Better Know An Author – Philip Brocklehurst

Our weekly spotlight series on authors from around the world. This week we sat down with Philip Brocklehurst!

Please give a brief introduction, including your name and where you are based

I’m Philip, or Phil as I prefer to be called; and I’m from Birmingham, UK. I’ve lived here for as long as I can remember, and if you could hear my voice, you would hear a 100% Brummie accent.

For those not from the United Kingdom, a Brummie is what we call someone who resides in Birmingham, and I’m that and proud of it, lol.

What book or books have you published or are working on at the moment?

I’ve had several indie books published, like Zombie Forest, a homage to Eurotrash zombie films like Jean Rollin’s Zombie Lake, with my own spin added to it, to try and breathe a little new life into the undead sub-genre.

Another indie book I had published is The Blade Warrior, a tribute to old school 80s sword and sorcery movies like Conan the Barbarian, The Sword and the Sorcerer, and Iron Warrior; to name but a few.

I also dabbled in sci-fi with my first book Humanity Lost, a 1984 meets THX-1138 story about a society oppressed by a passive-aggressive dictatorship which uses airborne chemicals to suppress the wills of the people.

As of now, I’m currently revising my latest manuscript before its indie publication; a noir with a twist called “A Tender Sunrise”. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, or spoil the twists and turns that await, so I’ll say this about the work: imagine a typical bread and butter noir story about a hard boiled, burnt out, gritty Private Detective, down on his luck, who is assigned to a dangerous case, but completely turned on its head in its portrayal of the main protagonist and how he tackles the case from beginning to end. In a way, I consider it an anti-noir story, or a realistic-noir story.

What drives you to write?

Having an overactive imagination is definitely one factor that drives me to write. I often have ideas running through my head like a whirlwind and I have to get them down on paper. It can be overwhelming just keeping them to myself. Another is a love of telling stories that I hope will grip and engross readers, and take them on a memorable journey for a while.

Where can folks find you online and on social media?

I can be found on Instragram – https://www.instagram.com/philip.brocklehurst.9/

Also I’m on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Philip_PMThomas

And of course, I’m on Goodreads too.

I’d be happy to connect with readers or fellow writers, to discuss books, etc.

What is one piece of advice you would give to another author out there who might be struggling?

I know what they’re going through. I’m in the same boat; as are many other indie and aspiring authors. The book industry is ever expanding, and with the indie book scene added on top of the massive pile, it’s becoming increasingly harder to get work seen by readers; and even more difficult to get traditional publishing houses to accept work as the standards of what they consider quality books is higher than it’s ever been.

My one piece of advice would be: it can be demoralizing but don’t lose hope. Keep writing, keep perfecting your craft, keep getting your work out there, either independently or by submitting it to agents, publishers, etc, and one day, it’ll reach the right person who will appreciate the time and effort you put into creating your story and the rest will be history.

In the meantime, believe in yourself and cast aside any nagging doubt. All it will do is hold you back. I know only too well what a crutch it can be. Doubt and I are old sparring partners.

What are some of your five-year goals with writing?

To improve how I write and how I tell a story. To decrease common mistakes in my work. I strive to have little to no typos, as well as having stronger grammar and tighter prose. To never lose heart. And to keep writing.

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