133 Hours by Zach Abrams - Book Blitz
133 Hours
Arriving at work to find she’s lost more than
five-and-a-half days (133 hours), Briony Chaplin, has no recollection of where
she’d been or what had happened to her. She is distraught. Has she been ill, or
had a breakdown, or could she have been drugged and abducted?
Doubting her own sanity, Briony is fearful of
what she’ll find. Yet she’s driven to discover the truth. When she trawls her
memories, she’s terrified by visions, believing she may have been abused and
raped.
Assisted by her friends Alesha and Jenny, and
supported by a retired detective, she’s determined to learn where she’s been
and why.
Purchase Links:
Author Q&A
1. What is the first book that made
you cry?
I don’t have a
specific recollection of the title. However, I grew up in the days when
corporal punishment at school was commonplace and teachers could get away with
walloping you on the back of the head with a textbook if you answered a
question wrong. I reckon that will probably have been the first time a book
brought me to tears.
The first book
which created a tearful emotional response was a picture book of the Disney
classic, Bambi.
2. How long, on average, does it take
you to write a book?
On average, I
reckon five – six months from start to submission stage. Each of my books has
been different. The first draft of my first book, Ring Fenced, only took five weeks to write but then several months
to bring to a presentable condition. My new thriller, ‘133 Hours’ took about three months but was ready for
presentation after another two.
3. How do you select the names of
your characters?
I don’t have a
particular way for selecting names. I choose based on what I think is a good
name for the personality of the character but sometimes go back afterwards to
make a change if I think the fit isn’t right or if I’ve inadvertently created
confusion by using similar names for different people.
4. What creature do you consider your
"spirit animal" to be?
To be honest, I was
unfamiliar with the term ‘spirit animal’ so I tried an online test which told
me I was a wolf. It surprised me as I wouldn’t have categorised myself that way
before - but you can’t argue with the internet???
5. What are your top 5 favorite movies?
I love many movies and
for different reasons. It’s difficult to narrow down my selection to five, but
for the purpose of the exercise: –
The Godfather – one
of the all-time greats
Jurassic Park – so
innovative for its time
It’s a Wonderful
Life – classic nostalgia
Psycho – the start
of a genre
Little Shop of
Horrors – just for fun
6. If you were the last person on
Earth, what would you do?
Difficult question.
First, I’d check to make sure there was no-one else on earth or anywhere else
in the universe I could communicate with. If that proved fruitless then I guess
I would read – because there wouldn’t be much point writing.
7. What fictional character would you
want to be friends with in real life?
It would have to be
Sherlock Holmes. A flawed character with a brilliant mind
8. Do you have any advice for
aspiring writers?
Don’t obsess over
perfecting your first draft as you’re writing. Instead get your story down then
come back and edit it.
I say this because I know a number of very
good writers who can never complete a project because they obsess over making
the first sentence/paragraph/chapter perfect and by the time they’re sufficiently
happy with it they’ve lost heart. I believe it’s necessary to keep momentum.
9. What book do you wish you had
written?
From a commercial
point of view, I would love to earn the royalties from The Da Vinci Code or the
Harry Potter series, however from an artistic and influential viewpoint, I’d
chose To Kill a Mockingbird.
10. Tell us 10 fun facts about
yourself!
Please choose which of the 10 you wish want to
answer, and if they want to answer all 10 questions, then that is also good
too.
1 I once worked on an ostrich farm (in Scotland).
2 I love to travel
3 Although based in Scotland, I live about four
months each year in France
4 A number of years
ago, my family and I purchased a small piece of land in Stirlingshire and
planted over 1,600 native hardwood trees – for education and to help the
environment
5 I love to play with my five-year–old grandson
with his Lego and toy trains
6 I was once, treasurer of my local branch of
the Magic Circle.
7 Once when I drove from Central Scotland to
the South of France (about 2,000km), I broke down on the French motorway
because I ran out of fuel
8 While
studying science at university, I accidentally set fire to the chemistry
laboratory
9 I like
listening to symphonic metal
10 I
never learned how to ride a bike.
Author Bio
–
Having the background of a
successful career in commerce and finance, Zach Abrams has spent many years
writing reports, letters and presentations and it's only fairly recently he
started writing novels. "It's a more honourable type of fiction," he
declares.
Writer of the Alex Warren Murder Mystery series, set in Scotland, Zach has also
written the psychological thriller 'Ring Fenced' and the financial thriller
'Source', as well as collaborating with Elly Grant on a book of short stories.
Zach is currently producing a non-fiction series to help small businesses
-using the collective title 'Mind Your Own Business'. The first, 'So, You Think
You Want to be a Landlord' is already available.
Social
Media Links –
Twitter: @authorway
0 Comments
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.