together with Alex, Claire’s TK5 protection droid) set off in pursuit.
Unbeknown to Tarmy, Samantha the insane robotic leader of Arden sends Lon Freedon and one of her Black Clad henchmen after Ed Pushley too.
Will Tarmy managed to stop Ed Pushley from teleporting the evil Great Ones to Midway?
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Arcadia’s Children 4: Exodus is very much the product of my imagination but Jim’s Revenge one of my previous novels is very much based upon incidents I have witnessed.
For instance, the “real” Jim was bullied and I witnessed it. The drug barons’s house is based on a house I visited to carry out a building survey. The whole house was surrounded in gravel and had an CCTV system. Inside the house the doors had been replaced with solid core doors lined with metal.
What writers have most influenced your life most?
I wanted to write action science fiction adventures for a long time. The writers who have probably influence me are W E Johns (in my younger days) John Wyndham, Nevil Shute, H G Wells, Isaac Asimov, Dennis Wheatley, L Ron Hubbard, Valdimir Penikov and I love films like The Terminator series, Alien series and Dr Strangelove. I am trying to write in that kind of tradition.
Currently working on
I am currently working on a sequel to Jim’s Revenge. The working title is Superior.
It is another sci-fi novel, but the setting is not in deep space. It’s in the north of England (mainly in a town called Tipham)
The drug, Ambronootrop, is initially hailed as the new wonder drug. It is supposed to increase intelligence. American students buy it on the black market because they want to pass their exams. Owing to many deaths attributed to the drug, its production is banned in the USA.
The Hashwood Trust buys the company manufacturing Ambronootrop and starts illegally manufacturing in the UK. They have a plan to use Ambronootrop to permanently alter the human genome. The chosen ones will become Superior and rule the country (and who knows, maybe the whole world.)
Do you see writing as a career?
At the moment, I would like to a lot more writing, but it is basically a hobby.
Who designed the covers?
The cover for Arcadia’s Children 4 : Exodus was designed by Liam Ryan liam@akomcreative.co.uk
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
In the past, time has always been the enemy. With COVID outbreak the time I could write was extended.
Further Information
RETIRED Rainhill chartered surveyor Andrew Williams isn’t like most 70-somethings.
When the UK went into lockdown last year, Andrew sat down with his trusty word processor, and set about writing his fourth sci-fi novel.
Now Arcadia’s Children 4: Exodus is about to be published, following the success of the first three novels in the Arcadia’s Children series.
Andrew began writing fiction following the 2005 publication of his first book, a technical tome about domestic building surveys aimed at other chartered surveyors.
He said: “I’d always loved fiction – as a lad I loved Biggles and Ian Fleming – so I thought I’d have a go at writing a novel.
“The first novel took me about 20 attempts to write but since then it’s been like ‘Whoosh!’ and when lockdown happened, I wrote a lot more.
“I didn’t feel bad about sitting down and writing – I just thought, I’m trapped here, I might as well get on with it!
“I’m a lot quicker now too – I get the idea in my head and then it almost kind of writes itself. it’s like the characters themselves write it!”
Andrew’s novels are published under the name Andrew R Williams, and he explained: “The R stands for Richard.
“I went with that because if you type in ‘Andrew Williams’ into Google about 200 different people come up. At one point I discovered that a guy in Wales was getting loads of emails intended for me!”
Until a few weeks ago, Andrew’s business was still an ongoing concern, but now he has fully left the chartered surveying behind and is focusing entirely on his writing.
Does he have any regrets about not taking it up earlier?
“No, not at all. I don’t think I could have written the way I can now when I was younger.
“Although my books are mainly science fiction, I like to draw upon actual history and politics. In Exodus, I have dual planets, one of which has direct access to the other – I was thinking about Ireland and England when I was writing that.
“In some of the other books, I also made oblique references to the SS.
“And although I’m spending 6-7 hours a day on the writing at the moment, it’s still a hobby. I like being able to enjoy my retirement with my wife!”
Despite classing his writing as a hobby, Andrew’s novels have been greeted with some rave reviews on Amazon and book review sites, with one reviewer calling Arcadia’s Children 1: Samantha’s Revenge a “captivating sci-fi fantasy story that will keep you reading until you have finished the last page.”
AC4: Exodus is a chase across space, with our three heroes Mick Tarmy, Claire Hyndman and Nonie Tomio setting off in pursuit of the dangerous Ed Pushley as he attempts to transport the evil leaders of dying world Arcadia to Midway – with Samantha, the insane robotic leader of nearby world Arden – also on Pushley’s trail.
Later in the year, Andrew is heading for Liverpool Comic Con, where he’ll be available to answer questions, meet fans and sign copies of all his books.
– Arcadia’s Children 4: Exodus by Andrew R Williams is published on July 5. Find out more about Andrew and his novels at andrewrwilliamsauthor.co.uk
