Fantasy/Comedy
Date Published: 01-13-2023
“Oops,” said God.
These words were uttered just after the creation of the planet that would be called Flatrock, and from there, things only got worse.
All Milo wants is a life full to the brim with peace and quiet, though his new work associate, Heidi, is a little more adventurous, wishing to see everything the wide world has to offer. These unlikely friends see the planet at its best and worst, from ancient wonders, to repulsive paperwork, and everything in between, learning all the while just how astounding the world can be.
The Highs & Lows Of Flatrock is a cosy comedy following Milo, Heidi, and the people that surround them on this weird planet as they fumble through the complete catastrophe of life and humanity left in God’s wake.
Welcome, everyone, to Flatrock!
Interview with Luke Harrower
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
This is my first book, so I think this is an unfair competition. If you include my horror novella, White Spider’s String, Flatrock is still my favourite.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
Without giving too much away, I want to flip the formula of this book on its head. Where in this book, Heidi is a foreigner in a new land, I want Milo to visit somewhere new and have to experience new cultures.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I prefer if every book could stand on it’s own, though their would probably be benefits from following a character from their start to the end.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Flatrock, as a novel, was heavily inspired by Discworld, and Flatrock was only supposed to be a placeholder name until I thought of something better (to be honest, I think Flatrock sounds like a direct to DVD rip-off of Discworld). The problem is that I hung onto the placeholder name for so long, I started to like it, and I still haven’t thought of a better title.
How long did it take you to write this book?
I had the original idea in October 2019, but didn’t start writing anything until March 2020 (thanks, covid). I spent 2020 learning my writing style, 2021 actually making the book, and 2022 was spent submitting short stories to magazines and expanding my talent before polishing up the book in October 2022. Technically, Flatrock has been in production for 3 years, though you could argue it was 2 years spread across 3.
What does the title mean?
Flatrock is simply the name of the world in the book; you only need to look at the back cover to work that out.
What did you learn when writing the book?
Definitely how to use a semi-colon. Also that my strength lied in creating good characters, witty dialogue, and descriptive writing, so I tried to capitalise on that. Still, most of my time was spent learning to use semi-colons.
What surprised you the most?
Finding out my flat used to be a drug den. If you’re talking about what surprised me the most about my book, it would probably be when I was doing to first proof read of the oldest chapters, then reading a joke I forgot I’d written, and laughing out loud because I thought it was way too clever for me to have come up with.
Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
It’s too early in my writing career to reveal those kinds of spoilers.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
The character I’ve loosely based on people I know, or aspects of my personality, so I just have to imagine “What would they do,” and the answer comes naturally.
About the Author
Luke Harrower is a new author from the UK who enjoys comedy and fantasy writing, ranging from light-hearted sitcoms to dark and twisted horror. Luke has spent much of his adult life writing, watching, and performing comedy in some form. After finding out he had a speech impediment called “Being Scottish,” he decided to focus on the written word rather than speaking.
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