Featured Interview With Christopher Hepworth
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in England and raised in Zambia like my hero Wilbur Smith. As a child of eight, I would travel between my boarding school in the north of England and my family home in Lusaka, Zambia. I developed a deep affinity for the people of Africa and its spectacular natural wonders. My favourite spot in the whole world is the Luangwa Valley game reserve in eastern Zambia.
When I left university in the UK I became a procurement manager in London working for prestigious firms such as IBM and Goldman Sachs before meeting my Australian wife and emigrating to Sydney. I have settled in the Sutherland Shire in the south of Sydney for over twenty years and have four children aged 19, 18, 16 and 12.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always had a fascination for books since I started reading at five years of age. I wrote extensive diaries as a teenager and would have numerous pen friends on the go throughout my twenties to whom I would write long and amusing letters.
I started writing novels a few years ago when I missed out on a promotion at work that would have had me flying around the world at least once a month. Rather than feel sorry for myself, I decided I would do something constructive with the time I had been given back in my life and hence my writing career was born.
Much of the time I find for writing comes while watching my children play representative cricket on the fields of the Sutherland Shire. It’s amazing how many sentences can be written between the fall of wickets.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I grew up on the adventure books of Wilbur Smith who wrote about the plains of Africa, but I particularly enjoyed his Ancient Egyptian stories. He made them so real that you could almost imagine yourself in the year 1500 BC. I also enjoyed Frederick Forsyth (Day of the Jackal), Tom Clancy’s earlier books and all the historical fiction of Bernard Cornwell. If I were skilled enough I would write nothing but historical fiction!
I also love authors who are able to include subtle elements of humour into their thriller novels despite the seriousness of their genre. It is a rare and precious skill and provides a much needed break in the relentless tension that can sometimes make thrillers hard work to read. An absolute master of this art is Peter James with his DI Grace books. His novels are so good that I was inspired to finally put pen to paper and emulate his style as best I could in my own writings.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called the Nocnista Agenda. I was inspired by my wife who kept advising our kids not to put any photos or personal information on Facebook or the internet as it would come back to haunt them. ‘Now there’s a great idea for a book’, I thought! And so was born the social media tycoon and serial killer Leo Wulff who bought a database used by the rich and famous. Those leaders of society who did not live up to his conservative values of ‘the American Way’ were systematically and brutally murdered by his hit men operating under the code name ‘Nocnista’. (Night Hag.)
Much of the action is set in the civil war zone of the Eastern Ukraine and I have absolutely loved weaving into the book the customs, traditions, icons, exotic buildings and the beautiful but often ferocious people that inhabit this region. I have managed to include Pussy riot, Cyber criminals and ancient religious sects into a whirlwind plot in which the hero Sam Jardine and a number of incredibly strong female lead characters have to save the world yet again.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Christopher Hepworth’s Website