We had the good fortune of connecting with David Lewis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
Because I am the least unhappy and also the happiest when I’m writing, so to stop would make me miserable.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I spent my professional life as a director/director of photography. This included shooting everything from music videos to television shows and commercials, and motion pictures. I come from a coal-mining town in South Wales, Great Britain, so it was not a simple path to Hollywood. I learned that getting to where you want is neither easy or quick. But you keep going.

I have always written, and in 1991, I was living in Berlin, shooting a television series, and in my spare time decided to write a post-Cold War/Tom Clancy-style novel. I sent it to a long-established agency in New York. An agent called me and said they loved it. She asked me where I learned to write, and I told her nowhere, I just wrote. She said in that case you are a natural writer. Dreams of fame and fortune filled my delirious mind. July 2024 is the release date for my first novel, and no, not the one I wrote in Berlin. Between then and now, I wrote and wrote and sent work out and sent work out. I never stopped and it took only 33 years to become an overnight success. If I can, you can, if you’re daft enough.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them up into the hills.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have several friends who have greatly supported me: John Callas, Vince Cefalu, Don Potter and Jake Warga. Without their encouragement it would have been very difficult.

Website: redrockat.com

Image Credits
My pictures.

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