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Mike Hillier
Mike
has been involved in creative writing for
many years short
stories, articles, technical works, plays,
poetry but primarily writing novels. Six
have been completed to date.
Mike has taken a number of writing courses,
has been a member of several writing
circles, and has attended many conferences
and symposia. His smaller works have won
prizes and achieved publication. His writing
has been praised by many who are
knowledgeable in the field.
However, until recently, writing was only a
hobby. To bring up a family of three
children and see them through university,
Mike has owned and controlled three private
companies.
Now he
feels he can afford to retire to concentrate
on his first love of writing. He has moved
to a self-designed, partly self-build villa
near Spains Costa Blanca from where he
intends to launch himself as a published
author.
His first novel The Eighth Child is to be
published by Libros International in early
2007. Others will follow as soon as the
finishing touches have been applied (see
Future Novels).
Visit
Mike online at
http://www.mikehillier.com
PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading
and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest
influences and why?
Mike Hiller:
I spent my formative years in Devon in South West
England. It is a beautiful area and, as a result,
geographical settings are important to me.
The person who most influenced my early childhood was my
maternal grandmother. Because my parents were away a lot
she controlled much of my upbringing. She was a teacher
so she made me precocious for my age. I always think of
her as the kind of matriarch who built the British
Empire with her insistence on politeness, good manners
and correct behaviour.
PageOneLit.com:
Why do you write?
Mike Hiller:
I went to an English grammar school where a conventional
classical education was followed. English literature was
Shakespeare, Dickens, the Romantic Poets and similar.
Therefore I had little early enthusiasm for literature
although I liked children's adventure stories Enid
Blyton and W E Johns.
My first urge to write struck me in my middle teens when
I fell in love with a girl who was out of my reach. I
wrote a play in which she and I were the heroes, which
has mercifully failed to survive. From then on I was
hooked on writing, firstly as an escape, then as a
desire to create and develop ideas and characters and
maybe even to encourage response.
PageOneLit.com:
Your new book 'The Eighth Child' deals with a lot
Murder, Revenge, Mystery, Suspense how would you
describe this book?
Mike Hiller:
I guess the modern classification would be mystery
thriller. I think of it as an old-fashioned adventure
story (rather in the style of Hammond Innes or Alastair
Maclean. This pits the hero against the forces of evil
and the disinterest of authority, triumphing in the end
due to being right and persevering in the face of great
odds. Quaint, isn't it!
PageOneLit.com:
How does your title 'The Eighth Child' relate to your
plot?
Mike Hiller:
Although the eighth child doesn't appear at the
conclusion and probably hasn't even survived after the
chaos of Europe in the Second World War, he is the
central cause of the murder of Suzanne and the
unravelling of the whole of the remainder of the plot.
PageOneLit.com:
Who is Alan Brady?
Mike Hiller:
Alan is a young architect a very normal young
Englishman who by chance finds himself in the middle of
a set of horrible experiences which have nothing to do
with his own behaviour and over which he seems to have
no control. At first they seem to about to defeat him
but he finds the strength and support to resist and in
time overcome them.
PageOneLit.com:
'The Eighth Child' would make a very good motion picture
if Hollywood called and asked you to cast your
characters who would you cast and why?
Mike
Hiller:
I wouldn't choose the heroic type of actor who strides
rough-shod over all opposition. I would rather have
someone a little less self-confident. I am not very
knowledgeable about the current crop of young actors. I
think I would go for someone like a young Anthony
Andrews or Michael York.
PageOneLit.com:
You have been involved in creative writing for many
years short stories, articles, technical works, plays,
poetry and novels Do you have a favourite form? Why or
why?
Mike Hiller:
I started as a playwright and also wrote poems. Articles
and short stories were technical exercises. I did write
a novella of about 30,000 words but, like many other
writers, I hesitated to plunge into the long hard work
of writing novels. However, once started, I decided the
novel was for me. I like the long slow development of
character and plot finding out how the hero(es) will
deal with their problems. I am also considering
screen-writing because it's the way I like to develop my
novels as a series of scenes.
PageOneLit.com:
What do you hope readers will say after reading 'The
Eighth Child'?
Mike Hiller:
I only aim to entertain. I hope the reader will say 'I
enjoyed that' and then start thinking about trying
another one from the same author.
PageOneLit.com:
What's next?
Mike Hiller: have already completed six novels. The second has been
accepted by my publisher but I am holding back until I
find out whether the first is successful. It is a
similar type of mystery thriller set in Southern Italy
with the complications of the mafia and the volcanic
activity of the region. Other novels include a who-dunnit
and a historical saga both with planned sequels.
PageOneLit.com:
What was the last book you read?
Mike Hiller:
I have just read David Baldacci's' Last Man Standing'. I
found the language difficult and distracting. I recently
read C J Sansom's 'Winter in Madrid' which I thought was
hard work but very satisfying. I am currently reading
'The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail' as research for a
novel set in the Cathar country of Southern France.
PageOneLit.com:
Do have any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance
your writing?
Mike Hiller:
I suppose you would say my main hobby is finishing off
the house we have built in Spain. I also enjoy mountain
walking with friends and dining out. My wife and I like
to travel (currently mainly in Europe). I find the whole
of life is constantly feeding me with new stimulants to
my writing.
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