Manx writer enjoys online success with debut novel
AUTHOR Adrian Hall has hit the virtual bestseller list on a computer publishing site with his debut novel.
Feng Shui Assassin is a thriller with a twist in which the killer uses alternative therapies to wipe out his victims and keeps the reader guessing.
Although author Adrian Hall, 42, has written comic strips before, the success of the novel came as a surprise.
'It sprung from an idea that we originally bandied about in the pub really,' he said.
Overall, the 70,000-word book took about four years to complete before Adrian published it as an online ebook on the Smashwords.com website.
'It proved really popular so we decided to go for a short print run,' he said.
So far, the book, priced at 8, is available from Lexicon Books in Douglas and the online bookseller Amazon.
'I like to think of it as an urban thriller because there are elements of fantasy in it.
'It is about someone who kills through the use of Feng Shui and bad karma and the police detective who is on his tail keeps discovering clues that don't seem to make sense.
'Though the book was four years in the writing, the germ of the idea goes back even further.
'I first started writing it about 10 years ago as a comic strip,' he said.
'And I have since been approached by someone to see if I would be interested in turning the first chapter into a comic strip because it is very visual.
'It has been very well received. The feedback has been very good from friends and family. I'm sure none of them are biased!'
Personal reading tastes include other thrillers and also fantasy writer Joe Abercrombie.
His day job is in the finance sector, but his career history is eclectic, to say the least.
As well as graduating in business management from the University of East London, he has been a policeman, milkman, English teacher in a Thai school and web designer.
'I suppose it is a slightly colourful history but I have tried to draw that experience into the book,' he said.
Adrian lives in Woodbourne Road, Douglas, and is currently planning his next book, possibly a collaboration with another local writer, though a sequel to Feng Shui Assasin could also be on the cards.
As for his attitude to Feng Shui: 'I like the concept but I'm certainly not a practitioner. It started out as a bit of a rail against alternative therapies but ironically as I've researched it I have become more sympathetic.
'It puts an amusing spin on things and is perfect for the new age hippie in your life!'
The book is available from the Lexicon bookshop on Strand Street, online bookseller Amazon, or as a download from.smashwords.com website
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Weather for Isle of Man
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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