We were excited to check in with Author, H.O.WARD. His debut book 'Doris' was published September 2020 under our imprint Daisa Publishing. It is a romantic-war fiction, following the life of Doris a caring Queen Alexandra Nurse in the Second World War. It is available to purchase from our online website, Amazon and other online retailers (or order through your local indie bookshop). Find out more here.
"If you want adventure, be a writer." - H.O.WARD
What inspired you to start writing?
H: I was retired, bobbing about on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea without a purpose … and you have to have a purpose in life … writing popped into my head and I started writing Poetry before embarking on a writing career.
What advice would you give a new writer, someone just starting out?
HM: If you want adventure, be a writer. It’s a dream world, you can be who you want, go where you want, do what you want … find a niche to write about and go for it … do not give up and good things will happen.
How do you develop your plot and characters?
H: I look to life, all the ingredients are around you. You just need to mix them up a little.
Describe your writing space.
H: Clutter – haha – research, notes, spreadsheets everything that I need to write the story.
What is the most difficult part about writing for you?
H: Sometimes the beginning. I have to plan, structure, create in my head, merge fact with fiction but then that makes the writing easier.
Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips for aspiring writers?
H: Just go with it – if you cannot experience it – how can you write it?
Who is your favourite character from your book?
H: Doris.
Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
H: On Facebook at my Howard Marshall Author Page, Amazon and on the Partnership Publishing website.
Favourite quote?
H: "Nothing ever happens without first there is thought."– (My own Quotation)
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
H: Walking and photography
What did you want to be when you grew up?
H: 'Grown up' – haha an engineer
If you were a tour guide, what would you like a visitor to see and what impression would you want them to take away with them when they leave?
H: The Woodlands – Life’s Balance. I often go myself, to any woodland to find balance in my own life.
We asked H.O.WARD about his second book ...
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
H: To question what they believe
What is the significance of the title?
H: The book is a story about universal parallel life and the title is – Across the Parallel is the working title.
Was the writing process different and what challenges did you face writing for a genre to DORIS?
H: Yes very different, because of the flow of the story and in order to get sequences aligned, it was like tipping a thousand piece jigsaw on the table and putting it together – hopefully it comes across as a flowing story for the reader.
We look forward to H.O.WARD's projects coming up this year ... stay tuned!
