Where have you spent most of your childhood?
So where did I grow up, I was born in a little seaside village called Crosshaven in southern Ireland the youngest of three children. To the best of my reckoning I was conceived around Christmas or New Year of 1945 and born in August of 1946. So was I a war end celebration baby or new year, new hope baby your guess is as good as mine.
What kind of books do you love reading?
What did I read growing up, anything cereal boxes and library books remember these were pre television days, can you imagine that, yes we had radio and newspapers but life was what we made it.
At what age did you first think of writing your own novel? When did you decide to become a full-time writer?
That’s an easy one about 70 I’m a late starter. I don’t think I have ever decided to be a writer, I write for enjoyment, if some people like what I write, well in good, if they don’t, that’s their problem.
How did you begin writing the novel, BARNEY: A Death, A Life, A Love?
You ask, how did Barney come to life, easy Barney is loosely based on a real life character who lived, loved and lost in the townland where I lived. Other characters in the book are also based on people I knew and people I’ve been told about. Mixed into that are stories told to me and by me of people I have known and invented.
What interests you the most about historical romance?
Again a simple answer, they are the constants in all our lives. We are all in this world because at some time before our existence two people fell in love, made love and hey presto we come along, planned or not. That’s life and life is history or history is life.
What is the most ideal ambiance for you to write in?
In a way I write at night in complete darkness in that hour between turning off the light and going to sleep, in that place there are no distractions, characters can be themselves, do what they want in complete privacy, be it good bad or indifferent. Then the next day I try to put it all on paper, so to speak.
Which story took the longest to write in "A Short Book of Short Stories"?
The story that took the longest to write was ‘He’s Back’ it was my first attempt I was and still am learning. My biggest problem is that I am dyslectic I have to rely of ‘spell check’ and a patient loving wife who has excellent language skills and fantastic at spelling and singing.
As a writer producing a work of fiction, do you tend to know the ending when you start or do you find out as you write?
Do I know the end before I start, Never, when I tell stories orally yes I do know the end, different ball game. When I write stories I simply let my characters live their own lives made their own mistakes, and get on with being who or what they are. Hence the day dreaming in the middle of the night.
Do you encounter writer's block often? If so, which book of yours did you get stuck on the most and what are some things you did to get your brain working again?
No I never encounter writers block, yes there are periods of inactivity when characters are taking ‘time out’ or plotting something devious but they always come back. Sometimes an idea, a word a scene presents itself, sometimes a memory comes to the fore and we’re away again. So, blocks, no pauses yes.
What is your take on the importance of a good cover and title? Have you ever designed any book covers?
Titles and covers. All DIY canva is brilliant and it is fun to do yes it would be great to have it done professionally but hey, that costs money and I do this for fun. Maybe you can change that and get me earning some money?
Who was the first reader that reached out to you? What did they say and how did you respond?
Another easy question, it was a reader from Canada on Kindle who emailed me a ‘thank you’ and left a nice review. That was a great buzz, what did I do, told them about my other two books of course.
Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers?
Present working, five new short stories and about a third of the way through a new mystery romance. The foundation for which was a slightly sexual experience of a onetime friend of my when we were both much, much younger.
When did you first join AllAuthor and how did you learn of it? What do you think of the experience so far?
When did I join AllAuthor? Hey, you should have that date to hand, your running this show. So far things have been pretty good now we need to convert to sales and it would be brilliant. We await the results.
