Today I'm joined by author Barry Durham.
What genre do you write and why?
Supernatural crime mystery thrillers, so I
guess that covers two or three genres at least!
I have had an interest in the occult
since I was young teenager when my maternal grandmother taught me how to ‘read’
playing cards. I went on to learn The Tarot and was even a semi-professional Tarot
Card Reader for a while mixing with all sorts of strange people on the ‘psychic
circuit’ - some of whom have provided inspiration for characters in my stories.
Being born in Lancashire , England
I also write, and self-publish, books for
children about Figaro The Cat Detective after being asked by the eldest of my
three young grandsons to write stories for them.
What formats is the book available
in?
Paperback and
ebook for Kindle, iPad and most other electronic formats. Hardback editions are
available to special order.
What's your favourite quote about
writing/for writers?
It is a quote
attributed to American author Louis L’Amour: “Start writing, no matter what.
The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”
I have it pinned
up on my study wall to remind me to stop wandering round the internet and get back
to writing!
Where can people find out more about
you and your writing?
I have my own
website at www.bdeye.me.uk; a Facebook page at Barry Durham Author; Author
Profile pages on both Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com and a profile page on my new
publisher’s website at www.glannantty.com.
Who designed the cover?
I am
lucky enough to have some very talented relatives.
The
covers for my supernatural crime books are designed by my niece Charlotte Jones;
an English student and illustrator studying at Glyndŵr
University in Wrexham, Wales
My second
cousin Abi Griffin, another talented artist working in Wales
Where can a reader purchase your book?
At the moment, from the publisher’s
website at www.glannanty.com as well as Amazon, The Book Depository,
Blackwell’s, Barnes and Noble and several others on the internet. Just search
for ‘The Demdike Legacy’ and it’ll pop up somewhere. A deal is also in the
offing that should hopefully see it in Waterstones, WH Smith and other
booksellers in the not too distant future.
How do you research your
books?
As I tend
to set my stories in and around where I live in Lancashire , England
What is your work in
progress? Tell us about it.
My latest book,
as yet untitled, is the fourth in a series concerning the exploits of the
fictional Detective Chief Inspector Alf Stone who always finds the weird shi…
(sorry) stuff landing on his desk. This time he is on paternity leave after the
birth of his first son and his former deputy, DI Alexandra Johnson, is left
holding the baby as she investigates the demise of two young men linked by a
similarity in names but no apparent cause of death.
What are your thoughts on
self-publishing versus traditional publishing?
I spent
around 20 years on the ‘merry-go-round’ trying to get my first novel published,
with letters from publishers asking if I had an agent and letters from agents
asking if I had been published! Traditional publishing is a massive lottery for
the newcomer; your manuscript has to arrive on the right person’s desk at
precisely the right moment to get any chance of even being read.
I was on
the verge of giving up (not writing, I could never do that) when along came
self-publishing and it was like being thrown a lifeline.
I think
it is a wonderful phenomenon that has given so many talented people the chance
to get their words into print without the circus and heartache that traditional
publishers can put you through.
And now, I
have finally had a bit of luck as my first self-published novel has been
accepted and re-published by the American paranormal publishing and media group,
Glannant Ty.
Who or what inspired you to become a writer?
Nothing! I have always been a writer. I submitted
stories to SciFi magazines during my teenage years then, after trying other
jobs and getting ‘told off’ (to put it politely) for scribbling down ideas for
stories when I should have been working, eventually became a journalist at the
ripe old age of 23. During the next 40 years or so I worked for various
newspapers and magazines in the UK ,
as well as selling articles on my hobbies to magazines in the UK , USA
and Europe . I also spent seven years as a
part-time university lecturer teaching newspaper and magazine design to Masters
level. I am now finally ‘retired’ and able to write what I want more or less when
I want.
