Julian Ruck, author, Wales, UK

About Julian

Speaking ‘about me’ is a trifle egotistical so I will endeavour to keep this short, I am merely a humble scribbler and not a celebrity after all.

At eighteen I went off to London to train as a lawyer before spending some time in both Denmark and Israel . On my eventual return I entered the world of Academia, lecturing law. This was not to be a lifelong commitment as some years later I found myself managing Legal Services Commission contracts in the Not For Profit Sector.

Now then, before I go you may be interested to know where I get my 'inspiration' from, a question I am frequently asked. Well, the honest answer is I don't know, neither do I wander around misty mountain tops waiting for a cloud to drop on my head. Any so called 'inspiration' if you can call it that, usually starts at 8am and finishes around 6pm five days a week. I certainly do not spend hours (or for that matter, days) deliberating over a word, a sentence or a paragraph, I can think of nothing more boring - and if I am getting bored what on earth is the reader going to feel! No, for me the hardest part in writing a novel is the plot, forget 'inspiration' - apart from anything else if I spent my time waiting for such an elusive concept to knock my brain out of kilter then I probably wouldn't write one single word! Once I have worked out a plot then I'm off.

I usually write anything between 7-10 thousand words a week, at least this has been the case where the last three books are concerned, whether this rate will continue is of course another matter although to date I have yet to experience anything remotely resembling 'writers block' but who knows. So there you have it, no 'inspiration', no mystery and certainly nothing particularly clever, as I say I am just a 'humble scribbler' who's not bad (hopefully) at spinning the odd yarn or two.

Finally and for those of you who may be interested, these days all I do is write, fight with tobacco and irritate the hell out of my darling wife.

There we are, not a self obsessed word in sight and neither has one airbrushing stroke been applied to the photos either - or is it that obvious!!