Author Interview: Dave Flint
Hidden Intentions by Dave Flint
Hey All!
Today is my stop on the Hidden Intentions blog tour and I am here today with an interview with Dave Flint for you all.
Title: Hidden Intentions
Author: Dave Flint
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
Published: 21st July 2020
Format: Paperback
Add It: Waterstones. Goodreads.
Summary: Toby could… and Toby would. ‘Enjoy yourself as you rot, old man. And you’re not my dad – you never were.’ Southern England, September 1957. When thirteen-year-old Toby Mitcher’s mum collapses, never to wake up, Toby’s alcoholic stepfather becomes his legal guardian. He thought life couldn’t get much worse, but was he wrong. Time passes, and an orderly direction comes into his life. That is until problems start and the disappearances begin. No more being put upon or allowing bad situations to happen. From now on, Toby is in control. Or is he?
Interview
What is your favourite thing about writing books?
Firstly, finding an individual then allowing my mind to recreate that character before taking that person on a journey. Getting to know who they are and treating them as a real person. Finding out how their mind works, their likes and dislikes. While holding back something that perhaps even you, the author does not realise is there until you reach a point in the story where it becomes necessary to add it.
Who is your favourite character in your book and why?
In this case, Toby, the main character. Not only is he different from other boys his age, but he also wants to belong somewhere where he can be loved and wanted. Where he can portray himself as the boy he wants to be. But the other side of him, that is something different, something to have fun with as I type the words.
What is your favourite drink to consume while writing?
Ice cold ‘Camp Coffee’ or a dry ginger ale, usually with a whisky added depending on the weather, and the time of day.
Do you have any bad habits while you’re writing?
Getting too carried away with a situation, and having strayed from the story. When I began writing this book, it was 15000 words, and it wasn’t until I checked it properly a few times did I realise how much needed cutting. You hear about it happening, but it hurts to find out you’ve done it.
How did you research your book?
Most of the research came from my head, although the story and character I assure you is fiction. The idea and wood came from travelling around the countryside as a boy with friends. Climbing trees and doing what boys did back in the 1950s. I hope that it captures the era and period that it takes place in.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Most of the research came from my head, although the story and character I assure you is fiction. The idea and wood came from travelling around the countryside as a boy with friends. Climbing trees and doing what boys did back in the 1950s. I hope that it captures the era and period that it takes place in.
If you could live in any fictional world, which would you choose and why?
Wilbur Smith’s, Africa. His Courtney sagas where an individual lived his life as an adventurer. The early books took me through some difficult times, and often I could see myself lost in that story and caper. Those days are gone now, but back then it was somewhere to lose yourself.
If you could befriend any fictional character, who would you choose and why?
Not an easy question. Virgil Tibbs, a black Philadelphia homicide detective from ‘In the heat of the night’ & ‘They call me Mr Tibbs’ The storylines are challenging, yet so impressive. I should imagine the character would find it hard to find a true friend, but once done it, friendship like in my story was there for keeps.
About the Author
Dave Flint has been an avid reader since his twenties. Married at the age of twenty, and eighteen months later with three days' notice, he and his wife discovered their baby was going to be twin girls. He thinks the shock at that time ended their thoughts of having any more children. He served in the Merchant Navy for a short period until he realised being engaged and married, for him, would not work too well. So, he worked in industry and later the aircraft and radar sector until his retirement in 2012 at the age of 64. Finding a hobby, he joined a writing group not knowing where it might lead him. Low and behold all those books he read over the years must have had an impact on him. The writing group he joined gave him encouragement and criticism, enabling him to find his feet in another world. Together, he and his wife have holidayed in many countries. China being the most astonishing last year, they just made that one! They like the scenic trips where they can take in the different wonders of the world, such as in America's Parks and Canyons, Yellowstone, and New Orleans Bayous, Italy's Pompeii, and what its cities have to offer with its past. The Vatican and Rome, Sicily and Etna, The Catacombs and so much more. He did stop in Southern Africa in his early years while in the M.N. that could probably be why he was so taken with Wilbur Smith and his books. Being in good health, he enjoys playing Badminton and going on long walks with the Ramblers group he belongs to, and now looks forward to when he can get back into the swing of things.
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