JimiJix Special Brew follows a man shattered by the tragic loss of his wife and daughter. What was the inspiration for this story?

No single case was the inspiration for the setup in JimiJix Special Brew, although Killian Doyle, and the marketing mascot, were obviously inspired by my experience in advertising. 

Do you think that there is a single moment in everyone's life that is life-changing?

Change is often prompted by an event in someone’s life. It could be a career event, a relationship event, a family event, or some other event, but an event often prompts a person to change. 

What themes are explored in JimiJix Special Brew?

While the story is primarily about how a relatively ordinary person has to change, and use all their skills (their special brew) in order to obtain justice, other themes explored in JimiJix Special Brew are love, loyalty, and revenge.  

You had a long career in the advertising industry. How did his experience influenced your writing?

Advertising is a results driven business in which there is a deadline to complete a project. That gave me the experience of working within a certain time frame.

JimiJix Special Brew involves the murder of a restaurant's marketing mascot, a unique premise for a crime thriller. What inspired you to centre a story around this concept?

While working in advertising, I was involved in the recruitment of a marketing mascot for a restaurant chain. That experience led me to consider making a marketing mascot the focal point of a mystery story. 

As you have lent money to over two-hundred Irish firms and provided funding for various Irish start-up companies, how did your knowledge of business and entrepreneurship play a role in this story?

Most things (some people would argue all things) are driven by money, so having a knowledge of business and entrepreneurship is not a bad attribute to possess in any venture. A business is often driven by the money that it brings in, and writing is too. Writers should analyse their sales/readership, only then will they know where and when their work is being read and by who, statistics that need to be reviewed frequently. 

Your books are set in the world of crime and revenge. What draws you to these themes, and how do you ensure that your stories remain fresh and engaging?

My stories focus on an average person being thrust into a world of crime and revenge as they seek justice. I keep my stories fresh and engaging by asking questions like – If the story moved on? What were its turning points ? Did every chapter contain a mini-drama? Did every chapter convey a feeling, mood, or sensory information?

You have a diverse range of hobbies, some of which are meditative. Do those hobbies influence your creative process or help you to develop ideas?

Writing is a meditative exercise as you have to carry a lot of information around in your head, dream up scenes, while always thinking about the reader.

With a background in both advertising and writing, what advice would you give aspiring authors who are looking to break into the publishing industry, especially in the crime thriller genre?

That you need to promote your work. If you expect to be “discovered”, you are like someone who puts a product onto a shelf in a large supermarket and assumes that everyone will find it there.