Southern Writers Magazine Southern Writers_JAN-FEB_2019_without_Bleed (2) fi | Page 7

Roger Rapel
British Writer Intrigues
and Fascinates Readers
by Susan Reichert
What is the background of your books so far?
Most of my books have been related to my previous life, which
means I have the facts in my head. In my previous life I served
in the UK police for 30 years retiring as a detective sergeant.
During my service I dealt with and investigated many serious
crimes including murders, rapes, child abuse and numerous
others. I draw from those experiences and write them on
a fictional basis. I adopted my main character, Detective
Sergeant, by drawing his persona from a couple of colleagues.
Ask if I’m in there I will plead the Fifth Amendment.
What is your central character like?
He is not the knight in shining armor. I wanted to make
him a real-life character of that era. He is hard working,
hard drinking, and a bit of a womanizer as well.
Any fun facts or memories that popped up writing
your books?
I must admit I did have a chuckle at times when recalling
some of the incidents and the comradery back then. Also,
the banter that went on. It was not a time of being politically
correct. The banter and the innuendos were common place
and to be factual a lot of the women in the dept. were worse
than the men at times. But many of the women said they felt
safe by the protectiveness when in the field. The wind-ups
were daily, the laughter and banter were a release from what
we dealt with every day.
What is something your readers don’t know about you?
I was born very young ha-ha! Seriously, I was brought up
with all the poverty that existed in the UK just after the end
of the Second World War with rationing and the deprivation
of that time. The severe cold of the winters huddled around
a coal fire making toast on a fork. Then waking up in the
morning with ice on the inside of the windows.
I suppose it is the early years of one’s life which adds and
molds the persona. Those years of nothing makes one respect the
frugality of life even today when there is the instant way of living
with internet making news now, rather than being received days
old in my early years. I still turn the lights off in a room when
leaving it and remember telling my kids off for leaving all the
lights on with all the tuts and head shaking from them.
Tell us about your new book that was published
this year, The Wallet.
Most of my books have a factual overtone to them, although
my latest The Wallet was after the most vivid dream I had.
Dare I say I had a dream? I don’t normally dream or if I do
as I wake up it disappears into the morning mist and try as
I may it goes beyond reach. But not this one. I had to write
it. I sat down and on an A4 pad wrote, in pencil, the whole
dream. I eventually finished it having sat for nearly 9 hours;
but finish I did.
Then I had to decipher my hieroglyphics. I’m often told
I should have been a doctor as I have atrocious handwriting
which is made even worse when rushed and in pencil.
After I finished and after the editing and polishing, I sent
it to my publisher, Ravenswood. They agreed to publish it.
In the meantime, I worked with Patricia Shannon of
Books to Movies who wrote a script we finally agreed on
which is being sent to film director’s. This is my first horror
come thriller only because of the dream. n
For more information visit: https://www.rogerrapel.com/
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