Book: The Gate In The Fence
Q1. Hello Sir, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
I live in New Zealand, a tiny country at the bottom of the world. There are two main Islands, the North and the South Island. My home town is a beautiful 9km beach location in the North Island of about four thousand people. From the top to the bottom of New Zealand there is amazing scenery, from beautiful sandy beaches to snowcapped mountains, bubbling hot mud pools and paddocks of green, green grass. A great environment for writing a book. I have two adult children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘The Gate In The Fence’ book?
I acquired an aggressive B cell lymphoma cancer when the book was only a few chapters old. I went through ten months of regular three weekly intravenous chemotherapy. I came out the other side but for three years I was very ill and never wrote at all during that time. Then I had a business failure and declined into serious depression. Once again there were long periods of no writing.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
To be honest, I hardly read at all. Maybe one book a year while I am on holiday. My wife is the big reader in our family. I have always been a bit of a story teller though and when I first went into the Airforce, I was asked to write an essay about my life to date. The comment from my instructor was that he had asked for an essay, not a book, so maybe I have always had one in me.
Q4. What’s your favorite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
We live in a pretty special place, so it is hard to find somewhere better to go on holiday. However, we have a timeshare in Fiji and have enjoyed many family holidays there over the years and plan to return to relax, play golf, swim and enjoy the fabulous Fijian hospitality as soon as the pandemic allows. We have also spent a lot of time traveling, working and holidaying all over beautiful New Zealand.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
As this was my first book, I didn’t have a clue where to start. My modus operandi was to start and see where it took me. I wanted to engage the reader right from the start and to draw them further into the story with each page read. I purposely wanted to be edgy, controversial, fast moving with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing what was going to happen next. I was asked to describe the book in one sentence and I replied Fifty Shades of Grey on steroids. It also had to be something I would enjoy reading myself.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘The Gate In The Fence’ book?
Twelve years. There were many times when I thought I would never finish it. It is ironic that illness kept me from writing for long periods, but COVID helped me finish it. Being locked down was the perfect environment to create the discipline I needed to reach the 65,000 word target.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find ‘The Gate In The Fence’ book to buy?
It is available in hardcopy, paperback, audio and ebook. You can buy it from the publisher, Austin Macauley, Amazon, Book Depository, Wheelers and more.
https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/gate-fence
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Gate In The Fence’?
To be honest getting the cover right was harder than writing the book. With the publisher on the other side of the world and people working from home because of COVID it was really hard to convey what I wanted. I ended up doing a hand drawing myself. My objective was to keep it quite simple and plain while trying to convey a little of the mystery and dark side of the story. My perception was that there were not many white coloured covers so that a simple white cover with a black pencil drawing would stand out on the shelf. I can’t wait to see if that works. The title really picked itself. The fence between the neighboring properties in the story has a gate in it and is an integral part of the whole story.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
I was conscious of trying to mix up the chapters. Some short, some a bit longer. I felt this allowed me to keep the story moving by taking the reader from place to place and situation to situation. While wanting to grow the characters, I didn’t spend too much time on this to ensure I didn’t loose the attention of the readers that wanted to know what was happening next, while giving the more intense readers enough information for them to grow each character themselves.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
I don’t want to reveal any secrets, just maybe some advice. Settle in, buckle up make sure you have taken your medication and get ready to spend a lot of time with your nose in this book, because my prediction is you are going to find it hard to put down.
Book Is Available On Amazon
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