I’m originally from a small village in South-Yorkshire, but I live in Southampton, England with my wife and two (soon to be three) daughters. Apart from writing, most of my time is spent with my family, reading or trying to convince my wife that I don’t need to do the gardening.
2. What is the title of your novel and tell us in three sentences or less what it is about.
Crimes Against Magic is an action-packed, fantasy adventure that mixes the present day with flashbacks to fifteenth century France, in a story that sees Nate fighting against an enemy he can’t remember, but one who will stop at nothing to destroy the man he’s hated for millennia.
3. Tell us about one or two of your characters.
I’ll pick my favourite character who isn’t Nate. Dani is the sixteen year old daughter of his neighbour and someone who looks up to Nate as a sort of refuge from the crap she deals with at home. She plays a pretty big part in the book and her dynamic with Nate was a lot of fun to write.
4. Who designed your book cover?
The incredibly talented Eamon O’Donoghue (see more of his work http://www.eamonart.com/) did the cover for me. He’s an old friend of mine, so I was honoured that he’d agreed to do it.
5. How old were you when you knew you wanted to write?
I’ve always had an imagination, even as a kid I was writing about worlds and creating little stories. But I knew with a hundred percent certainty that I wanted to write since I was about fifteen. It wasn’t until I was 25, with the birth of my first daughter, that I decided to get serious about it.
6. Who inspired you to write?
My two girls and my wife. They inspire me to do pretty much everything.
7. Do you have any advice for other writers?
Join a writing group. This is without doubt an important step in any writer’s career. To learn not only how to receive, but also give criticism is how you grow as a writer.
Write for you. This might be obvious to many, but a lot of people write what they
think others will want to see or read. If you’re not writing that book for yourself, then I can almost guarantee that people will tell you didn’t. You should always write something you’d want to read.
8. If I were to come to your house and open your refrigerator, what would I find? Are any of those items a guilty pleasure used when writing?
My fridge has a lot of the usual things you’d find in anyone’s, I think: Fruit, Veg, yogurts, milk and meat. Oh and probably some beer too. I don’t really do much eating when I’m writing and I try not to drink while I write as it turns out as a gibberish mess.
9. Tell us about your other published stories or novels? Or perhaps, do you have something else in the works that you’d like to share.
I’m working on the second book, Born of Hatred, and apart from that, I’m working on book 3, With Silent Screams. I’m also working on a Steampunk book set in the USA that I’m very excited about. I think it’s a bit different to the usual story, but it’ll have to wait for a while before it’s done.
10. Share with us the sites that we can stalk you on?
You can find me. I accept all non weird treats and gifts.
Blog: http://stevejmchugh.wordpress.com/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/StevejMchugh
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5819903.Steve_McHugh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hiddenrealmspublishing
You can find Crimes Against Magic
Amazon.com -
http://www.amazon.com/Crimes-Against-Hellequin-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B007YK01JY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336987416&sr=8-1
Amazon.co.uk –
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crimes-Against-Hellequin-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B007YK01JY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339421687&sr=8-1
There’s also a paperback version available on Amazon too.
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Thank you Steve for joining us here today!