Peter Jay Black is the author of debut series Urban Outlaws which was published by Bloomsbury in 2014. He spoke to StoryWorld about publishing, writing, and inspiration.
Tell me about UrbanOutlaws !
The Urban Outlaws are five kids who live in a secret bunker
hidden deep beneath London. They each have
their own skills and use gadgets and hacking to outsmart London's crime gangs
and hand out their dirty money through Random Acts of Kindness (R.A.K.s).
Their latest mission leads them to a
Top Secret computer that can hack any secure system in the world and destroy
governments.
The Urban Outlaws have to stop it
and avert world domination!
What has the
experience of being published been like?
I taught myself creative writing because I failed English GCSE
at school. So, I had to work very hard at it. It took eight years to get my
writing up to a readable standard!
I guess I have my feet on the ground about being published now.
After all, it’s a job and I want to do the best I can. I think the hardest
point was the beginning – it was very overwhelming and a lot more hard work
follows! Now, I’m so busy I haven’t had time to stop and reflect. I’m sure it
will hit me hard one day!
What writers or books
inspired you to start writing?
All of them. Seriously. But, a few have helped me on the way: I
like Clive Cussler’s Fargo adventures for action, Harry Potter for fantasy and
pure imagination, Classic sci-fi with Arthur C Clarke and Isaac Asimov, and
I’ve read a lot of non fiction about physics.
Are you a
plotter when it comes to writing?
I would say a combination of several things help me when writing.
I think primarily in images. I get a strong visual of a character in a
dangerous/exciting situation and I then watch how they try and get out of it. Main
characters come first. I then think of an overall plot and plan it out – this
helps me to know where the book is going and try to avoid writer’s block. Once
the rough draft is done, it’s write, edit, write, edit. . .
Are you working on new
anything at the moment?
Urban Outlaws is book one of five in the series. The second,
Urban Outlaws: Blackout, will be published in September this year. So, they’re
my main focus at the moment, but I have plenty of ideas for the future.
Thanks Peter! You can find out more about Peter and the Urban Outlaws on the Website: http://www.urbanoutlawsbunker.
Find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
And buy the book in bookshops and online!
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