Interview with a Writer #3

I haven’t done these in a while. I think my last Interview with a Writer post, was at the very start of my blog. So I’m very happy to be back with this series and to have a very exciting guest on this post.

My guest author for this post is Sean Armstrong. He was born in Staffordshire, England in 1985. When he took his GCSEs in Burslem, he took courses such as Food Safety, First Aid and excelled in skills such as Maths and English. In 2006 he participated in the Prince’s Trust twelve-week program based on team working skills as well as basic skills. In 2015, Sean gained a Business Administration qualification Level Two in City and Guilds as well as a CLAIT Word Level one. He also gained a Level Two NVQ in Children’s Care Learning and Development. His writing journey began in 2019 when after a breakup, he wanted to take on a new challenge and started writing two manuscripts for his current series, The Green Girl.

For the following two years, Sean saw himself continuing with the series so he wrote a further two more books. Currently, he is writing books five and six hoping to complete the series. Sean has mild cerebral palsy and learning difficulties but it hasn’t had any bearing on his ability as a writer. Sean has a wide range of hobbies and interests ranging from photography, food, and drinks, traveling, film and documentaries, watching live performances, walking, taking an interest in politics as well as socializing with friends and family. I am honored to introduce Sean Armstrong and that he would take the time to do an interview with me. Here is that interview:

1. How long have you been writing

I first started writing in 2017 when I wrote fan fiction however, I first started writing my first two manuscripts for my Green Girl Series in 2019 after a relationship breakup.

2. I see that you have dabbled in other pursuits such as Business and Children’s Care Learning. I am curious to know, what drove you to start this new adventure in writing books. Do you recall where your interest in writing originated?

After completing both of these courses I could find work so I decided that I wanted to challenge myself and that was when I started writing.

3. Do you have a specific writing style?

My style tends to involve fast-paced action.

4. Have you tried your hand at poetry as I can see you are primarily a novel writer? Have you ever written or attempted to write a short story or poetry? And if not, would you ever dabble into that form of writing? 

Yes, that would really interest me.

5. What books have influenced your life and your writing?

The Lord of the Rings, I Robot The Illustrated Man, and The War of the Worlds

6. What authors/poets do you idolize or enjoy?

Ray Bradbury, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Arthur C Clark, Neil Gaiman

7. Do you have a process that you go through when you are writing such as locking yourself in your room etc?

Normally locking myself on my own in my room. 

8. In your opinion, what is the hardest part of writing?

Thinking of new ideas to make the story fresh.

9. What inspired the idea for the Green girl and the Serum?

I had the idea from a number of different sources. The first was The film Unbreakable where the main character doesn’t realize that he is a superhero this made me think about the idea for the Green Girl.  Another inspiration was the Metal Gear Solid game series I loved the twists of the plot as the story developed.

10. I see that Green girl and the Serum is in the YA genre. Do you like writing for a younger audience? What got you to write in that genre of fiction? Yes, I find it easier sometimes to write for a younger audience. 

11. Can we expect more adventures from Stacey the green girl ( more books after this one)?

I have written another three books and am currently writing books five and six completing the series. 

12. What books are you reading at the moment?

The Void Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton

13. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers out there?

Everyone has the ability to write a decent story just keep going and also keep challenging yourself. 

I am grateful for this interview I had with Sean Armstrong. It was a real pleasure talking to him about writing and books. I hope to do more of these down the line because I create connections with people who have the same interests and aspirations as you. I love to hear from published authors their stories of how they got published and my favorite question is what advice would you give to aspiring writers?! Thank you, Sean Armstrong, for your time and your answers. If you want to check out his latest book, The Green Girl and the Serum, or want to find out more about him, follow the links below to his socials and his Goodreads page. Hope you enjoyed this post and see you in the next one.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59027743-the-green-girl-and-the-serum?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=YFQknxJEH2&rank=1

Twitter handle: @SeanArmstrong85

https://www.facebook.com/sean.armstrong.7315720/