My author in the spotlight is ...Phil Suggitt

I am pleased to welcome to my blog

Phil Suggitt

Author
of

Dreams In Stone

Published May 8th 2013 by Strategic Book Publishing

*~Phil ~ welcome and thank you for discussing your book with us ~*

What inspired you to write Dreams In Stone?

In the days before the net I regularly corresponded with my Aunt Mary, who loved great literature. She wanted me to write a second novel, and sent me a single page idea about an old manor house in a village called Stratwick. It was based on the ruined house in the Derbyshire village of S Wingfield, which she knew well. Sadly my aunt didn't live to read the novel she inspired.

What can you tell us about Dreams in Stone that won’t give too much away?

I guess I can only repeat the page on my website!

Find more here http://sbpra.com/PhilSuggitt

What are your main literary influences?

No conscious influences - probably hundreds of unconscious influences! Probably every writer who could write a good, concise yarn that made me think.  

What scares you about writing books?

Writing is a compulsion, but it takes such a long time when you have other work. I am slow. I recall a character in a novel, an artist who abandons painting because he lacks the skill to reproduce the things he sees in his head. Sometimes I feel the same about writing.

What books do you like to read?

A huge range. I am not prejudiced. There are excellent works in all genres. Comics taught me to read and I still enjoy comics and graphic novels. I enjoy a great deal of literary fiction, History and Fine Art. I won't list names, because there are so many good writers I haven't read yet!

What next?

A novel about some people who use a mock-PolynesianTiki restaurant from the1950s to the present

Phil ~ Thank you so much for joining us today. Jaffa and I wish you continued success with your writing.

 ***

My Thoughts on Dreams In Stone.

Alec De Groot has recently inherited Stratwick Hall, which is a partly decaying Tudor manor house in the heart of the pretty English village of Stratwick. Alec is a bit of a drifter, he lacks ambition and the responsibility of maintaining his inheritance is really beyond his capabilities. His volatile relationship with his girlfriend, Trisha, seems to be more of a hindrance than a help.  Whilst attempting to spend time at the hall, Alec becomes attuned to the atmosphere and when sinister events begin to occur, Alec becomes entangled in the hall’s mysterious background.

What then follows is a nicely descriptive and interesting look at the dual time history of the hall and how it impinges on local society. The inclusion of some interesting characters from the village really makes the narrative come alive and the increasingly menacing aspect of the hall is well integrated into the story. Overall the interpretation of what is happening makes for interesting reading.

I found much to enjoy in Dreams In Stone, the author clearly has a love of writing and this shows in the thoughtful nature of this narrative.

*~*~*