LOUISE CARTER
KLEINEMONDE resident Rod McGregor recently had his crime thriller, Librarians and other Criminals, selected by Amazon for its newly launched Kindle Scout – a fun and interactive way for aspiring authors to have their books published by means of a nomination vote.
The first step is for readers to nominate a book they would like to see published. The author then publishes a short synopsis of the novel, a brief biography and a significant excerpt of the book. If the passage sparks enough interest from readers, they vote for the text by clicking on the “nominate” button promoting the text for publication. When a certain text receives enough interest Kindle automatically publishes the book, and the author is considered for remuneration for his or her work.
Before writing Librarians and other Criminals, McGregor worked in various television and film fields across the world. Before retiring and settling in the Sunshine Coast he worked as a stringer for different broadcasting companies including MTV Asia, the European Space Agency, Fox New TV, and in the film sector, as well as teaching film students in the Netherlands.
He was born in the UK to Scottish parents and claims he is most notable for dropping out of school and then college before failing at any other job other than writing.
McGregor has several film and TV credits as a reputable screenwriter and still dabbles with the odd project. But for now his interest lies with writing his own fiction.
In Librarians and other Criminals, McGregor has brought to life a story of an unintended criminal, master forger Vivian Sevenster, who follows some unexpected twists and turns.
Vivian quickly surfaces as the anti-hero, and plans one of the biggest heists in history while unknowingly finding himself in possession of the long lost verses of the so-called Redivivus, which an ancient order of priests wishes to supress. The story is rich with historical references and dabbles with mysterious events and secretive plots.
The following is an excerpt: “The auctioneer called for bids. Nothing. I hung back for as long as I dared as the room remained silent. Finally, when The Wraith began to raise her catalogue, I trumped her, snapping it up with a maiden bid of five hundred. Again The Wraith turned a glare on me. ‘That wasn’t worth even a hundred.’ Not to you, I thought. But that lot just made my day. I gave her my best smile.”
More secrets are revealed and Vivian has to delve into his family’s past to solve this crime-within-a-mystery puzzle, while his neatly ordered life is thrown into chaos.
McGregor is a huge fan of crime thrillers and has been devouring the likes of Patricia Cornwall, James Lee Burke’s, Kinky Friedman, Robert B Parker and Raymond Chandler for years until he realised he had a book within himself.
“One of the reasons I was inspired to write this book is because I felt like I was reading the same story from different authors over and over and wanted to write something that would have people go ‘Wow! I really didn’t expect that’,” McGregor said.
He also realised the difficulty and tribulations aspiring authors are faced with in attempting to get their books published and into the right hands, so the Kindle Scout route has opened up a new avenue to be explored.
“If I can help just one more author become aware of this possibility, I would be very happy. Don’t be scared of writing a book. Don’t be intimidated by literary agents and publishers,” McGregor said.
If McGregor receives enough nominations and the book makes more of an impact, every person who has put in a nomination will get a free copy of the book from Kindle Press and an invitation to write a review of it.
Follow the link to https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1I9TKPW7M869D to “nominate” McGregor and find out more about how to get your own novel published.
Keep your eyes peeled for a full review of Librarians and other Criminals in an upcoming edition.
