Author Spotlight - Tony Walker

One of the most common tenets of the writing world is for an author to "write what he knows."

The belief being that if you write what you know, your work will have a degree of believability that would be more difficult to achieve otherwise.

There is no proof of the accuracy of this theory but there are plenty of examples of highly successful authors to argue both sides.

John Grisham, for example, is a lawyer who writes about law related issues. Not much doubt about his success.

Stephen King, on the other hand, probably doesn't have much experience in telekinesis, haunted cars or vampires. Nevertheless, his success speaks for itself.

So you'd probably find just as many authors who follow this thought pattern as those who don't.

One that you'll find who does use it is Tony Walker.

Tony has been, at various points in his life;

A military man, serving in Britain's S.A.S. (Special Air Service).

A businessman, owner of a military memorabilia shop in London, which specialized in World War II artifacts.

The proprietor and chief instructor of a shooting academy in Arizona.

By combining these experiences with his love of military history, a fertile imagination and outstanding writing skills, Tony Walker has written two fast-paced, action filled novels, with a third one on the way.

His first novel, "Snides," introduces us to Englishman John Pilgrim.

Pilgrim, a former member of the British S.A.S., owns a military memorabilia shop in London (sounds familiar) and, together with American journalist Sally Brandon, becomes involved in a life or death encounter with British gangsters and a Nazi war criminal over a missing Nazi artifact that could prove incriminating to the wrong people.

Walker's second novel, "Pilgrim's Banner," has John Pilgrim back again. He has since married Sally and, together, the two have emigrated to the U.S. where they own and operate a shooting academy in Arizona (hmmm, where have I heard that before?).

In "Pilgrim's Banner," John Pilgrim buys a Nazi swastika flag at an antique fair in London. Little does he know that the flag once had great significance and certain people who still believe in the Nazi mentality will do anything to get it back.

I've read both books and they are both great reads with a nice balance of action, story and interesting historical fact..

For example, I was unaware of the British Free Corps, a group of British P.O.W.s recruited into the Waffen SS by the Germans.

Using elements of true events in a fictional story makes it much more interesting to me.

Walker's characters seem like real people, unlike some fiction protagonists who seem infallible; Pilgrim and the rest of the characters are quite believable. The reader quickly finds themselves invested in all of the characters.

The dialogue, even the cockney slang, is crisp, true-to-life and at times, quite funny.

I enjoy a novel that injects an ordinary person into an extraordinary situation and both of Tony's books do this quite well. Pilgrim goes about his business performing seemingly innocuous tasks and suddenly finds himself in hot water. Once the situation is established, the action moves along quickly, making it hard to put the books down.

Tony also has a non-fiction book to his credit called "How to Win a Gunfight." In this book Tony offers the benefit of his expertise with guns to teach people ways to come out on the winning side of encounters with armed assailants. The book has received critical acclaim and is much more than simply a lesson in how to shoot first. Some of the information in the book (I've read it even though I have no interest in guns) can be useful regardless of your chances of dealing with the business end of a gun.

When he isn't writing novels or teaching people how to take their shooting skills to the next level, Tony also writes articles for various gun related magazines. One such article, which can be found on his website, explains some of the not-so-obvious dangers of talking on your cell phone. It's a very interesting perspective and one that most people would never consider.

What does it have to do with guns you ask...

You'll have to read it to find out. (click here)

To learn more about Tony Walker you can visit his website at www.tonywalkerbooks.com. There you will find biography info, some general Q&A about his work and the latest information about the next installment in the adventures of John and Sally Pilgrim..."Pilgrim's Luger."

Knowing Tony, and having a vested interest in John and Sally Pilgrim, I'm anxious for this one to be released.

So - while the issue of "writing what you know" may never be proven one way or the other...Tony Walker offers proof positive that it can lead to some excellent books.

All of Tony's books are available on Amazon.com.

Thank you and please support Independent Authors.