Jeff Senior – Author Interview – A Quintillion Words

“I’m not a killer. I’m just an ordinary bloke who wants a bit of justice.”

The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched – Jeff Senior

My latest read was a brilliant, absorbing mystery by Jeff Senior – The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched. I was really excited to find out more about Jeff’s inspirations for the book and his writing process, so I’m very happy to be able to share this with you too! Grab a cuppa and enjoy 😊☕ (You can read my review for The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched here!)

1. I love Ed and Jess! I sense that Ed is a little like yourself as a person. Is this true? Would you say you put a little of yourself into these characters? (The good ones, anyway!)

It’s true that the two main characters, Ed and Jess, are loosely based on me and my wife. At least, that’s how they started off and they do have a lot of our characteristics and mannerisms. However, I’ve tried to make them and their lives a little more interesting than us. I didn’t think readers would want to know about our supermarket shopping, which is sometimes the highlight of the week!

2. Can you remember where you were or what you were doing when you had the idea for The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched? Or is it an idea that developed slowly over time?

I don’t remember where I was but I assume I wasn’t doing anything very important as I had time to think. The idea for the book came from a thought that whatever decisions we take, whatever we do in our lives, all have consequences that we often can’t predict. Also, that all our decisions and actions affect not only ourselves, but those around us and around them. It means that our lives are changed forever, no matter how inconsequential our actions may seem, and we go down a totally different path.

I originally intended to write a tale that explored the varying paths resulting from different actions at the same point. However, this became too complicated so I settled for the story that eventually developed.

3. It’s clear you did your research for a number of different scenes in the book. Is there a particular part of the book that you enjoyed researching the most? Or a scene that you had the most fun with?

I used to be a technical author and then a magazine article writer, so I’ve been familiar with conducting extensive research and I generally enjoy it as part of the writing process. Research is a necessary means to an end because, without it, the book or article will be incomplete or not authentic.

Some of the book didn’t need much research because it deals with areas and situations I’m familiar with. However, the book deals with some aspects of the Bosnian war in the 1990s and I found the research for this very interesting, if a little disturbing.

4. Was there any particular part of the book you found difficult to write, or which didn’t come as easily to you?

I’m not sure the ease or difficulty stemmed from what I was writing, more when I was writing it. I think the ease of writing for me depends on mood or the time of day. I tend to write better in the evenings than the mornings, and sometimes if I’m sitting outside in the sunshine (not very often at present) rather than being stuck inside.

It’s also partly down to practice. If I write regularly and keep writing, it tends to flow better. I’m sure professional authors who write every day for a living find writing much easier than those who only do it occasionally.

5. What’s your process when creating a character? How do you make them so memorable and realistic?

Some of the characters are people I’ve come across in the past so their characteristics are based on them. However, I’ve not made them identical to those people but have added flaws and idiosyncrasies so they’re not recognisable (avoids potential lawsuits).

I don’t know any villains (at least none I’d admit to) so these are more difficult. In essence, they come from what I’ve read in books and seen on TV and films, with a bit of imagination thrown in.

6. How long did it take to write The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched from start to finish? (including research and edits)

I reckon the whole process took around eighteen months although I wasn’t doing it full-time because I had plenty of other things to do. I was sometimes writing notes, ideas and text wherever I happened to be, on a phone or tablet computer. These were then transferred onto a laptop, which is where I did most of the work, which included further writing, combining all the elements, checking, editing, revising and polishing.

Once the writing was finished, the publication took another eighteen months or so. This seemed a long process but included further checking and editing plus cover design and general layout.

7. What’s the best book you’ve read this year? Of all time? Are there any books or authors that inspired you to write The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched?

I’ve read a few books and liked Gray Mountain by John Grisham, Standing in Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin, Odds Against by Dick Francis, Sharpe’s Fortress by Bernard Cornwell and Fool Me Once by Harlan Corben. I’m not sure any of them stand out as the best but they’re all by authors I follow.

As regards all time, there are again a few contenders. HMS Ulysses by Alistair Mclain is a book I’ve read about three times and covers the terrible experiences of the Russian convoys in World War 2, The Testament is, I think, John Grisham’s best book and I like all Bernard Cornwe’s historical novels, particularly the Sharpe and Last Kingdom series. One of my favourite tales is Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption, which is in a collection of short stories rather than being a novel, and translated into the best film ever.

I’m not sure any book or author inspired me to write The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched, it just came from my own thoughts and ideas. However, as regards writing style, I guess I’m along the lines of Dick Francis.

8. Can you tell us anything about the future of your writing? Can we expect a second book?

There is a second book coming through and it is a sequel to the first one. It covers how Ed deals with the aftermath from his previous activities, bad happenings on the street where he lives and various other challenges in his life.

This one has been coming through for a while but has become rather stuck recently because I’m spending too much time trying to promote my published book. The new one currently has around 65,000 words and I need to do some correcting and re-sequencing as well as adding further text, then the usual checking and editing before it gets near to publication. However, I am hoping to have it out this year. Then I’ll have a series!

9. What’s your favourite thing about being an author?

I’ve been a freelance writer for most of my working life and, although it can be a lonely life, I enjoy the whole process of researching and writing. Most of what I wrote previously wasn’t widely read (user guides that nobody reads and limited circulation business magazines).

It is, however, satisfying to see my words available to read. Having a book published with me as the named author does give me a certain amount of pride. It is quite pleasing to pick up a book with my name on it. I have ghost-written two other books that of course don’t name me as the author. So this is the first one with my name on it and I just hope a lot of people read and enjoy it.

10. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to new authors?

As a debut published author, I’m not sure I’m best placed to give advice to others. However, for those who really want to write, the best thing is to just do it.

Practice really does make perfect so writing regularly (as well as reading other authors to see how it’s done) will mean that the author becomes better at the task. Perseverance is essential for all aspects, whether researching, writing and all other tasks as well as finding a literary agent or a publisher that will take you on.

The last part is probably the most difficult because agents and publishers are reluctant to take on new authors. So, if you really believe in your book, there’s always self-publishing that can be done cheaply or even for nothing. That’s the route I’ll follow with my second book because it will put me more in control of the book and I won’t have to rely on a publisher that doesn’t do very much to market it.

About the author

Jeff Senior was born in West Yorkshire in 1949 and continues to live there with Freda, his wife for many years. He has two sons and two grandchildren. He had a long career in IT, latterly as a freelance technical author, and then moved on to writing articles for various business magazines. Jeff is semi-retired, so he has the time to develop his writing further. The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched is his first published novel.