Dragon Soul Press interviewed Rob Nisbet, an author in Pirate Legends and At The End.

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I am a hobby writer living in a small clifftop town on the English south coast near Brighton. I have always liked reading, especially whodunnits and science fiction – it is the
puzzle and the concept that attract me to a story.

1. What is your writing process like?
   • I am definitely a planner. Once I have an idea for a story, I need to plan it all. Sometimes this will be a written synopsis or sometimes it is in my head. But always I need to know the ending before I can begin to write. I am very envious of people who can just write without knowing where a story is heading, but for me that would lead to a ton of editing
     cutting out everything that turned out to be irrelevant.
2. What prompted you to begin writing?
   • Reading. I wondered if I’d be able to write something other people might like to read.
     So, I attended an evening class for creative writing. I was very lucky that this was run by
     Vivian Hampshire, a prolific writer of fiction for women’s magazines (she has since become
     Vivian Brown and writes novels). During the course, I had my first sale to Woman’s Weekly
     magazine using my wife’s name. Imagine, someone was willing to pay me for doing
     something that I enjoyed! Since then, I’ve had over 100 stories printed in magazines and
     anthologies.
3. Do you have a favourite story you’ve written? What is it about?
   • I have always followed the TV programme Doctor Who. Quirky sci-fi is something I
     particularly enjoy. There is an audio company called Big Finish and I was delighted when
     Ian Atkins, one of their producers, asked me to submit an idea for a half-hour Doctor Who
     audio adventure. This became the story ‘Intuition’ featuring the Colin Baker version of the
     character. It was performed by voice actor Stephen Critchlow and I was fortunate enough to
     attend the recording. Since then, I’ve had six further Doctor Who audios produced by Big
     Finish and been able to meet members of the cast during recordings. It is ‘Intuition’ however
     that remains my favourite having started this process. The story involves the Doctor in a
     Swiss ski resort. The people in the area are displaying a remarkable level of intuition. This
     intrigues the Doctor, and his own intuition leads him to discover an alien presence beneath
     the snow which, not only created the Alps mountain range, but is having a strange effect on
     the local population.
4. Who is your favourite author / what is your favourite book?
   • Easy question. Favourite author is sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick. I have read almost all of his books and am eking out the last of them because I don’t want to have nothing of his left to read. My favourite of his books is ‘Ubik’, I have read it many times and I am always struck by how clever it is. The reader assumes that they know what is going on, but perhaps it is something completely different.
5. What do you hope readers enjoy most from your work?
   • I always hope that readers are satisfied with the ending of a story. Even better if it is
     something they were not expecting. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a planner. I know the ending
     of a story before I start, so I can work backwards to reach the ending in hopefully an
     unexpected way. However bizarre the story, the ending must make logical sense. This is
     probably why I like whodunnits so much. I have written a few Sherlock Holmes tales for
     Belanger Books (with a couple more to follow later this year). I hope the ‘surprise’ endings
     work and that if the reader were to read the story a second time, they’d spot the clues and
     realise how Holmes had solved the mystery.
6. How many projects do you have planned over the next few years?
   • I aim, roughly, to produce a new short story each month. I have a spreadsheet giving
     details of writing opportunities, mostly competitions and open calls for anthology / magazine
     submissions (including several from Dragon Soul Press). I go through this list regularly,
     picking out anything that interests me, then comes the agony of waiting for inspiration to
     strike.
7. What is one goal you have for your writing future?
   • I would really love to properly finish a novel. I have written one (sci-fi) aimed at
     teenagers, but it is far too long. If I ever find myself with enough time, I aim to chop it into
     two books. I also have another novel idea which I hope would terrify 10-year-olds every time
     they look into a mirror!
8. Where can readers learn more about you?
   • I tend to post details of publications, cover reveals, etc on Facebook.
     I can also be found lurking in Facebook’s Womag Writers and Company.
     I’m on Goodreads too.