My lovely neighbour recently asked me why I write under a pseudonym. It was suggested that the nature of the books would probably determine the level of personal exposure an author may feel comfortable with. Since there could be at least one other person who may have contemplated the same question, I will briefly explain.
To me, writing is a hobby and an escape. My professional career is fraught with conflict and devoid of fun and laughter – almost like veganism. I do not want to blur the lines between the fun I have with a hobby, and the seriousness that work demand. I also fear that clients may question the wisdom of entrusting a fiction writer with pressing and often depressing personal or business concerns.
The books are regarded as fictional action thrillers. When listing a book on marketing platforms such as Ingraham Spark and Amazon genre-choices must made by selecting very specific descriptions from a number of drop-down options. Some choices were easily made. The “fiction” description was a given. Locations referred to in the books are real and much research preceded references to law enforcement- and other organisations. Many characters are based on real people, and I tried to present situations as realistically as possible. However the stories are strictly the products of my imagination.
As subcategory, I had to choose between thriller, mystery or suspense, and thrillers they became. Now the choices became confusing. Is it a general-, crime-, legal- or technological thriller? Does it concern the military, police or vigilante justice. The 3G books are about a group of civilians led by two ex-soldiers. The group is well positioned to operate outside certain legal boundaries but do so in aiding law enforcement. “Semi-vigilante-police-supporting-soldiers” was not an option, so I made the obvious selection and skipped this option completely.
To recap then – the 3G series is an international action thriller series (and has absolutely nothing to do with cell phones. 3G is a tongue-in-cheek acronym that the first members of the group came up with late one evening).
The underlying theme of the books is the creative means by which 3G finds alternative ways to deal with crime when law enforcement agencies hamstrung and manipulated by politics and bureaucracy.
My characters are very important and very dear to me, especially since so many of them are based on real people. The 8 unique individuals that are 3G, hail from South Africa, France, Japan, the Ivory Coast and the UK. They are tough and well-adjusted individuals. They do not suffer from depressing personality disorders, gender confusion or self-indulgence. They are just normal people dealing with life.
I sought to build clever plots, employ some intriguing technology and to keep the action constant. I find humour (and sarcasm) to be a very effective in dealing with life’s truly annoying challenges like human diversity, conflicting perspectives, old age and hip-hop. I also have little use for overly graphic violence or gratuitous sex, and I hope that my books may appeal to anybody who likes action and intrigue – from young adults to very senior readers.