Please welcome George Veck to my blog. Now that we have our coffee, shall we begin?

Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.

I am George Veck, author of North Wales set crime dramas One Visit and Spurious Scrapper

Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?

Not really, it is something that came out of nowhere for me in my early twenties. I started with screenwriting, wrote two feature films before it dawned on me how hard it is to secure the millions needed in funding to produce them. It was from here that my desire to write my first book One Visit started, and I haven’t looked back since.

How difficult was it writing your first book?

Pretty tough, but I had done ten or so drafts on the screenplay version which helped a lot. I did the first forty or so pages over a year, and found myself getting distracted by life, and partying etc. Moving area to start university gave me the space needed to blast the rest out, and I managed to finish it in a few months. A nagging doubt that I may never finish it, and that it wouldn’t appeal to anyone was the toughest part to get over. But crossing the line that first time and getting the first reviews in filled me with confidence to go straight again onto my second.

Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?

Not yet, I’m in the first few years of writing books so am still relatively fresh and have a few ideas backlogged. While I was writing Spurious Scrapper, I suffered severe burnout during the second draft which was the closest I’ve come to giving up, but I just kept pushing my limits.

What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?

Holy Holm, a legendary female MMA fighter once said her mother would wake her up by performing an arm bar on her while she slept.  Her message was that you will never be at your 100% best physically and mentally, and that you have to find a way to overcome obstacles no matter how vulnerable or injured you are, whether mentally or physically. While I don’t condone that type of parenting, the message stuck with me and pushes me when I’m writing. I feel I can get on the computer and get something down no matter what is on my mind, or what previous traumas resurface to try and stop me.

What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?

Those who are open to darker themes and the rugged reality of life in poverty. I try and make my characters and themes relatable, and would like to think I am starting to grow an audience with those who have been through poverty and abuse.

Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?

A freelancer did mine for me, she nailed it on the first attempt.

What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt

I am currently writing my third book, it’s unnamed as of yet and unfinished, but is a family drama set high up in the mountains of North Wales. It centres around a dysfunctional family, and how seemingly innocuous mental abuse can snowball into something more sinister when people keep their emotions zipped up. It will hopefully appeal to those who’ve lived in rural, cut-off areas that have felt the burn of social isolation.

https://www.instagram.com/vecks_gems_productions/?next=%2F – Instagram

https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Visit-gritty-North-Wales-ebook/dp/B0BLMDGLQD – Amazon book link for One Visit.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23034632.George_Veck – Goodreads