Here is my interview with KETH SOUTER

 

Name  CLAY MORE is my western pen name, but I also use KEITH MORAY for crime writing. My real name is KETH SOUTER. I use that for writing historical fiction, young adult, non-fiction and my medical writing.

Age 62

Where are you from?

I was born in St Andrews in Scotland, but now live in Yorkshire in England.

A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc

I studied medicine at the University of Dundee in Scotland and worked as a family doctor for almost thirty years. I still have a part-time practice and I am also a medical journalist and novelist. I live within arrow-shot of the ruins of a medieval castle. I am happily married to Rachel, whom I met at University. We have three grown up children, one granddaughter and another grandchild on the way.

I am a member of various writing organizations including Western Fictioneers (of which I am the current Vice President), Western Writers of America, The Crime Writer’s Association, International Thriller Writers, the Society of Authors and the Medical Journalists Association.

 

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?

I am pretty busy lately on several fronts. I have had a few western books out this year, in both eBook and print editions.

From High Noon Press I have a collection of linked short stories ADVENTURES FROM THE CASEBOOK OF DR MARCUS QUIGLEY, a dentist, gambler and bounty hunter. Also from them I have contributed to a series – REMINGTON COLT’S WELLS FARGO EXPRESS.

 

With Western Fictioneer Library I have written THE DOCTOR, a novel about some events in the life of Dr George Goodfellow, the Tombstone doctor known as the surgeon to the gunfighters.

Also I write the character of Dr Logan Munro in the WOLF CREEK series, written under the house name of Ford Fargo. I also have a few other short stories dotted around.

 

With Hale I have had DRY GULCH REVENGE published this year. As with most of my novels it has a few twists and all is not as it seems.

Non-fiction, I wrote THE TEA CYCLOPEDIA, published by Sky Horse.

And with my doctor hat on, I am writing a series of books on health topics. This year Summersdale published UNDERSTANDING AND DEALING WITH HEART DISEASE. That is the third in the series, to which I have just finished one on dementia and am writing one on diabetes type 2.

 

 
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

When I was a medical student I started writing children’s stories for a well know Scottish family magazine. Then when I qualified as a doctor I wrote bedtime children’s stories for a telephone exchange. Parents could call the exchange and for the cost of a call they got a bedtime story to tell the kids, or which the kids could listen to.

I think that I started writing as a means of getting away from medicine. I love my work, but you do need to have balance in your life and not take medical problems home. Writing is a perfect distraction.

 

 
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I sold my first short story. I thought it was amazing that someone would pay me for thinking up a story.

 

 
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

My first book was a medical one. My first fiction RAW DEAL AT PASCO SPRINGS was a western. I just felt that with the western it was time to have a novel under my belt. It is actually a mystery masquerading as a western.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?

I don’t think so, since I write in four genres, the needs are different. I do try to keep it simple and not be pretentious in my use of language.

 

 
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

You mean the title of my latest novel? DRY GULCH REVENGE is about a dry gulching and a mystery surrounding it. It is a revenge tale with a difference.  I always try to make the title fit the idea I am writing about. In fact, I have to have a working title at least before I start the story. That is just how I do it.

 

 
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Have fun and see if you can work out the mystery.

 

 
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?

It is totally escapist fiction. But having said that, this summer my wife and I drove route 66, so we crossed 9 states. I think in future there will be more realism.

 

 

 

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

With the novel THE DOCTOR, I based it on a real person, Dr George Goodfellow, one of the most remarkable men of the Old West, a real surgical innovator.

Otherwise, I always drop some aspect of medicine into the book. That is what I think about when I consider the old adage, write about what you know. I can make the medicine and surgery seem real. Other people can do it with horse knowledge, others with gun lore.

 

 
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?

Brother Surgeons by Garet Rogers. This made me want to study medicine. The second was The Genuine Works of Hippocrates by Francis Adams. This was written by a Victorian surgeon, who translated the works from the Greek. I found case descriptions and aphorisms written by a doctor in fifth century BC Classical Greece absolutely mind blowing. He talked about visiting a patient in a house near to the temple of Zeus. It fired my imagination and my enthusiasm for the history of medicine.

But with fiction and becoming a writer, there are so many. The 39 Steps by John Buchan, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and all of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie, The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, All of the Sudden novels by Oliver strange. And of course, all of the novels by Jules Verne.

 

 
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

That is a tough question. If you mean whom would I most like to emulate, then I would to say Agatha Christie. I don’t think anyone comes close to her I convoluted plotting.

 

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

A positive myriad of papers and books about diabetes, since that is the subject of my next book and I have to make sure that I am totally au fait with the latest research and clinical practice. But the fiction book at the moment is Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz.

 

 
Fiona: What are your current projects?

Apart from my medical writing I am writing a short story about Professor Moriarty and I am writing a steampunk-weird western novel.

 

 
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

My local newspaper, for whom I have written a weekly health column for 31 years.

 

 
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

Partly. I love writing and would do it even if I didn’t get paid. The fact that I do is a bonus.

 

 
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

No, I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

 

 
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I have always had a fascination with books. I liked the fact that there were all sorts of different books – stories, how-to-make books, histories and science books. It seemed that you could find anything in books. And then there were these amazing places called libraries, where you could get a stack of books one week, read them and go back and change them for others. Early on I thought it must be fabulous to write a book and I think that it was always an aim.

 

 
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Actually, I’d rather not say too much about the work in progress, other than to say it is a steampunk novel – crossed with a weird western, set at the end and just after the Civil War. I’m always a bit superstitious about saying too much about a new book, in case I get stuck and can’t finish it.

 

This genre is a departure for me.

 

 
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Plotting! I can struggle with a lot for weeks. But I usually have at least one other writing project on the go, so I don’t get too obsessed with it. I can switch and let the unconscious mind find a way of sorting out lot problems.

 

 
Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I don’t think anyone ever wrote short stories as well. And what an achievement (among so many that he had), to create a character like Sherlock Holmes, who is so well known around the world.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?

I did visit the Outer Hebrides, the islands off the coast of Scotland when researching my series of crime novels set on the island of West Uist. And as I said earlier, we drove route 66 and did a lot of location visiting. Otherwise it is amazing how much research you can do on the Internet these days.

 

 
Fiona: Who designed the covers?

That is all in the hands of the publishers, although Livia Washburner at Western Fictioneers is great at both designing them and letting you see ahead of publication. Giovanni Gelati at high Noon Press also asks for the author’s input and lets you see in advance what he comes up with.

 

 
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

For me, as a writer of  plot-driven novels, the hardest part is always getting the twists, red herrings and clues into the book and still make it a logical narrative that keeps the reader reading. I want my reader to slap their forehead at the end and say, “I didn’t see that coming, but I should have.’

 

 
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?

You have to make the reader believe that you know what you are writing about. Make sure you put in pieces that show your expertise about some subject or other. In my case it is medicine or the history of medicine.

Believe in yourself, get writing and just keep going.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

With medical books, I want to explain in simple, easy to understand language.

With fiction, I just want them to have a good time with my book.

 

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

I do. It was called THE BOY WITH THE GREEN THUMB. It was about a little boy whose grandfather was a gardener who had ‘green fingers’ and could make anything grow. The little boy had a green thumb that produced some magical results. I read it again and again. It made me realize the wonder of words.

 

 

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

I love old silent movies and slapstick humour. I have to admit that movies, plays and good stories can all move me to tears. Oh yes, and poetry read well.

 

 

Fiona: Is there one person past or present you would meet and why?

I would like to meet Sir Thomas Malory (1405-1470), the author of Le Morte D’Arthur, the first novel to be printed by William Caxton. It is a remarkable book about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. He had a fascinating life – Warwickshire knight, soldier, poet, writer and adventurer.

 

 

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone and why?

Doctor and writer.

Those are the two ways that I describe myself. And very much in that order.

 

 

Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?

I am a voracious reader (I think you have to be if you want to write). I love the theatre, movies, long distance walking, running and golf. I also like archaeology, magic and baking. I make my own bread and I am always fascinated by the science involved.

 

 

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?

I have watched Dr Who ever since the first showing in the 60s. I watch crime shows, westerns, documentaries and epics like Game of Thrones.

I go to the movies a lot and have very eclectic tastes. I always try to see all of the Oscar nominated ones, then I generally stay up all night to watch the Oscar ceremony.

 

 

Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music

I will try any type of food, but seafood and any type of fish are my favourites. I also like curries. As a Scot, I love porridge and have it with salt, of course!

Claret is my favourite colour, or maroon. I wear a lot of black clothes.

Music, I enjoy classical, but also Queen, the Beetles, Country and Western.

 

 

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?

That is easy, a doctor, which I have been fortunate to be. If neither a doctor nor writer, then would have liked to be an archaeologist.

 

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?

I don’t do my blogs often enough. I have two. One is called The West Uist Chronicle, after the fictional newspaper in my crime novels.

http://west-uist-chronicle.blogspot.co.uk

The second is More on the Range, my western pen name being Clay More.

http://moreontherange.blogspot.co.uk

And my website is http://www.keithsouter.co.uk

 

 

55 second video clip about his latest children’s novel THE CURSE OF THE BODY SNATCHERS