A Perfect 10 with Allan Hudson

This week, I have the pleasure of featuring Author Allan Hudson on this edition of A Perfect 10.

Please enjoy this week’s installment of A Perfect 10

If you want to check out past interviews, you can find them in the following links:

A.C. Flory, Steve Boseley, Kayla Matt, Mae Clair, Jill Sammut, Deanna Kahler, Dawn Reno Langley, John Howell, Elaine Cougler, Jan Sikes, Nancy Bell, Nick Davis, Kathleen Lopez, Susan Thatcher, Charles Yallowitz, Armand Rosamilia, Tracey Pagana, Anna Dobritt, Karen Oberlaender, Deby Fredericks, Teri Polen, Darlene Foster, Robert Rayner, C.C. Naughton, Sherry Rentshler, Linda Bradley, Luna St. Clair, Joan Hall, Staci Troilo

Also, if you are an author and you want to be part of this feature, I still have a few slots open for 2017. You can email me at don@donmassenzio.com

---

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Writing has not yet gone beyond being a hobby for me at this point so I find it very soothing, very relaxing to be able to sit at the keyboard and wrap myself up in a story. There is only myself and my characters and their antics. I love that feeling. So in that sense I guess I find it energizing.

Do you ever write under a pseudonym? If not have you considered it? Why or why not?

I have never contemplated a pseudonym. Perhaps you may think it vain, but to see my name on a novel I’ve written has been a dream for many years. With the completion of my first book, the box with the first copies arrived and when I lifted that first one out, the title stood out dramatically and there in smaller print on the bottom was my name. What a feeling of accomplishment. I’ll never forget it. So, no pseudonym at present.

Does a big ego help or hurt writers? Why or why not?

I don’t think you need a big ego to write well or if being humble makes you a better writer. I know a few authors that perhaps hold themselves in high regard and they do write neat stories but in my opinion, as a person, they don’t garner the same respect as someone who presents their efforts as a work of love for the enjoyment of the readers.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

Hiring an editor has absolutely been the best move financially I’ve made and I feel that any author must. I prefer to self-publish and would never consider going to print without this professional service. It’s as important as an experienced cover artist. I made many mistakes with my first novel but it has been a tremendous learning experience and with my second novel, I will spare no expense in having it properly edited.

What does writing success look like to you? Have you achieved it?

We all measure success differently, of course. Seeing my book in print, the most gratifying thing for me in my writing is having a reader buy my book and tell me how much they enjoyed it. So in that sense, yes I believe I’ve been successful. I honestly would like to be able to support myself financially with my writing and I’ve not achieved that yet. Perhaps someday.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? What sources do you use?

I do very little research in the beginning of a story. I have a very brief outline of what I want to write about and how it might end. When I do need to research something I do it when the subject comes up in the story. The internet has been a tremendous help in researching as well as Google Earth when I want to visit different locales. I also take advantage of my local library which is most helpful. I am presently writing an historical fiction which requires much more research than my previous novels and I enjoy digging into the past. I would like to be able to visit the countries that I write about but that is not always practical.

How do you select the names of your characters? Have you ever regretted choosing a particular name? Why?

When I create a character, I can already envision them in my mind and I try to find a name that seems appropriate for that image. Sometimes I use friends and family names if the name is complimentary to the character and the person I take the name from. My first novel takes place mainly in Bangladesh and I was very fortunate to meet a photographer online that was very helpful with the story, both with his photos and advice, so as a way to thank him, I named a minor character after him.

There have been a few times that I regretted the choice I made with a name because as the character developed, the name didn’t seem to fit. That’s an easy problem to remedy by changing it to something more appropriate.

What is the hardest type of scene to write?

I find fight scenes the most difficult, where to draw the line whether  the aggression goes on too long. I’ve read some stories where the fights have gone on so long that I wonder how the hero is still standing. I feel that the fight sequence must be realistic enough to keep the reader involved, not too long and not so short as to be unbelievable. This one I worry over.

If you could have dinner with four people, living or dead, who would they be and what would you want to ask them?

Number one would be Bryce Courtenay. Mr. Courtenay started writing when he was 55 and went on to pen 20 best sellers before he passed away last year at the age of 80. I love his stories, how he tells a tale. He is my favorite author. I always wanted to write and it was his beginnings that inspired me to get started. I would want to ask him about his writing habits.

I would treasure an afternoon with musician JJ Cale. I have been listening to his music since the early seventies and always have one of his discs on the spinner. JJ has been called a musician’s musician. He has been covered by many others, most notably, Eric Clapton. Very humble, not much is known about him. I would ask him to tell me about his childhood.

I would like to spend time with my mother again. She was a school teacher and taught me to read and write even before I started to attend classes. She brought home the Dick & Jane books and then I discovered the Hardy Boys and she never said no if I wanted a book. I’d like for her to know of the stories I wrote.

I’d like to meet Clint Eastwood. I think he is one of the top directors alive today. It would be a treat to talk about the early spaghetti westerns he starred in and the aggressive attitude he developed in so many of the characters he portrayed, the tough unbeatable hero.

What platform has brought you the most success in marketing your books?

Interesting enough, it has been the local stores and book stores that have sold the most books for me. I have not been overly successful with online sales. My blog has been helpful in getting readers to my amazon pages. I use Facebook a lot as well as Twitter. This has been a new experience for me and with my second novel being published soon I have developed a more thorough sales plan of getting on the road and selling my books everywhere I can. I want to write better stories which appeal to a larger audience and keep my fingers crossed.

Allan’s Book:

Wall of War.

In 1953, an amateur rock climber makes a startling discovery while scaling a sheer cliff in Ollantaytambo, Peru, not far from the mountain fortress of Machu Picchu. The discovery is not only extraordinary in the monument that has been created but that it has been built and left in a giant cavern where no one can see it.

The rock climber is a priest. Confused and amazed, he hurries back to his parish to document his find. The hour is late and weariness prevents him from finishing the details. Before he can complete his instructions, he dies in an auto accident. The secret remains hidden for another 51 years.

In 2004, Miguel Pisconte, recovers an artefact and an unfinished manuscript. The discovery is beyond belief. But not to others whose greed supersedes common sense. Pisconte is soon on the run with a lost treasure and a dead body in his closet. He needs to reach Drake Alexander, the man that he grew up with. Alexander is a Canadian ex-soldier with no qualms of taking the law in his own hands.