I’m an atheist. Most people assume from many of the themes in my books that I am Christian, but nope. I’m a respectful atheist, which means I’m not anti-religion, and I don’t think my lack of views negate the beliefs of those who have faith. I think we’re all equally clueless about what comes next, so people should hold on to whatever makes most sense to them.

I suffer with anxiety which led to a tumultuous teen life, filled with emotion and regret. I harness a lot of that negative energy into my work, giving my characters the same flaws that we all do. In contrast, I am now a husband and father, so I have a good view of how the future can always get better. For that reason I enjoy writing bad characters who eventually atone.

It was a shot in the dark. I walked out on my sales job after having had enough. I’d been working on a book in my spare time and had just finished. My desperation for a speedy result led to me self-publishing rather than going through the painstaking process of submitting to agents. Within six months, my debut novel was making the same amount of money as my previous full-time job had; so I never went back.

I treat my writing like a job. I start around nine and finish around four. I have a minimum word count that I must hit each day. Doing things strictly is the best way for me to stay motivated and keep producing content.

Love Game of Thrones, and also like historical fiction about Ancient Rome or the Dark Ages. I love Stephen King, Blake Crouch, Jeff Strand, Scott Sigler, and hundreds of others. I read all different things, but horror is my staple.

Not a big fan of spiders, but generally I’m not squeamish about many things. I hate bodily fluids though, and can be grossed out fairly easily. I’m more scared nowadays of things happening to my son. Anything he can hurt himself on usually terrifies me today.

I don’t believe in ghosts, and yet I am the first person to wake up in the night and scream at something in the dark. I think I have two brains. My skeptical, scientific brain, and my superstitious, caveman brain. They are often at odds.

Bill Cosby, Ted Bundy, and Roman Polanski. I abhor sexual violence towards women, so let the three of them fight to the death. Then drown the winner.

I would have started an email list on day one. For four years I did nothing to take ownership over my readers and it’s hurt me. Fortunately, I now keep in constant email contact with my readers and I can pass messages on to them directly. Putting all my trust in Amazon is naive, so I am glad to now have my own platform that I own and control via my website.

I like The Punisher. He’s just a normal guy driven by pain and regret. I can relate. His actions are cathartic because he does the things we want to do, but our civilised selves will no longer allow. Aside from that, I would be Pillow Butt. Fall down anywhere and it never hurts! What a power.

I had him stuffed and mounted beside my fireplace. Let’s mention no more about it. The truth is that the Internet allows the unhinged to act untempered by social conventions, and sadly that means I have had a small handful of people I’ve had to block. The main problem I have is certain people not respecting personal boundaries or preaching to me about God (seriously, don’t do that!). Luckily, I’ve never had anybody turn up at my house yet, but I’m ready for them when they do! Can anybody say ‘ex-soviet tank’ in my garden?

Learn from both sides of the camp and then do whatever gets your books in front of readers. There’s no right way and wrong way to do things anymore. Self-publishing is a lot like a business, and you need to be willing to run a business to succeed. Traditional is a lot more like showbiz, where luck, connections, and contract negotiations will get you just as far as talent will.

There is a great way for newbies to check out my books, because they can get 5 of them absolutely free. All they need to do is visit this link to learn more: http://www.iainrobwright.com/free-starter-pack