Welcome to OPEN BOOK, where we open the book on our authors and discover their literary stories!
In this edition, we'd like to introduce Dexter O’Hara, author of Missing Pieces.
What is the story behind the title?
Ashley works as a security consultant and investigator following time working in security contracting. He suffers from post-traumatic intrusive thoughts which are increasingly problematic and means he struggles to understand the nuances of social interactions. A young girl goes missing from her university and Ashley is hired by her family. The pressure of finding Jayne exacerbates Ashley’s intrusive thoughts, and he turns to his colleagues from his contracting professional life to help. Ashley must control his own trauma if he has any chance of finding the missing girl.
Who or what inspired your characters?
Although fictional, many of the characters are inspired by people I have been lucky enough to work with professionally.
Where do find your writing inspiration?
The inspiration for the first two books is based on my experiences and psychological training. However the third book, while ensuring authenticity and realism, has allowed me to create a new set of experiences and events for my characters to populate.
Where do you find it easiest to write?
I live on a narrowboat and have an office on board. In the summer I like to moor the boat in a quiet spot and sit on deck to write, in the winter I write in front of the wood burner in my office. These places feel quite neutral, which helps me visualise as I am writing.
Where and when do you get most of your writing done?
That really depends. Some days I can sit at the computer and manage a few hundred words. Other days, it seems to flow and I can write a few thousand words without looking up. Stan, my Belgian Malinois, normally sits beside me and is usually the one that breaks my concentration.
What piece of writing advice have you found the most helpful during your writing career?
Don't force it. If it's a story worth telling, it will come together on the page. I remind myself of that quite often.
Did you encounter Writers Block? If so, how did you overcome it?
I don't think I have had writers block as such, but there are sometimes moments when the story resists slightly. Rather than seeing this as a problem, I always think of that as a helpful indicator that maybe there is an issue with the flow of the writing. A few times I have gone back a chapter or even two and altered the way the story moves into the point of resistance and it solves itself.
Are there any books which have inspired your writing?
There are so many, and often of a genre quite different form my own. Authors which I feel have been formative to me as an person not just as an author include writers such as Douglas Adams, Robert Rankin or Neil Gaiman.
Why should people read your book next?
While Missing Pieces is written to be entertaining and engaging, I hope you also find it thought provoking. The story is honest and authentic in every sense, and I feel excited and privileged to share it, and its characters, with you the reader.
What was your planning process for writing this novel like?
This is my first book and was inspired by some of my own experiences in recovering people from trafficking groups. Once I had the general structure of the story, I wrote some key scenes which I could envisage clearly. I then went on to complete the manuscript in passes, writing in layers of increasing depth.
