About Phil Warner:
Phil Warner grew up in Windsor, Ontario, Canada where he played a significant amount of baseball and hockey. After graduating from the University of Windsor and then the University of Western Ontario (now known as Western University), he relocated to Sarnia, Ontario where he began his teaching career. Phil taught secondary school mathematics and computer science prior to moving into administration.
While teaching in Sarnia, Phil met his wife Wendy and together they began their million dollar family raising two outstanding humans! Coaching athletes, as well as coaching professionals through mentoring, has been a passion throughout Phil’s personal life and his career. In retirement, Phil has taken up hobbies such as pickleball, renovations, teaching part-time at a university, and writing, but most importantly becoming a proud grandpa.
With significant time on his hands during the 2020/2021 pandemic, Undone came to fruition and he hopes to share his love for baseball and the City of Detroit through this novel.
What inspires you to write?
After writing for education and work for decades, I wanted to write for pleasure when I entered retirement. As for topics, it is often said to write about what you know. I am very familiar with Detroit, baseball, vehicles, and investigating. These things all came together in UNDONE.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
John Grisham, David Baldacci, Dan Brown, and Michael Crichton are my favourite authors. For this novel, I feel like I blended Baldacci's storytelling with Crichton's emphasis on research.
Tell us about your writing process.
UNDONE is a unique novel in that it is written in four parts. The first three parts are narrated by three different characters. Their story timelines intersect at numerous points, so the writing process took careful planning. Each part foreshadows what will be coming later in the novel and ultimately, part four is written in third person and assembles all of the evidence together to bring the mystery to conclusion, well sort of.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
As mentioned, the book is narrated by three different characters. As I wrote those parts, it was more like I put myself into that character while I wrote. As such, I would sometimes say other people's lines, so that I could formulate how I would respond as that character at the time. I hope that makes sense.
What advice would you give other writers?
Give it a shot as it can be enjoyable. That said, writing the story is just a start to the entire process. It is so important to work on a cover, a back page blurb, a website synopsis, and a marketing plan before you finish the novel. If you don't work on it early, you will rush through the tasks that can make or break your sales.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I self-published my book when it was completed rather than wait for responses from publishers. Part of my rush was to coincide my release with Major League Baseball season commencing, since my novel hinges around the Detroit Tigers Home Opener Game day.
I have been in touch with several publishers. They appear to like my book and my writing, but they tend to want to work with authors that have a base. My second novel is in its infancy, but I am hoping to connect with a publisher for that one.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think self-publishing is the way to go for the majority of the writers out there, at least until they get established. Big company publishers will only be for the very popular or well-established authors.
What genres do you write?: Crime Mystery
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To Phil Warner Page On Amazon
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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