In Episode 98, Mark Lefebvre interviews bestselling Australian thriller author Rachel Amphlett, who came to Kobo HQ during her international author tour. Rachel, her husband Nick, and Mark sat down to talk about how she finds inspiration, never giving up, sticking to a schedule, and more:
- Rachel’s re-introduction to writing after a long lapse, and the underlying concept for a story that just wouldn’t let go
- The wonderfully inspirational Christmas gift from Rachel’s husband Nick and his keen words of advice on how to deal with that story (which became the novel WHITE GOLD)
- The Italian publisher who approached her wanting to purchase Italian language rights to that first published novel
- The mindset shift that requires discipline on a daily basis in order to hit the daily word count first thing before all the other business and marketing tasks take hold
- The necessary step of turning off the wifi and putting her phone in another room when it is time to be serious and get down to writing
- The Gantt chart Rachel uses to outline and stick to her twelve month pre-planned publishing schedule
- Her latest book, the November 2017 release HELL TO PAY and how it wraps up an underlying sub-plot that had been developing over the previous three novels in the series
- How emails and feedback from readers around the world have helped Rachel to “up” her game when writing the books in her two series
- The decision Rachel has made to use British English versus American English for different books depending on where they are set
- How Rachel’s Canadian audience on Kobo was established well before any of her other international audiences started to grow
- How being in Kobo Plus in the Netherlands and Belgium have helped Rachel sell more books in those territories than ever before
- Her advice for beginning writers, which includes “don’t give up” and “do your homework”
- Nick’s advice for the spouses of writers
Links of Interest:
Rachel’s Website: www.rachelamplett.com
Rachel’s Author Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/rachelamphlett.author/
Rachel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachelAmphlett
Rachel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelamphlett/
Rachel’s Books on Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/search?query=Rachel%20Amphlett&fcsearchfield=Author
Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.
She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.
Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza, Ken Follett, and Stuart MacBride.
She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.
A keen traveller, Rachel holds both EU and Australian passports and can usually be found plotting her next trip two years in advance!
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