An Interview: Sean-Paul Thomas
Author, Sean-Paul Thomas in an interview, spoke to us about what makes him the create inspiring, heart-touching and sincere novels. He also told us how his writings cross-over over various genre at WeLoveQualityBooks.biz.
What makes a novel stand out? Why a writer touches a reader’s consciousness more than the others? Why is the author, Sean-Paul Thomas a wonderful writer? I guess it emanates form his joie-de-vivre and his never-give-up attitude. No wonder, his novels have been recognized with award nominations, wow book reviews and excellent readership. Here are the excerpts.
Among the latest releases by author Sean-Paul Thomas are: ‘The Fairy Boy of the Seven Seas: A Dark, Young Adult, Fantasy Adventure’ that released on March 23, 2017. ‘The Fairy Boy of Calton Hill 3 (The Fairy Boy Chronicles, #3) ‘ was released on June 1, 2017.
WeLoveQuality Books: Sean-Paul, I loved your novel The Old Man and the Princess. What drives you to write novels that touch a reader’s heart?
Sean-Paul Thomas: I just always try to write what I enjoyed reading and watching myself when I was younger. I like stories that are real and that people can resonate with, or have a certain familiarity with while reading them, but I also want them to have a touch of fantasy about them too.
WeLoveQuality Books: Tell us about your journey as a writer.
Sean-Paul Thomas: I started writing screenplays all through my twenties but never really had too much success with them. When I turned 30, I began rewriting those same screenplays as novels instead, and I’ve really enjoyed the process since. I think it’s improved my writing immensely to use some old screenplays as blueprints for more in-depth novels.
WeLoveQuality Books: How much did your background as a child from the army-background mold your writing style?
Sean-Paul Thomas: We used to travel around a lot, so my imagination was always running wild, trying to imagine the next place we were going to live in before we actually went there. It was hard too, always making friends every few years and going to so many different schools that I actually lost count. So sometimes I would rely on books to get me through the hard times of being alone while moving from base to base and settling down all over again.
WeLoveQuality Books: Of all the novels that you’ve written, which one do you most relate to?
Sean-Paul Thomas: I guess Sarah Smiles is the book I most relate too, as it is the book which is most personal and true to me and my family, growing up on one of the many army bases around the world that we lived on.
WeLoveQuality Books: Have you ever faced the writer’s block? How have you coped with it, if you did?
Sean-Paul Thomas: Sometimes yeah. Going for a walk is good. Mediating is good too. Or just standing on your head for 30 seconds. LOL. What works best for me though is leaving half-finished sentences from where I last left off in a chapter, just so I can start writing a few words and sentences immediately, once I open up that unfinished book again.
WeLoveQuality Books: As a writer, I sometimes get so carried away by my day to day life, that I can’t put my creativity into writing. Other writers might be struggling in a similar fashion. What would be your advice for us?
Sean-Paul Thomas: Try and figure out what time of day you are at your most creative. Morning, afternoon or night? And put an hour aside to read through your own work and write a little too. Turn off the internet. Put your phone on silent or airplane mode, just to make sure there are no distractions and then just simply read through your own work and write too, if you can. Improve on that work and try to make it better.
WeLoveQality Books: The Old Man and the Princess was very well received. Please tell us about the awards.
Sean-Paul Thomas: Yes, it was nice to be nominated for my first award, even though it didn’t win, but it was still really cool all the same. It’s encouraged me now to spend more time on marketing the book further in the future and also to start entering some book competitions to try and boost my profile a little more this year.
WeLoveQuality Books: How about your new novel The Fairy Boy of Calton Hill? What can the readers expect from the novel?
Sean-Paul Thomas: Yeah, I just released part 3 there, so it’s continuing on from the first two books. The world is getting bigger and bolder and more adventurous, and more characters are being introduced too, so it is a challenge to keep track of what’s happening. But I’m having a lot of fun writing it and book 4 should be out later this year too.
WeLoveQuality Books: Some of your works are being adapted into screenplays. Isn’t it exciting to see your work in a different medium?
Sean-Paul Thomas: Yes, I’ve been adapting the books myself back into screenplays again and just slowly submitting them to different producers. I’ve had some good keen interest in a few of them, but it’s a long process, so I’m really hoping that one of them gets picked up this year.
WeLoveQuality Books: What do you think is the highlight of your writing career?
Sean-Paul Thomas: I’ve only been writing books for a couple of years now, so I hope all my best highlights are still yet to come, but getting some recognition for the old man and the princess was very personally pleasing.
WeLoveQuality Books: What are your other interests apart from writing?
Sean-Paul Thomas: I love traveling, hiking, following Scottish football and my team Hibernian FC of Edinburgh. I go to all their home matches. I love playing tennis too. I also used to be a rugby player in my twenties, but too many injuries forced me to give up playing, which I miss so much.
WeLoveQuality Books: Your work is relatable to a different audience and it makes an impact on everyone. How do you cross-over between different types of the audience when you write?
Sean-Paul Thomas: I just enjoy writing in many different genres. I know a lot of writers and readers prefer authors to write in just one particular genre, but I have so many different ideas that cross genres all the time that I just don’t care what people think anymore. If a story resonates with me and I feel really passionate about it and the story and the characters, then I will try to write it to the best of my ability, regardless if it is romance or a sci-fi, period, horror lol.
WeLoveQuality Books: Did you ever face failure in your profession? How did you overcome it?
Sean-Paul Thomas: Yes, all the time. Which is why I don’t just stop at writing one book. I want to write dozens so that my writing is always improving and getting better, and then I will assess where I am when I have around 20 or so books out. Nothing sells forever, so you have to keep coming up with new ideas, new stories, and new adventures and hope that one of them will pick up a good audience, which is why I have recently been getting into writing a series.
WeLoveQuality Books: Where do you draw your inspirations from?
Sean-Paul Thomas: Everywhere and from anything. Even just out walking in the mornings before I write. Sometimes a TV show or an interview I see on YouTube will inspire me, or even reading about some crazy story in the paper or on the local news, and I’m like, damn, that would make a good book.
WeLoveQuality Books: Please tell us where we can get your wonderful work from? I am sure, the readers would want to read all your novels.
Sean-Paul Thomas: I can leave some links below, but mostly just from Amazon right now. But I hope to be able to create a website soon where I can sell them directly to readers from there too.
WeLoveQuality Books: Is there a blog or page, your fans can follow you on?
Sean-Paul Thomas: Yes, you can follow me on Facebook or Goodreads.