Bill Ward
About Bill
Bill’s love of reading commenced at a very young age. A long and successful career in IT saw him live and travel all over the world. With hindsight it was the start of his writing fiction but they were called business proposals in those days! Recently retired from the corporate world, Bill has finally fulfilled his lifelong ambition to become an author and has now written two thrillers, with the expectation of many more to follow.
Bill lives in Brighton, UK with his German partner and has seven daughters, a son, two horses, a dog and two cats! When he’s not writing he’s probably watching his football team West Brom, who he has now been supporting for over fifty years!
Want to know more?
1. When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?
I enjoyed telling stories when I was at boarding school and I read huge amounts as a child. In my mid twenties I purchased an old fashioned typewriter and started writing my first book.
2. In what kind of environment do you work best in?
I like to be alone in my office at home without too many distractions.
3. What's your favourite thing about being a writer?
Creating interesting characters and imaginative plots, which is my form of escapism from normal life.
4. How did you come up with the idea for your latest book?
My new thriller Encryption tackles very topical issues. The leaks by Snowden reveal how everything we write is being read by the world’s security services. Encryption will make readers think about our respective governments and the things they do in our name.
While the story is fundamentally a murder mystery it raises important questions about our privacy, the role of the NSA and GCHQ in our daily lives, and what sort of world we want to inhabit.
5. Do you ever base your characters on people you know?
My characters are not exact replicas of real people but I take bits from different people and meld them into a single character.
6. Do you ever wish that some of your characters were real?
Some of them seem very real to me!
7. What do your family and friends think about your book/s?
Everyone is generally very positive and supportive.
8. Do you plan out your books or do you just go with the flow?
I try to do a bit of planning but I'm usually deflected from my original plans as I write.
9. Who is your favourite author?
I have read a load of Simon Scarrow over the last couple of years but there are many others I love.
10. What’s your favourite genre?
Thrillers and historical adventures set in Roman times.
11. What’s next for you?
I am halfway through writing a new thriller, which will be published in March.
12. What advice would you give to someone just starting out?
Make sure your book is professionally edited, has a great cover and plan all your marketing. If you are new to selling and marketing then soak up the multitude of free advice from various sources. If you don't make people aware you have a book it won't sell.
13. What’s your favourite movie?
Impossible question! I always loved Spartacus but there are so many others. I've seen Annie and Paddington recently and they were both great films!
14. If you were stranded on an island which three items could you not live with out?
My wife, football team and PC but of course that is a daft answer!
15. If you could be born in another time when would you choose and why?
I think the further you go back in time, the greater the poverty and life was simply more difficult so I would prefer to stay as close to present times as possible.
16. What’s your favourite season and why?
Summer. Winter is so depressing in the UK and I hate getting up in the dark!
17. What’s your favourite writing snack/ drink?
Champagne or a beer.
18. How do you cope with distractions?
I am not easily distracted, which annoys my wife when she is trying to get my attention.
19. What would be your ideal holiday?
Hawaii
20. If you weren’t a writer what would your dream job be?
Prime Minister
21. Sweet or sour?
Sour to eat but of course I am sweet!
22. What three words best describe you?
Confident, focused, friendly.
23. Would you prefer a quiet night in or a night on the town?
A night on the town.
24. What has been the best day of your life so far?
I have 8 fantastic kids so their births have been the most memorable days.
25. If you could go back in time what one piece of advice would you give yourself?
get a book published much younger rather than pursue corporate work goals.
26. Do you believe in fate?
Yes. "All is best, though we oft doubt, what the unsearchable dispose of highest wisdom brings about!" Milton, Samson Agonistes.
27. If you only had one more day to live how would you spend it?
With my family at home.
28. For many of us writing is not our full time job, what is yours?
I retired to become a full time writer exactly 2 years ago aged 59.
Encryption
In a small software engineering company in England, a game changing algorithm for encrypting data has been invented, which will have far reaching consequences for the fight against terrorism. The Security Services of the UK, USA and China all want to control the new software.
The Financial Director has been murdered and his widow turns to her brother-in-law to help discover the truth. But he soon finds himself framed for his brother’s murder.
When the full force of government is brought to bear on one family, they seem to face impossible odds. Is it an abuse of power or does the end justify the means?
Only one man can find the answers but he is being hunted by the same people he once called friends and colleagues.
The Financial Director has been murdered and his widow turns to her brother-in-law to help discover the truth. But he soon finds himself framed for his brother’s murder.
When the full force of government is brought to bear on one family, they seem to face impossible odds. Is it an abuse of power or does the end justify the means?
Only one man can find the answers but he is being hunted by the same people he once called friends and colleagues.
Buy it here:
amazon.com/Bill-Ward/e/B00F154DZ2/re
amazon.co.uk/Bill-Ward/e/B00F154DZ2/re
Still want to know more?
You can find Bill here:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/billward10bill
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillWardBoooks
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