"I should have killed him..." - at sea with Paul Walters: A beBee Interview

As part of the continuing series of getting-to-know-you beBee interviews it is my pleasure to introduce novelist, recovering ad man, traveller and travel writer Paul Walters. At the time of this interview (mid-July 2016), Paul was floating somewhere off the coast of Malta doing his best to keep the yachting business afloat. He kindly agreed to put down his glass of red for a moment to share with us.

Looking for Lionel

“This quirky and intriguing collection of short stories and previously published essays are a delight to read. From the heart-wrenching Looking For Lionel, Refugee and First Love to the hilarious Le Grand Café, Heavenly Summit and Burying Izzy Lazzard, these stories are sure to entertain the reader looking for “something different.” - Amazon

Don Kerr: Off the top I knew we’d be interested in looking for the real Paul Walters. After all, that’s part of what many of us find unique and intriguing about this platform so I asked Paul to respond to the following questions:

Who is Paul V. Walters? Novelist, ad man, traveller, bon vivant - what defines you? If you were creating a character profile of Paul Walters for a novel what would be essential? Why do you play on beBee and how did you find the platform? What would surprise us most to learn of you?

Paul Walters: Greetings from a boat in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea that even has WiFi!!! Life, on the whole, is grand!

Who is Paul V. Walters? Hard question, we’re still getting acquainted; it’s a long process.

Novelist…current profession, well novelist and part-time travel writer, (hence being on a huge yacht with WiFi sailing to Sicily).

Ad man no longer even if my fingers still itch to rewrite bad campaigns. I don’t miss the stress.

Chief characteristics for a character would be unbridled chunks of satire-laced humor.

Daniela Umpierrez who, methinks, works for beBee, contacted me and curiosity and her friendly tone got the better of me. I “played” if that’s what we are doing here and found an expanded audience that seemed to like what I wrote. That’s cool, so I’ll continue to frequent the sandbox…the honey is still good!

Blowback

London, 2012. A deadly virus is released on a late night tube. In seconds 23 innocent commuters die a horrible death. Chief inspector Moore of New Scotland Yard’s terror unit is assigned the case. However, before he can begin the investigation, another attack occurs in a Camden pub and London is now a terrorized city. - Amazon

Don Kerr: Many of us who found our way to beBee are refugees finding an alternative to the algorithmic virus unleashed on what my fellow Beezer, Jim Murray, calls the Lumpy Kingdom, a.k.a., LinkedIn. I was interested in learning Paul’s perspective on the benefit associated with beBee participation so asked him: What is the key to beneficial engagement on this platform? How does it differ from others such as LinkedIn, Instagram, FB, etc.? With whom do you engage on beBee and why? What informs your decision to make a connection and participate in conversation? Do you get a more complete impression of the wholeness of a person on beBee?

Paul Walters: Don, these are really hard questions!!!!

beBee is fundamentally ‘new’ and probably finding its way. Hard to judge. At this stage, I am finding stuff I love to read but there is a lot of it. What I DO like is that I can read only what I want to read if and when followers share what they think I like!! Great interaction.

Popular topics are music and cars with travel coming in strong. Interesting to write for an audience and see fluctuations in ‘views’ and what they do and don’t ‘like’.

I don’t think I could get a complete impression of the “wholeness” of a person through what is, at this juncture, a social media site. That would be presumptuous of me. I like the bees though, they’re friendly and we chat a lot when fetching pollen for the worker bees and Queen Netta!

Counterpoint

Jonathan Savage’s company Tri-Com has grown to dominate the word of high tech, becoming a global empire. On the cusp of releasing its most revolutionary product to date, the company suddenly finds itself under attack. Its offices and manufacturing plants around the world are targeted in a carefully orchestrated operation. - Amazon

Don Kerr: Regardless of the pleasure that a new platform creates, even LinkedIn Pulse excited many writers, I thought it would be interesting to explore Paul’s perspective on any counterpoints he might offer. I asked: What’s the thing that annoys you most about social media? Is there anything in human relationships that just really pisses you off? Why? You left the ad world for the life of a novelist, writing compelling fiction. Is there much of a difference between writing ads and writing fiction? Getting Proustian for a few moments: where would you most like to live? What is your idea of earthly happiness?

Paul Walters: Gosh, I had better not be flippant in Tranche 3!!!

It’s not social media that annoys me it’s the stuff people put on it.

Human relationships? Too deep a question after three glasses of red wine…I could get verbose.

Writing ads pays you to write even if it’s bad.

Writing novels is a lot lonelier.

Where would I like to live? Well, I live in Bali for six to eight months of the year and for the rest I do what I am doing right now. So, I like where I am right now.

Earthly paradise? Seek and you shall find!

Final Diagnosis

Jonathan Savage runs the one of the world's largest software and telecommunications companies and is on the threshold of launching a revolutionary device that will change the communications industry forever. His success is thwarted when he discovers he has an inoperable brain tumour and has just months to live. Instead of merely waiting to die, he devises a plan whereby he hires one of the world's best assassins to end his life. - Amazon

Don Kerr: The final tranche of questions revolved around learning a little more about Paul’s perspective and point of view on some more random questions.

Paul Walters:

If anything, what would you like to tell the beBee executive team about your experience on beBee and how it might be improved?

Like buzzing through, reading some great stuff. Right now no complaints. High traffic pieces could be bundled together at the end of a month and package them up for say 48 hours so we can ‘catch up’ with some good stuff that we missed.

Who are your favorite heroes in fiction?

If fiction, heroes are merely a figment of other peoples’ imagination.

What authors inspired and/or continue to inspire you?

Anyone who writes a book.

What are you reading right now?

A brief history of Sicily. I am on assignment and arrive there in about four hours so a quick brush up is in order.

Is there any part of Paul Walters in Jonathan Savage?

Not a bit. In hindsight I should have killed him off in book 1!!!

When is your next book out?

August 2016.

What should I have asked and didn’t?

Well if you or I left anything out too late…land ahead!!!

Don Kerr: You can learn more about Paul at his site 

http://www.paulvwalters.com/

Note:

The goal of the "beBee Interviews and Introductions" hive is to introduce new influential members to the beBee network, and interview some of the more active and popular Producers on beBee. Is there someone you would like to get to know better? Recommend their name in the comments section, or send us a message. Once a specific person has 25 recommendations, we will work to interview that person.