Today I am delighted to have a slice of cake with author Eric J. Gates.
He is also an expert martial artist, holding 14 black belt degrees in distinct disciplines. He has taught his skills to Police and Military personnel, as well as to the public.
He now writes thriller novels, drawing on his experiences with the confidential and secret worlds that surround us.
What kind of books do you write?
My novels and short stories have a couple of things in common. The first is that they often feature strong, female protagonists, women who are realistic characters, professionals in their work in the covert and secret worlds that surround us. The second involves the appearance of technology, occasionally as the villain of the piece, such as in ‘Death Mask’, but mainly as something misused by humankind either accidentally or deliberately to further personal agendas. They are all fast-paced, nail-biting tales that will keep readers up late at night. If I ever receive a bill from readers who have lost sleep because of my tales, I would be permanently destitute. One reader even forgot to collect her kids from school as she was so immersed in one of my books!
Can you describe your writing why?
Approximately one week after the dinosaurs died out, I
discovered books. I learned to read at an early age and soon became known for
undercover work. I read books by flashlight beneath the sheets for hours after
I was supposed to be sleeping. By age eleven, I had read every single fiction
book in the school library–all the classics from Charles Dickens, through
Fennimore Cooper and Mark Twain to Agatha Christie. After came Ian Fleming,
John Gardner, John le Carré, and a host of others, including the 150 books of
the Destroyer series by Sapir and Murphy, a pulp fiction epic. Then came Alistair MacLean, Graham Greene, Isaac Asimov, and a host of others in both the
thriller and science fiction genres. It was almost impossible to find me
without a book in my hand. But it wasn’t just an addiction to reading–no, I
was learning too. Before my eighteenth birthday, I had written over 200 short
stories, and celebrated my coming of age with my first novel, a spy thriller,
which now lives in a box under my desk.
Life then intervened. A non-stop carousel of international travel, new cultures, bright people, and shady projects took up my available time, and then some. Finally, this time, which I now refer to as ‘research’, came to an end, and I finally had time to dedicate to my passion for writing. I wrote my first thriller in this stage of my life, in 2003 (though the novel was called ‘2012’), tried the traditional publishing houses and literary agents for several years, enduring having one of my ideas ‘borrowed’ by a major film director/screenwriter. Then Amazon, of whom I had been a book-buying client since the days Bezos had hair, launched KDP (then called Digital Text Publishing or DTP). In 2009, my novel ‘2012’ appeared as an Amazon eBook. And the rest is history. The passion I had back in my teens for books, and particularly writing, has not only remained but grown over the years. Hello, my name is Eric and I’m a book and writing addict!
Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most
A very difficult question to answer. I tend to find my enjoyment of a book peaks as I write it. Paragraphs that I’m proud of having created constantly change as I endeavour to evolve positively and never stop learning from my peers. Forced to pick one, I think I’ll go with an extract from the first book in my The CULL suspense thriller series. Rather than just reproducing the text here, I’d like to share an audio clip:
Tell us about your latest project
My current project, recently renamed Betrayed (yes, this is a world exclusive!), is the third book in my Outsourced series featuring Defense Intelligence Agent Bridget Mason. It will be available very soon, which means there’s time to read the first two books in the series (Outsourced and Primed) as well as the prequel, Pride & Extreme Prejudice beforehand.
What is your favourite cake?
Without a doubt, Carrot Cake. I love cooking and spent many a year searching for a recipe for the ‘perfect’ carrot cake. For the moment, this one is topping my list. It’s a secret recipe, so please don’t tell anyone:
Eric’s Secret Carrot Cake recipe
Ingredients:
250 gms butter
360 gms sugar
5 eggs
360 gms grated carrot chopped very fine
4 large tablespoons hot water
60 gms crushed almonds
300 gms self-raising flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder (Royal)
Half a teaspoon salt
250 gms honey
4 tablespoons cognac (optional – hell, no!)
Mix sugar and butter well. In another bowl, beat eggs, add carrot and hot water and mix well. Add the latter to the butter mixture. Sift flour with baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, then add little by little to the mixture, mixing well. Add almonds and honey. Add the cognac. Thoroughly mix, then put in an ovenproof cake dish. Bake at 180ºC for an hour and fifteen minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
Accompany with chocolate, syrup, honey, liquid caramel etc.
You can connect with Eric at the following places:
Website: www.ericjgates.com
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/eric-j-gates
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEricJGates/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eThrillerWriter
Amazon Author page links:
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B0030H3Y3A/
US: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0030H3Y3A/
Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Jane Risdon.
If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.
You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake through Kofi - it's what makes the world go round!
Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.
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