Burning the Candle. . . with David Leadbeater

A brief Q and A with Author, David Leadbeater.

Q: The Matt Drake Series has been a huge success. When writing it did you have a particular audience in mind?

David: I envisioned the adventure as an ongoing piece of pure escapist entertainment. Nothing too serious or (hopefully) anything that might happen in real life. A story best enjoyed with an open mind, an open bottle of wine or beer, and a sense of fun. It should read like a Hollywood blockbuster. Anyone looking for serious thriller fiction would be best advised to try a sample first.

Q: You have explained to your readers that the first 4 books make up the ‘Odin Cycle’. Obviously this requires a big storyline. How would you sum it up for readers who aren't familiar with your work?

David: The brief version? Matt Drake, a man struggling to kickstart a new career after seven years out of the army, gets dragged into a sprawling, non-stop action adventure where he is forced to call upon his old skills and confront the many unresolved nightmares of his past to help save the world. 

Q: How will the Matt Drake series evolve after the ‘Odin Cycle’? Is there to be another 'Cycle'?

David: Book 5 – due in April/May 2013 – will be an adventure in its own right and form the ‘bridge’ to a new set of ancient mysteries - now planned as a three book cycle based around Babylon, the ancient Gods, the crazy Tower of Babel and other legends, it will pose the biggest test yet to our struggling heroes.

Q: Staying with that last thought, the series actually centres around many diverse and interesting characters, not just Drake. Was this deliberate or did the story just evolve that way?

David: I wanted more than a single character to drive my story. I wanted several colourful, likeable men and women. The idea has proven favourable beyond my wildest dreams. I get so many emails begging me not to kill off Alicia, or not to make Mai the Coyote, or giving me half-a-dozen reasons why they like Torsten Dahl better that Drake. And it's proving even more popular as each character's lives and trials unfold and evolve with each novel. Readers love getting stuck in again to see how their favourite is doing and revisiting the chemistry between the characters. Killing off a major character early on in the series also shows that I am not afraid to take risks and move forward, something that will be proved again in the next cycle of books. Readers be warned - major events are coming!

Q: Your work reads like a Hollywood blockbuster. What do you think gives it that quality?

David: It hadn't been done in quite this way before. I wanted a truly distinct approach, to present each new release as an event that's highly anticipated and tailored to send the reader into that fun-filled zone of escapism, filled with the impossible action, humour and good times that they look forward to, much like a new movie.