Author Interview: Max Billington on "The Libertines Motorcycle Club"

Ana: Today we have Max Billington introducing their novel, The Libertines Motorcycle Club: An Outlaw Is Born. I haven't read this book myself, but Max was kind enough to agree to guest blog about their book to any readers who might be interested in the subject. Max, how would you describe your novel to your prospective readers? In broad terms, what is your novel about?

Max: Thanks Ana. The Libertines Motorcycle Club tells the story of a regular guy named Connor who goes from being an everyday white collar nobody to an outlaw biker. The novel details the struggles that he encounters in his drastic lifestyle change.

Ana: What themes does your novel explore and what do you hope the reader will take away from the experience? Is there a particular feeling or experience that you hope to evoke in the reader? Essentially, do you hope your novel will mean to a reader?

Max: I would like to think that my novel has two underlying themes. The first being, a seemingly small decision in your life can cause drastic change, and secondly, never underestimate what you are capable of.

Ana: What prompted you to write this novel and did you have a specific inspiration in mind? Were you influenced by a certain author or work that inspired you to add your voice to this genre? Besides the boatloads of money and rockstar fame, what motivated you to write this book?

Max: Actually, I never had any intentions of writing a novel. I belong to a family motorcycle riding club, of which I am the secretary and the president of our club challenged me to write a book after I had sent several funny emails and very, very short stories about rides we went on.

Ana: If you could compare your novel to any other existing works, which ones would it be and why? If the one thing you could say to a prospective reader was, "If you like X, you'll love my book!", which work would be invoked so that a reader could judge whether or not your novel is their cup of tea?

Max: There are quite a few outlaw biker books out there. Some are fiction, but most are either true stories or an account of what supposedly goes on behind closed doors of a motorcycle club (MC). For instance, Sonny Barger, who was one of the founding members of the Hells Angels, wrote a autobiographical book called, "Hell’s Angel: The life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club." The book reads similar to his book, but in my novel, the main character is joining an established MC.

Ana: Is this your first or only published work, or have you published other novels? Do you have any more novels planned, either as a follow-up to this one, or as a completely different novel or genre?

Max: This is my first novel. When I began writing the book, I only planned on writing one book. Then, as the story began to develop in my head, my motorcycle riding club lost a member. This actually caused me to stop writing for a while. When I got back to writing, I started making the story more and more complex and realized that I wanted to end this one with a cliffhanger. As I sit right now, I am hoping to have the sequel done by this time next year.

Ana: Where can readers obtain a copy of your novel for them to enjoy? How can they contact you with any thoughts or questions? And do you have a means by which they can "sign up" to be notified when your next novel comes available?

Max: You can purchase the book from Amazon.com in paperback or Kindle format. The best way to find out any news about the book would be to like our Facebook page.

Ana: Thank you, Max. I understand you have the first chapter of your novel available as an excerpt for interested readers? And is there anything else you wish to add for our readers?

Max: Thank you, Ana. I appreciate it. Your readers can access the first chapter online through the Amazon "Try It Free" sample option. I hope it gets you hooked so you want to read the rest. Oh, and fair warning, it does contain foul language! I mean, they're bikers. What else would you expect?