Featured Interview With Stu Lane
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello, my name is Stu and I live in the East Midlands, UK. I enjoy spending time with family and friends, reading (obviously!), music, sports, films, travel and the outdoors. I competed in a couple of half marathons a few years ago and am hoping to do so again, once things get back to normal!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved reading since I was very young. One of the first books I remember ploughing through was Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Lost World’. It was a children’s version and at that time, I loved dinosaurs, so the images in my head of a bunch of explorers in some far off land encountering all manner of prehistoric animals really captured my imagination. At that time, I was living in the countryside so when we would play out in the woods, I’d always pretend to be one of the main characters out exploring in ‘Maple White Land’.
I started writing by undertaking a home study course which involved researching and writing articles for magazines. I liked it, but it didn’t really allow me to use my imagination, so found it quite limiting. I was trying to think of a story idea, and one day, I read an article about people who had been bullied online and ‘trolled’ by anonymous Internet and social media users. That gave me the idea for my first book, ‘Trolling Jemma Harvey’, which is available now on Amazon as an e-book. I found that I really enjoyed the process of thinking of ideas and characters, putting them together and turning it into a cohesive plot which can grip the reader. I get a real buzz from coming up with plot ideas and seeing where they take me. Shortly after publishing ‘Trolling Jemma Harvey’ I got my idea for the next book…
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favourite non-fiction authors are Bill Bryson and Danny Wallace. I find that they write in styles which contain the right balance of humour, detail and emotion, so really pull you in and allow you to get totally absorbed in their books. As for fiction, I love Dan Brown’s books and also ‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy. I loved her style of writing the story from the perspective of each character which draws you into their thinking, motivations and experience of living in 1940’s Britain. For me, all of the above authors are people to aspire to.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is titled ‘Hellhound, Take Me Home’ and is currently available as an e-book on Amazon. It is set in the Second World War and begins in Singapore 1942 when Ken Hazel, an Australian soldier, is captured by the Japanese Army during the invasion. Two years Later, Hito Egami, a Japanese soldier who is a prisoner of the Australians, takes part in the breakout from Cowra Prisoner of War camp. Injured, he hides out in the bush, where he is found by Ken’s wife Ann. Against all her instincts, she decides to take Hito in and nurse him back to full health.
As Ann and Hito get to know each other, an opportunity arises that will allow Hito to get back to his family in Japan, and Ann to be reunited with Ken. This sets the scene for a perilous adventure across World War II Pacific. Ann knows that is if she is found to be sheltering the enemy, she will be imprisoned as a traitor. Meanwhile, Hito tries to hide out knowing he is hated by the Allies as an enemy soldier, and hated by his fellow countrymen for surrendering in battle.
As well as action and adventure, the story also focuses on the different relationships between each character and their motivations and feelings behind the actions they take. It switches back and forth between Ann and Hito in Australia, and Ken enduring the hardships and torture as a POW in Japan.
I got the idea for this story after reading Bill Bryson’s ‘Down Under’ (which is a brilliant read). During his travels in Australia, he describes visiting Cowra and the real-life breakout by Japanese prisoners of war from there in 1944. It got me thinking, ‘what if one of these prisoners was taken in by a local resident?’ and then, ‘what if that resident had a husband who was a prisoner of the Japanese?’ The ideas for the book then snowballed from there.