Welcome, today we are talking with Peter E. Fenton! I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy writing schedule to answer a few questions. First, let’s delve into who you are. Some of the questions may be untraditional but you’d be surprised at what readers connect to, and sometimes the simplest ‘I can relate to that’ grabs their interest where nothing else can.
Can you share a little something about Peter E. Fenton that’s not mentioned in your bio on your website?
I am unashamedly a cat person.
I have come face to face with polar bears in the wild
I have eaten green pork chops (not advisable)
I love to travel
I never learned to drive (which everyone around me should be grateful for)
How long have you been writing?
Writing became my passion in the early 1990s. I had my first piece of writing performed at the Royal George Theatre in Niagara-on-the-lake, home of the famed Shaw Festival. This got me hooked on the addictive nature of audience reaction. I started writing for theatre with my first play, Relatively Speaking (not to be confused with Alan Ayckbourn’s play of the same name—I had so much to learn.) That led to working on the book for my first musical (The Giant’s Garden, written with my partner Scott White) which was first produced in 2007 with a 100 voice children’s choir. My first attempt at writing a full-length novel began in 2021 when COVID gave me the time to focus on the this longer literary form.
What have you found most challenging about it?
Organizing my thoughts. I’m a veteran note-taker. Unfortunately I have a habit of writing them on my phone, on the computer and a book that sits on my desk. And they don’t come in order. The notes can refer to any point in the book I’m working on, and sometimes the book I’ll be working on down the road. When I go back to these notes, often I will discover ideas that have outlived there usefulness. I have come to accept that I have a very untidy mind, one that can cause a great deal of anxiety…especially for my partner who patiently listens to me rant in the writing room as I search for the perfect idea that I noted weeks ago.
What does writing do for you? Is it fun, cathartic, do you get emotional?
Yes to all of the above. All at different times, sometimes all together.
Writing brings me equal amounts of joy and frustration. I get very wrapped up in my characters. I feel like a proud parent to them, feel the pain when they hurt, celebrate when they do something clever. (And, no, I don’t have real children. My partner won’t even let me take care of the houseplants.)
Characters are rarely the problem. It’s finding their journey that can be a challenge. I’m not a writer who plots out in detail. I know the key moments and where my characters are headed, but I tend to let things grow organically. When what my characters want leads me away from where I thought I should go, it can make me quite anxious.
Describe what your writing routine looks like. Are you disciplined with a strict schedule or do you have to be in the mood?
I had a fairly rigid schedule, writing every morning until lunch. After that, if I feel so inspired, or if my partner heads to work for an evening shift at work, I might write longer, sometimes late into the night.
Did you go into writing thinking that it would be a hobby or a job?
I retired from my full time occupation in palaeontology after 42 years. Although I’d been writing for decades, I wanted something to give me purpose; something I’d enjoy. Writing is a calling and for me, is never about the money. Entertaining people, taking them away from their daily lives, that is what I hope to achieve.
What inspires you?
Anything and everything. The sight of an older man riding a bike, shirtless in the sun. A young teen who approached my partner and me when we were out for a walk, and having the strength to ask us if we were gay because he was and didn’t know who to talk to. A discussion on the radio about spontaneous human combustion (not related to the previous two observations). Or sometimes an image just pops into my mind. All of these have inspired writing of poetry, novels or short stories.
Let’s move on and give readers some insight into your personal life.
Who is your hero?
My partner Scott. He is creative, intelligent, forgiving, patient, sweet, cute as a button, funny and has stuck by me for over twenty years. He is my best friend, my creative collaborator, my first reader, my first editor, my social media creator. And he has a drivers license (see answer to question # 1).
Give us one thing on your bucket list.
Travel to Italy. Any part, The same goes with Greece. We were supposed to go to Greece earlier this year but I tore my Achilles tendon while hopping down the hall to the bedroom (don’t ask).
What would readers find surprising about you?
I have a passion for Turner Classic Movies. There is something wonderful about those old films that gives me comfort.
If you could go to heaven, who would you visit?
The first name that comes to mind is Oscar Wilde. (Sorry Mom and Dad. You aren’t gay icons)
Just for fun. What is your least favorite:
Hero type – Epic heroes that come from wealth and power. I come from a lower-middle class family so I don’t easily relate to their struggle.
Character weakness – Arrogance.
Overused word in a title – “How to” (This is two words)
Genre – Westerns. I never could relate to them. Maybe because they don’t have indoor showers and flush toilets
Heroine Stereotype – “Damsel in Distress”. I grew up surrounded by many strong, intelligent women (including my sister and my Mom). I like to see at least SOME measure of strength in those characters.
Now that our readers know who Peter E. Fenton is let’s get down to the business of your book, Mann Hunt, which is part of The Declan Hunt Mysteries.
Please tell us a little bit about, Mann Hunt, which has received rave reviews!
Mann Hunt revolves around the case of a missing businessman, Ian Mann, and the detective Declan Hunt who is hired to find him. Declan, a damaged soul, is a bit of a loner who is forced to find a temporary replacement for his office manager who is headed out on vacation. He hires a young, tech savvy college grad who is the polar opposite to him. From the moment they meet there is a strong attraction between the two. While the book is the start of a budding relationship, the focus is on the mystery. This is the first of a three part series that will cover three different challenging mysteries, while the relationship between the two central characters begins to unfold in interesting ways.
What was your hardest challenge writing this book?
Pacing. Finding the ebb and flow in action, romance, comedy and tragedy which are all present in this book took time. Much of this has to do with the nature of mystery writing, and figuring out when to reveal key clues, when the action needs to ramp up, and when the reader needs time to process the information at a slower pace.
What kind of research did you have to do?
I enjoy this part of the process. I researched everything from the layout of the city (many readers of mine come from Calgary, Alberta where the book takes place), police procedure (not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, but close enough), weather patterns and hours of daylight, right down to the model of car that becomes known as The Beast. One day I called my car-fixated brother and said: “I need a 1970s muscle car that comes in red and has a trunk large enough to hold an accountant.” Bless him, he didn’t bat an eye.
What in your opinion makes good chemistry between your leading characters?
I enjoy when the characters discover and eventually acknowledge that the other has strengths that they will never possess. When opposites attract, it can truly be a magnetic attraction. I also love the the part of a relationship where one character is less aware of the potential for a relationship, creating tension. And the moment it all clicks … that is interesting.
I see that Mann Hunt is part of a three-part series. Are they standalone or do they end in cliffhangers?
Each book has a different mystery to be solved, but through the series we follow the personal growth of the characters as they face their own issues, as well as the evolution of their relationship.
Any other works in progress?
I am in revisions on Hoodoo House, the second volume of the Declan Hunt Mysteries that will come out June 25th of 2024.
I also have the gay teen romance Not Not Normal coming out next spring published by the Canadian publisher James Lorimer & Company.
Any advice for aspiring authors?
—Write what you want to write, not what you think others want to read.
—Get to know everything about your characters. Your characters will make your work relatable to the reader and lift your work above the stereotypes.
—Read as much as you can.
—Take the advice of your editor. They are trying to make you a better writer.
—Ignore the reviews as much as you can. Most of the people who write them have never had the courage to put their own writing out there for others to judge, and they have no idea what it takes to do it. Also, what appeals to one may not appeal to another. All opinions are subjective, so try not to take things personally if the reader has a different slant on your work.
—Create new worlds because you love to write, and that is what you are meant to do.v
Final words?
In this crazy world of ours, writing sometimes feels like the only way I have some real control over what is happening. For me, it is therapy. It’s where I work out my own demons through the characters I create. I put them through hell in spite of the fact I love them, knowing that I can save them when the time is right. In my books everything works out just the way it’s supposed to. The way I’ve planned. At least it does when the characters pay attention to me. Writers will know just what I mean when I say that.
Website: https://peterefenton.ca/
Blog: https://peterefenton.ca/blog/
Email: peterefenton@gmail.com
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