Michael Ross
GENRE: Romantic Thriller
BLURB:
For Ryan Gould it's just another pay day, collect a car from Portugal deliver it to the UK. Nothing too complicated - until he decides on an unscheduled stopover in Northern France, in the city of Rennes, a quiet drink in the town square, where life would have turned out so differently if he not noticed the girl sitting on the bench was sobbing her heart out.
From there onwards his life twists and turns out of control until he finds himself in police custody charged with abduction and a journey to get to the truth. The girl on the bench, Claire, had misled him from the very beginning; who was she, and how had she managed to wreak so much havoc in his life?
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Excerpt:
What the hell is up with me? Have I no mind of my own? I kneel on the cobblestones and throw her my most sympathetic smile. Hopefully she recognises the sincerity.
For the first time she lifts her head and looks me in the face, well in the eyes actually - and I’m smitten. She is attractive with piercing light grey eyes that meet mine head on. I was right she is no more than thirty years old, with jet black hair that does not quite match her very pale skin.
I ease myself up to a standing position. “Look, if nothing else, let me buy you a drink. I’ll bugger off if you want to be on your own. I’m not hassling you, just trying to offer a bit of support.” I do my best to sound earnest because it’s the truth. Her pain is so obvious it is impossible to ignore. All at once I remember I have an almost full pack of tissues in my pocket. I take a couple out and pass them to her along with the rest of the pack.
“Here. Blowing your nose wouldn’t hurt just now.” Her angry expression dissipates when she sees the smile on my face.
“I tell you what,” I say “I’m going to get a Coke at the café over there. If you want to come and share a Coke or something, that would be great.”
Her head drops and she mumbles incoherently.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“A large latte would be good.” Her voice is both delicate and cultured.
“No problem. Come over whenever you want.”
I walk back to my table, fully aware that for some crazy reason my heart is beating as if I sprinted across the square. I purposely sit facing away from her direction, the last thing I want is to come across as a stalker.
Interview with Michael Ross
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
So many! Cloud Atlas comes to mind, because it made demands on the reader to focus on the text.
How do you select the names of your characters?
That should be such a simple question to answer, however I’m not really sure. It’s very easy to select names I could not possibly use, but once I’ve chosen a name, they seem to blend themselves with the character.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
I think every character I write should have secrets that even I do not know
What was your hardest scene to write?
From beginning to end the words seemed to flow, I cannot remember ever having to slow down or change the direction of a scene. The main criticism the book has received is that people would have like it to be much longer. Maybe if I had my time back over scenes like that would have cropped up?
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 see no joy for me whatsoever in building up a franchise type body of work. I know millions of readers love finding a character and following them through thick and thin.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
I think it’s a very good piece of storytelling because it never had any goals or intentions whatsoever – none! I just started out with a man sitting in a city centre, people watching. How he reacted to what he observed and his subsequent actions and emotions took me on a totally unexpected journey.
What inspired you to write Quiet the Waves?
As per the previous answer; the characters and their journey inspired the text – nothing to do with me.
Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in Quiet the Waves or what you have planned for the future?
Nothing specific; about a dozen short stories under my belt ready to be part of my next anthology.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Quiet the Waves?
Ryan is a decent taken over by circumstances beyond his control, I liked him from the get-go. Claire is an enigma, sweet and funny, but with far more depth to her that unravels during the storyline. Hassan is a guy who make one poor decision which sends his life out of control, he’s the ‘baddie’ that was never his intention.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book.
How it flowed from my imagination to the page.
Born and raised in Bristol, England I now live halfway up a mountain in the Welsh Valleys, with my partner Mari and our rescue dog Wenna. I have a BA in English Literature from Bristol Uni and after creative writing classes at Cardiff Uni I won prizes for short stories. I write with a smile on my face.
I have self-published (including Quiet the Waves) five short story anthologies and five novels
Connect with Michael Ross
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Email
5 comments:
Thank you for hosting QUIET THE WAVES today and featuring the interview with Mr. Ross.
Sounds like a good story. Thanks for sharing.
I liked the excerpt.
Sounds like a real page turner.
This looks really good. Thanks for sharing and hosting this tour.
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