Rukia Publishing features author Peri Hoskins
Who Is Peri Hoskins?
Peri Hoskins is the author of 'Millennium – A Memoir’, a travelogue memoir that has received many five star reader reviews. Christopher Moore of the New Zealand Listener had this to say about ‘Millennium – A Memoir’:
'Written with perhaps the merest of bows to Joseph Conrad and Robert Louis Stevenson, the book’s colourful cast of characters come together to greet the dawn of the 21st century. It’s a vigorously written sly-humoured account of human encounters in a small place lapped by the tides of change…It’s a genial well observed book that insinuates itself into the affections.’
~Christopher Moore, New Zealand Listener, 2 August 2014.
'Written with perhaps the merest of bows to Joseph Conrad and Robert Louis Stevenson, the book’s colourful cast of characters come together to greet the dawn of the 21st century. It’s a vigorously written sly-humoured account of human encounters in a small place lapped by the tides of change…It’s a genial well observed book that insinuates itself into the affections.’
~Christopher Moore, New Zealand Listener, 2 August 2014.
Peri Hoskins was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He is the second son of a family of five children, four boys and a girl. He is of mixed Maori and Anglo-Celtic ancestry. Peri grew up in Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand, a provincial city then home to about 30,000 people. He was educated at Whangarei Boys’ High School where he twice won a national essay competition. After completing high school and winning the school prizes for English, History and Geography, Peri went to Auckland University where he studied law and the humanities, including history and English literature.
Peri was substantially based in Australia between 1985 and 2005. He completed his study of law and the humanities at the University of Sydney including several courses in philosophy. He worked as a lawyer in New South Wales before embarking on a 1995 five-month road trip all around Australia. This road trip comprises the material for his soon to be published second book, East. Peri subsequently worked as a lawyer in both New South Wales and Queensland, and developed his current specialisation in legal work – civil litigation. In December 1999 Peri travelled to the Kingdom of Tonga to be in the first country in the world to see in the new millennium. The diary of his three weeks in Tonga has become his first book, Millennium – A Memoir. In 2004 Peri completed a post graduate diploma in film and television production at Queensland University of Technology.
Peri now lives, writes and works as a barrister (being a self-employed lawyer) in Northland, New Zealand.
Subscribe To Peri's Newsletter where he will keep you informed about his work and send occasional previews or special offers. perihoskinsauthor.com/join-peris-mailing-list/
Peri was substantially based in Australia between 1985 and 2005. He completed his study of law and the humanities at the University of Sydney including several courses in philosophy. He worked as a lawyer in New South Wales before embarking on a 1995 five-month road trip all around Australia. This road trip comprises the material for his soon to be published second book, East. Peri subsequently worked as a lawyer in both New South Wales and Queensland, and developed his current specialisation in legal work – civil litigation. In December 1999 Peri travelled to the Kingdom of Tonga to be in the first country in the world to see in the new millennium. The diary of his three weeks in Tonga has become his first book, Millennium – A Memoir. In 2004 Peri completed a post graduate diploma in film and television production at Queensland University of Technology.
Peri now lives, writes and works as a barrister (being a self-employed lawyer) in Northland, New Zealand.
Subscribe To Peri's Newsletter where he will keep you informed about his work and send occasional previews or special offers. perihoskinsauthor.com/join-peris-mailing-list/
Rukia Publishing Author Interview with Peri Hoskins
Hello! Thank you for this opportunity to talk about my new release “East” and help my readers get to know me better.
Tell us about your newest book.
‘East’ took many years to write. I took the original travel notes in 1994, that’s 22 years ago. Most of the notes were taken longhand in a journal. In 1997 I wrote up some of the notes on a computer and then the whole project languished until about 2012 when I found time to write. So since 2012 I guess it took about four years of working on the manuscript in between working as a barrister and writing my first book, ‘Millennium – A Memoir’ which came out in 2014. As for the title, ‘East’, the book is about a drifting journey west across the wide continent of Australia taken in early 1994. And so it could have been called ‘West.’ I never liked ‘West’ as a title, and always liked ‘East’, which is an inversion of the journey taken. And somehow it fits. Readers will find out how and why it fits when they read the book. Oh, and perhaps I should mention, ‘East’ is a prequel to ‘Millennium – A Memoir’.
Tell us something about yourself.
I’m a citizen of both Australia and New Zealand. I was born in New Zealand and spent 20 years living in Australia between 1985 and 2005. I work as a barrister. A barrister is a court lawyer who ordinarily specialises in advocacy and advice work in one or more specialist areas. I specialise in civil litigation. I hold BA LLB(Hons) degrees and a post graduate diploma in film and television production.
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m a ‘tell it like it is’ writer. I don’t write politically correct books. I like to get to the essential truth of things. I don’t skirt around things like racism and misogyny, I deal with such things head on. I often however sugar coat with humour, and I think that helps in taking readers to a deeper level of understanding. If readers get to that deeper level of understanding while laughing; so much the better.
What is your favourite genre to read?
Creative nonfiction.
What would you say is the one thing you are most passionate about?
I’m passionately interested in the human condition and helping other humans to better understand themselves and to grow and evolve as human beings.
Can you name something you cannot live without?
Breath. We all need to breathe. Consciousness is very important. Conscious breathing is so important. There also has to be evolution and meaning to life beyond the physical plane of dealing with the necessities of life: food, clothing, shelter etc.
When you are not writing, what do you like to do?
Spend time reading, walking, swimming in the sea, at my beach house, and with friends and family.
Has writing your newest book had an effect on you and how you now live your life? If so, in what way?
Not really. The book has already generated some interest and anticipation so I talk with a few people now who I previously would not talk with; being people who want to promote the book.
If someone who hasn’t read any of your books and they asked you to describe it (the elevator pitch!) what would you say?
One could describe the book, as an Australian ‘On the Road’ set in 1994, but its more than that. It’s dark and light, funny, spiritual and uplifting, and very human.
What was the best experience that you recall from your time in Australia?
The 1994 journey I took travelling all around Australia.
Did you have any close encounters with Australian wildlife that you would like to share with us?
Yes, there is a close encounter with wild dolphins in ‘East’, and I share that in the book.
Did you keep a journal?
Yes
Do you have a special place where you write?
I like to write at my beach house. It is quiet and peaceful there and there’s no Internet to distract me.
Do you write from an outline or a plan?
No, I usually just start at the beginning and finish at the end. ‘East’ was a little different because I wrote the final three vignettes some time before joining them to the rest of the story, so finishing the book meant joining the start and middle of the book to the end.
If you had the opportunity to stay on a remote island for a month, with food, water and shelter provided, what would be your:
Must have item?
A notebook computer so I may write
Would like to have item?
A portable music system so I may have music
Luxury item to take with you?
It would be nice to have some female company but I shouldn’t list that as an ‘item’.
Can you tell us about your new writing projects?
I have a third book in mind, but I’m yet to start work on it. It will be another in the Vince Osbourne series, in the sense Vince will again be main character and narrator.
For self-published authors
What influenced your decision to self-publish? Do you have a preference to how you self-publish your work? (Strictly Amazon or do you use expanded sales distribution?)
I wanted to have control over the process and make all the key decisions. I’m currently using expanded sales distribution.
What do you find to be the greatest advantage of self-publishing?
Having control over all aspects of the process
Conversely, what do you think self-published authors might be missing out on?
At times it would be nice if someone else were taking care of the business side of being an author so I could just concentrate on the creative side.
With the number of self-published books increasing, it can be difficult for authors to make their books stand out. How do you go about this?
That is a real problem. I guess it is about getting good reviews and gradually developing a reputation for quality work. It is not something that happens overnight.
Who designed your book covers?
I had them professionally designed, an artist did one and a graphic designer did the other.
Do you believe that self-published authors can produce books as high-quality as the traditional published?
Yes, provided highly skilled people are used for editing, proofreading, and cover design etc.
Where can readers connect with you?
Author website:www.perihoskinsauthor.com; Twitter: @PeriHoskins Facebook: www.facebook.com/hoskinsperiauthor
I carried around ‘East’ for 22 years. It was there inside and at the edges of me. Twenty years ago I knew how the cover would look: exactly as it is today. A lot of work and a lot of me went into it. So far only a select few have read ‘East’. They have said ‘great’ and ‘superb’ and ‘you should be very proud of it.’
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to interview with us. We enjoyed our time with you and feel that we have come away with some valuable information from you to enlighten readers everywhere!
Tell us about your newest book.
‘East’ took many years to write. I took the original travel notes in 1994, that’s 22 years ago. Most of the notes were taken longhand in a journal. In 1997 I wrote up some of the notes on a computer and then the whole project languished until about 2012 when I found time to write. So since 2012 I guess it took about four years of working on the manuscript in between working as a barrister and writing my first book, ‘Millennium – A Memoir’ which came out in 2014. As for the title, ‘East’, the book is about a drifting journey west across the wide continent of Australia taken in early 1994. And so it could have been called ‘West.’ I never liked ‘West’ as a title, and always liked ‘East’, which is an inversion of the journey taken. And somehow it fits. Readers will find out how and why it fits when they read the book. Oh, and perhaps I should mention, ‘East’ is a prequel to ‘Millennium – A Memoir’.
Tell us something about yourself.
I’m a citizen of both Australia and New Zealand. I was born in New Zealand and spent 20 years living in Australia between 1985 and 2005. I work as a barrister. A barrister is a court lawyer who ordinarily specialises in advocacy and advice work in one or more specialist areas. I specialise in civil litigation. I hold BA LLB(Hons) degrees and a post graduate diploma in film and television production.
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m a ‘tell it like it is’ writer. I don’t write politically correct books. I like to get to the essential truth of things. I don’t skirt around things like racism and misogyny, I deal with such things head on. I often however sugar coat with humour, and I think that helps in taking readers to a deeper level of understanding. If readers get to that deeper level of understanding while laughing; so much the better.
What is your favourite genre to read?
Creative nonfiction.
What would you say is the one thing you are most passionate about?
I’m passionately interested in the human condition and helping other humans to better understand themselves and to grow and evolve as human beings.
Can you name something you cannot live without?
Breath. We all need to breathe. Consciousness is very important. Conscious breathing is so important. There also has to be evolution and meaning to life beyond the physical plane of dealing with the necessities of life: food, clothing, shelter etc.
When you are not writing, what do you like to do?
Spend time reading, walking, swimming in the sea, at my beach house, and with friends and family.
Has writing your newest book had an effect on you and how you now live your life? If so, in what way?
Not really. The book has already generated some interest and anticipation so I talk with a few people now who I previously would not talk with; being people who want to promote the book.
If someone who hasn’t read any of your books and they asked you to describe it (the elevator pitch!) what would you say?
One could describe the book, as an Australian ‘On the Road’ set in 1994, but its more than that. It’s dark and light, funny, spiritual and uplifting, and very human.
What was the best experience that you recall from your time in Australia?
The 1994 journey I took travelling all around Australia.
Did you have any close encounters with Australian wildlife that you would like to share with us?
Yes, there is a close encounter with wild dolphins in ‘East’, and I share that in the book.
Did you keep a journal?
Yes
Do you have a special place where you write?
I like to write at my beach house. It is quiet and peaceful there and there’s no Internet to distract me.
Do you write from an outline or a plan?
No, I usually just start at the beginning and finish at the end. ‘East’ was a little different because I wrote the final three vignettes some time before joining them to the rest of the story, so finishing the book meant joining the start and middle of the book to the end.
If you had the opportunity to stay on a remote island for a month, with food, water and shelter provided, what would be your:
Must have item?
A notebook computer so I may write
Would like to have item?
A portable music system so I may have music
Luxury item to take with you?
It would be nice to have some female company but I shouldn’t list that as an ‘item’.
Can you tell us about your new writing projects?
I have a third book in mind, but I’m yet to start work on it. It will be another in the Vince Osbourne series, in the sense Vince will again be main character and narrator.
For self-published authors
What influenced your decision to self-publish? Do you have a preference to how you self-publish your work? (Strictly Amazon or do you use expanded sales distribution?)
I wanted to have control over the process and make all the key decisions. I’m currently using expanded sales distribution.
What do you find to be the greatest advantage of self-publishing?
Having control over all aspects of the process
Conversely, what do you think self-published authors might be missing out on?
At times it would be nice if someone else were taking care of the business side of being an author so I could just concentrate on the creative side.
With the number of self-published books increasing, it can be difficult for authors to make their books stand out. How do you go about this?
That is a real problem. I guess it is about getting good reviews and gradually developing a reputation for quality work. It is not something that happens overnight.
Who designed your book covers?
I had them professionally designed, an artist did one and a graphic designer did the other.
Do you believe that self-published authors can produce books as high-quality as the traditional published?
Yes, provided highly skilled people are used for editing, proofreading, and cover design etc.
Where can readers connect with you?
Author website:www.perihoskinsauthor.com; Twitter: @PeriHoskins Facebook: www.facebook.com/hoskinsperiauthor
I carried around ‘East’ for 22 years. It was there inside and at the edges of me. Twenty years ago I knew how the cover would look: exactly as it is today. A lot of work and a lot of me went into it. So far only a select few have read ‘East’. They have said ‘great’ and ‘superb’ and ‘you should be very proud of it.’
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to interview with us. We enjoyed our time with you and feel that we have come away with some valuable information from you to enlighten readers everywhere!
The following author interview which gives us an insight into the man behind Millennium - A Memoir is kindly reproduced with the permission of Peri Hoskins. The interview was originally conducted and posted by Michael R Hughson in Interviews, NZ Writers
The Interview with Michael R. Hughson:
Hi Peri, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Thanks Mike. You are most welcome. I was born in Wellington. I have some Maori (Ngapuhi) ancestry on my father’s side. Otherwise my ancestry is anglo-celtic. I’m a fairly standard Kiwi mix. My family moved to Northland when I was four years old. I grew up in Whangarei and after High School left Whangarei for Auckland University where I completed a BA, majoring in English and a law degree with honours. I was mainly living in Australia between 1985 and 2005 and I completed both my degrees at the University of Sydney. I’m still single, for my sins …
Millennium is a beautiful read, quite lyrical, colourful and descriptive. Did you have to work on style or did the language seem to come naturally?
The manuscript went through numerous re-writes. That said, the short sentences and short words were there at the beginning and they were still there at the end. The language came naturally, but it needed honing and editing, so quite a lot of work went into it.
Millennium is a novella. What does that mean and why have you chosen to use this form?
It is actually a novella-length piece of creative nonfiction, although I’m always flattered when someone calls it a novel or novella. It is such hard work getting real life to read like a novel or novella. Real life is often boring and anti-climactic. The hard work I refer to is making a slice of real life funny, engaging, poignant, and interesting enough to keep the reader turning the pages. The length of the book chose itself in that the slice of life I write about was short, only a few weeks, hence there was only enough material to write a novella-length piece.
What is meant by the term creative non-fiction and how does it apply toMillennium?
Creative nonfiction means material that is factual, based in real life, that the author has enhanced with among other things, his/her observations, descriptions, humour, digressions and insights into what is going on. It is the author’s enhancements that make the piece read like a novel.
The narrator, Vince, seems quick to judge people from their expressions. Is this the barrister in the author?
Yes, quite possibly. In addition, the characters encountered in Millennium are mostly all met in a fleeting, holiday context, and not seen again. First impressions have to count in such brief, fleeting encounters.
Discuss the origins and use of the inset quotes you have chosen. They seem to have a portent larger than the story.
The quotes come from ancient Hindu scriptures originally written in Sanscrit about 3,000 years ago. All these quotes pre-date Jesus Christ and the Christian bible. The underlying theme of Millennium is the quality of time. This theme does not really feature in Western philosophy or theology, it is however central to Hinduism. I therefore put a great deal of time into researching Hindu scripture to find quotes that in some way reflect the slice of life travelogue story being told … Yes they have a portent larger than the story because all human beings are ruled by time. In this way a private story is made universal … we can all see something in it that pertains to us all …
In School, were you good at English?
Yes, I won the school prizes for English, History and Geography in my final year of High School. I therefore decided to do a BA and the law degree was an after thought, a way to make money.
What are you working on at the minute?
What’s it about?
Im working on a full length autobiographical novel ‘East’ based on the five months I spent travelling around Australia in 1994. It is a prequel to Millennium and written in a similar style. Vince is again the narrator. East, is however lighter than Millennium and it has a different tempo, a different beat. I’ve released small parts of it to give people a taste and people really like it. It is in some ways an Australian ‘On the Road’ set in 1994. In a full length novel I have the opportunity to develop characters and round them out so readers looking for a bigger, meatier version of Millennium should be happy.
Why do you write?
I feel compelled to write. Writing gives meaning to my life.
Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
I have to fit writing in around my barrister’s practice. When I have a trial on not much creative writing gets done. I generally write in the evenings and at weekends. It is difficult to write to a rigid structure because if I’m flat out doing legal work the structure goes out the window. That said, I’ve structured my legal practice with a view to allowing time to write, and that is working reasonably well.
Where do the your ideas come from?
My own life experience. I see plenty in real life worth writing about without resorting to fiction.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
My work is slice of life so there is a natural chronology to follow. Sometimes however there is a need to restructure or conflate events to make the story flow.
How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
Simply by living my life and being born with certain sensitivities and a certain empathy for human beings and a desire to better know the human condition.
What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
The hardest thing is actually getting the writing and editing done if I am tired or distracted and have competing priorities for my time. Being single is however an advantage.
Any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?
Just write anything at all, complete rubbish if necessary, then edit the rubbish and keep editing it and suddenly the material is less rubbishy and before you know it you are through the block and writing again.
Do you read much and if so who are your favourite authors.
I like Truman Capote, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, Michael Ondaatje and Jeffrey Eugenides among others. I like honesty, authors who tell it like it is. I see beauty in sparse, uncluttered writing. ‘Less is more’ definitely applies to writing.
For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?
Print books.
What book/s are you reading at present?
Nothing at present, too busy with legal work and creative writing.
Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you?
I have editors and proof readers do that for me.
Who edited your book and how did you select him/her?
My current editor is based in Tasmania and was referred to me by a friend I met on Twitter. I wanted an Australian editor because ‘East’ is all about Australia.
For Millennium, I had two editors, both women. The first editor, Leslie Rubinkowski, from the Creative Nonfiction School in Pittsburg, USA, carried out two structural edits. Leslie was allocated to me as a result of me signing on for the Creative Nonfiction mentoring program. The other editor was Jenny Argante from Tauranga. I met Jenny via the writers’ collective Oceanbooks.
Tell us about the cover/s and how it/they came about.
Martin Taylor, an Auckland – based digital publications consultant assisted with the cover of Millennium. I told him the concept and his daughter Anita Taylor came up with the design. I was happy with that and it wasn’t particularly expensive. I am yet to prepare the cover for East.
Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?
Yes, but readers need to know about the book first, that it exists and has been well reviewed by a credible objective reviewer. The biggest problem Indie authors face is getting noticed in the first place.
How are you publishing this book and why? (*e.g. Indie, traditional or both)
Millennium was self-published. I’ve not yet committed ‘East’ to any publisher. It will probably also be self-published.
What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?
As a self-published author you retain the rights and make more money off each book sold. The downside is you have to do all the marketing yourself and arrange the production of the book and that is time-consuming. I see advantages in having a traditional publisher provided that publisher really gets behind the author both locally and internationally. That is apparently hard to find, many publishers appear to offer it and yet many authors are disappointed with outcomes.
How do you market your books?
I market via Amazon, Goodreads, the Book Depository and to Australasian bookstores via distributor Woodslane. I also market via Facebook and Twitter.
Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books?
First work hard on putting out a quality book. If the book is good, word of mouth will assist with sales. Other experienced authors say get a second book out and that will help as readers will then often buy both the first and second books.
What do you do to get book reviews?
Submit the book to professional reviewers, ask friends to read and review the book and seek reviews via a Facebook group I have joined.
Any tips on what to do and what not to do?
I have learned that not everyone out there in the world will like my work. It is better to first qualify that the person reading the book with a view to reviewing it is interested in the subject matter of the book. Millennium for example tends to appeal to those who are interested in the mind, body and spirit genre. Those people are likely to enjoy reading the book and give it a positive review.
Did you do a press release, Goodreads book launch or anything else to promote your work and did it work?
Yes, the press release for Millennium did help get radio and magazine interviews. Getting on national radio and TV is difficult, and there is no guarantee your publicist will obtain such interviews. I did not do a Goodreads book launch and the Goodreads promotion I did do had mixed results. With future Goodreads promotions I will better qualify the readers to ensure they are in fact interested in the subject matter.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Follow your heart and your dreams. Make them a priority early in life.
Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?
No, I think that covers it – All good questions thanks.
How can readers discover more about you and you work?
In terms of social media I’m most active on Facebook. Readers may friend and message me there. Millennium may be downloaded as an ebook from the Amazon link below.
Website: www.perihoskinsauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hoskinsperiauthor
Twitter: @PeriHoskins
Linkedin: https://nz.linkedin.com/pub/peri-hoskins/48/9b1/2a5
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hoskinsperi/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Peri-Hoskins/e/B00KQG94X2/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Millennium print book: https://www.createspace.com/4732197
Amazon Millennium kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JWAYXPM
The Book Depository print book: http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9780473251314/…
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8295634.Peri_Hoskins
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.
The Interview with Michael R. Hughson:
Hi Peri, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Thanks Mike. You are most welcome. I was born in Wellington. I have some Maori (Ngapuhi) ancestry on my father’s side. Otherwise my ancestry is anglo-celtic. I’m a fairly standard Kiwi mix. My family moved to Northland when I was four years old. I grew up in Whangarei and after High School left Whangarei for Auckland University where I completed a BA, majoring in English and a law degree with honours. I was mainly living in Australia between 1985 and 2005 and I completed both my degrees at the University of Sydney. I’m still single, for my sins …
Millennium is a beautiful read, quite lyrical, colourful and descriptive. Did you have to work on style or did the language seem to come naturally?
The manuscript went through numerous re-writes. That said, the short sentences and short words were there at the beginning and they were still there at the end. The language came naturally, but it needed honing and editing, so quite a lot of work went into it.
Millennium is a novella. What does that mean and why have you chosen to use this form?
It is actually a novella-length piece of creative nonfiction, although I’m always flattered when someone calls it a novel or novella. It is such hard work getting real life to read like a novel or novella. Real life is often boring and anti-climactic. The hard work I refer to is making a slice of real life funny, engaging, poignant, and interesting enough to keep the reader turning the pages. The length of the book chose itself in that the slice of life I write about was short, only a few weeks, hence there was only enough material to write a novella-length piece.
What is meant by the term creative non-fiction and how does it apply toMillennium?
Creative nonfiction means material that is factual, based in real life, that the author has enhanced with among other things, his/her observations, descriptions, humour, digressions and insights into what is going on. It is the author’s enhancements that make the piece read like a novel.
The narrator, Vince, seems quick to judge people from their expressions. Is this the barrister in the author?
Yes, quite possibly. In addition, the characters encountered in Millennium are mostly all met in a fleeting, holiday context, and not seen again. First impressions have to count in such brief, fleeting encounters.
Discuss the origins and use of the inset quotes you have chosen. They seem to have a portent larger than the story.
The quotes come from ancient Hindu scriptures originally written in Sanscrit about 3,000 years ago. All these quotes pre-date Jesus Christ and the Christian bible. The underlying theme of Millennium is the quality of time. This theme does not really feature in Western philosophy or theology, it is however central to Hinduism. I therefore put a great deal of time into researching Hindu scripture to find quotes that in some way reflect the slice of life travelogue story being told … Yes they have a portent larger than the story because all human beings are ruled by time. In this way a private story is made universal … we can all see something in it that pertains to us all …
In School, were you good at English?
Yes, I won the school prizes for English, History and Geography in my final year of High School. I therefore decided to do a BA and the law degree was an after thought, a way to make money.
What are you working on at the minute?
What’s it about?
Im working on a full length autobiographical novel ‘East’ based on the five months I spent travelling around Australia in 1994. It is a prequel to Millennium and written in a similar style. Vince is again the narrator. East, is however lighter than Millennium and it has a different tempo, a different beat. I’ve released small parts of it to give people a taste and people really like it. It is in some ways an Australian ‘On the Road’ set in 1994. In a full length novel I have the opportunity to develop characters and round them out so readers looking for a bigger, meatier version of Millennium should be happy.
Why do you write?
I feel compelled to write. Writing gives meaning to my life.
Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
I have to fit writing in around my barrister’s practice. When I have a trial on not much creative writing gets done. I generally write in the evenings and at weekends. It is difficult to write to a rigid structure because if I’m flat out doing legal work the structure goes out the window. That said, I’ve structured my legal practice with a view to allowing time to write, and that is working reasonably well.
Where do the your ideas come from?
My own life experience. I see plenty in real life worth writing about without resorting to fiction.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
My work is slice of life so there is a natural chronology to follow. Sometimes however there is a need to restructure or conflate events to make the story flow.
How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
Simply by living my life and being born with certain sensitivities and a certain empathy for human beings and a desire to better know the human condition.
What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
The hardest thing is actually getting the writing and editing done if I am tired or distracted and have competing priorities for my time. Being single is however an advantage.
Any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?
Just write anything at all, complete rubbish if necessary, then edit the rubbish and keep editing it and suddenly the material is less rubbishy and before you know it you are through the block and writing again.
Do you read much and if so who are your favourite authors.
I like Truman Capote, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, Michael Ondaatje and Jeffrey Eugenides among others. I like honesty, authors who tell it like it is. I see beauty in sparse, uncluttered writing. ‘Less is more’ definitely applies to writing.
For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?
Print books.
What book/s are you reading at present?
Nothing at present, too busy with legal work and creative writing.
Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you?
I have editors and proof readers do that for me.
Who edited your book and how did you select him/her?
My current editor is based in Tasmania and was referred to me by a friend I met on Twitter. I wanted an Australian editor because ‘East’ is all about Australia.
For Millennium, I had two editors, both women. The first editor, Leslie Rubinkowski, from the Creative Nonfiction School in Pittsburg, USA, carried out two structural edits. Leslie was allocated to me as a result of me signing on for the Creative Nonfiction mentoring program. The other editor was Jenny Argante from Tauranga. I met Jenny via the writers’ collective Oceanbooks.
Tell us about the cover/s and how it/they came about.
Martin Taylor, an Auckland – based digital publications consultant assisted with the cover of Millennium. I told him the concept and his daughter Anita Taylor came up with the design. I was happy with that and it wasn’t particularly expensive. I am yet to prepare the cover for East.
Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?
Yes, but readers need to know about the book first, that it exists and has been well reviewed by a credible objective reviewer. The biggest problem Indie authors face is getting noticed in the first place.
How are you publishing this book and why? (*e.g. Indie, traditional or both)
Millennium was self-published. I’ve not yet committed ‘East’ to any publisher. It will probably also be self-published.
What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?
As a self-published author you retain the rights and make more money off each book sold. The downside is you have to do all the marketing yourself and arrange the production of the book and that is time-consuming. I see advantages in having a traditional publisher provided that publisher really gets behind the author both locally and internationally. That is apparently hard to find, many publishers appear to offer it and yet many authors are disappointed with outcomes.
How do you market your books?
I market via Amazon, Goodreads, the Book Depository and to Australasian bookstores via distributor Woodslane. I also market via Facebook and Twitter.
Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books?
First work hard on putting out a quality book. If the book is good, word of mouth will assist with sales. Other experienced authors say get a second book out and that will help as readers will then often buy both the first and second books.
What do you do to get book reviews?
Submit the book to professional reviewers, ask friends to read and review the book and seek reviews via a Facebook group I have joined.
Any tips on what to do and what not to do?
I have learned that not everyone out there in the world will like my work. It is better to first qualify that the person reading the book with a view to reviewing it is interested in the subject matter of the book. Millennium for example tends to appeal to those who are interested in the mind, body and spirit genre. Those people are likely to enjoy reading the book and give it a positive review.
Did you do a press release, Goodreads book launch or anything else to promote your work and did it work?
Yes, the press release for Millennium did help get radio and magazine interviews. Getting on national radio and TV is difficult, and there is no guarantee your publicist will obtain such interviews. I did not do a Goodreads book launch and the Goodreads promotion I did do had mixed results. With future Goodreads promotions I will better qualify the readers to ensure they are in fact interested in the subject matter.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Follow your heart and your dreams. Make them a priority early in life.
Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?
No, I think that covers it – All good questions thanks.
How can readers discover more about you and you work?
In terms of social media I’m most active on Facebook. Readers may friend and message me there. Millennium may be downloaded as an ebook from the Amazon link below.
Website: www.perihoskinsauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hoskinsperiauthor
Twitter: @PeriHoskins
Linkedin: https://nz.linkedin.com/pub/peri-hoskins/48/9b1/2a5
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hoskinsperi/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Peri-Hoskins/e/B00KQG94X2/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Millennium print book: https://www.createspace.com/4732197
Amazon Millennium kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JWAYXPM
The Book Depository print book: http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9780473251314/…
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8295634.Peri_Hoskins
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.
