What is it that links a skint TT Sidecar team, a hapless band of Manx private eyes, a local dating club for the love-lorn elderly and an owner of a bookshop hoping for easy money and an exciting love life?
They are all figments of the imagination of James Collier, one of the most successful authors in the Isle of Man.
Perhaps better known under his pen-name, J.C. Williams, James recently celebrated releasing his latest novel, ’The Bookshop by the Beach’, by officially leaving his place of work and becoming a full-time author.
Having started to write his first novel, ’A Flip of A Coin’, six years ago, following an accident which left him laid up with a leg in plaster for five months, James now has 14 books to his name and has a legion of fans all over the world who gleefully snatch up the latest books in his TT-based series, ’Frank *’ Stan’s Bucket List’, what the old dears get up to in ’The Lonely Heart Attack Club’ or the adventures of the ’Seaside Detective Agency’, the island’s only band of private investigators.
’All of my books are lighthearted comedy stories,’ said James.
’I like writing about the hapless idiot. The type of character that, no matter what they do, it all goes slightly wrong for them and they get themselves tied up in a mess trying to sort it out.
’They are all set in the isle of Man, too, apart from my first novel and a children’s book I wrote about the Scots fighting the Vikings.’
’The Bookshop by the Beach’ is typical of his style, with James calling it a ’rom-com’ of a novel.
’I’ve set this one in Peel,’ he said.
’Libby, the lead character comes over to run her gran’s bookshop with idyllic notions of a new life by the seaside running this shop, sitting on the beach eating ice-cream and fending off new boyfriends.
’The only thing is her business sense isn’t quite what it should be and she has to come up with a plan to save this previously successful little shop.’
Having successfully created several of his creations into character-driven book series, he says that ’the Bookshop on the Beach’ is destined to be a stand-alone story.
Out of his three series of books, James said that the ’Frank *’ Stan’s Bucket List’ series, based around two men with nothing to lose who start their own sidecar race team, which currently features four books is his most successful.
’Touch wood, it seems to be working well, he said.
’I just sit here at my desk and the ideas seem to keep coming.
’It seems to be that I just have to keep bringing out new books and new stuff that people enjoy. That’s the challenge I like.
’It is pretty cool that it has become my job. It was weird leaving my job at the bank which I really did enjoy. But it was something that I wanted to do. I’m 44 now and I want to continue with this for as long as I can, I guess.
’Its like that cliche says: "If you do something that you love, you never work a day in your life". That’s how I feel at the moment.’
For more information on James' books, go to authorjcwilliams.com
by Mike Wade
Twitter:@iomnewspapers