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Monday, June 18, 2012

Author Interview Jack Prendergast




 About the Author:
 
Jack is a Londoner, born in 1957 of Irish parents.
His battles with the bottle, his impoverished childhood, and his years in the Royal Navy and Air Force have all helped contribute to this first novel.
Fifty years ago, there really was an orphanage for Polish refugees in Oxfordshire; the incident with Churchill's funeral train is based on fact. The characters are fictitious, but the immigrant sub-culture was real, including the loose character studies of the hard men that terrorised the capital's underworld.
The author lives in rural Ireland with his long-suffering wife, Zamzagul, and their dog, Flea-bag.
He is currently working on his second book.








 Interview

1.       What inspired you to become a writer?

       I’ve always had my nose in a book, ever since I was a kid.

2.       When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

       It was always there, I just didn’t know it until I was tasked to write a short story for an education course for the unemployed. The response was so positive that I caught the bug, and then some.

3.       What genre(s) do you write? Why do you write the stories that you write?

       My first novel is quasi-autobiographical; I had all this poison from my childhood to get out, and the thing just mushroomed into The High Blue Arena

4.       Where did the inspiration for your book come from?

      Life’s school of hard knocks; abandonment issues; the people I observed around me as a kid; the futility of blue collar violence; my own near-fatal booze addiction; the inevitable alienating effect of being a child of immigrants; the guts it takes to maintain an interracial relationship.

5.       How long did it take you to put the story together?

       Once I got going, I had the thing mapped out in a few weeks. The conception was quick, but the writing took at least two years of constant revision.

6.       Can you share a little about your novel with us? 

       When misfit loners form duos, the consequences can be terrifying...
       If I could just paraphrase from a great movie: “There’s nothing sadder in this life than a wasted talent.” One of the main characters has chosen crime to avoid the murderous self-discipline required to nurture his musical heritage. We all have similar gifts, yet many of us, including yours truly, seem to let them slide due to a lack of self-confidence or something, and then one day it’s too late ... It’s so sad...
       At the core of the book is a sub-culture of millions who remained firmly locked out of the whole Sixties freedom/revolution thing. For a taste, the opening pages of the novel are freely available in the Kindle edition. 

7.       Who is your favorite character in your novel and why?

       I’m a sucker for underdogs, so it’s got to be enforcer, Nathan Fortune; Frankenstein-like he may have been, but one can’t help having some empathy for the man, thanks to the horrific childhood that created him.

8.       Now that your book is getting ready to hit the stores describe how you feel in one sentence?

       Trepidation, mixed with a cathartic relief that at least it’s out there...

9.       What has surprised you the most about the whole processes of getting your book on the market?

       How easy it was, to do the whole Amazon Kindle thing.

10.       Would you like to share what the reviewers are saying about your book?

       Ain’t got no reviews just yet.

11.       How many books have you written?

       A few short stories, but only this full length novel is published.

12.       What are you working on next?

       Depending on feedback, I’d like to write the sequel; failing that, I’ve got at least four solid plots in my head for another fiction novel. 

13.       What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?

       I am becoming quite accomplished at playing the Irish Uilleann pipes; I find the harmonious sounds of the instrument quite bewitching. (Not for the sane!)
        I’m also building my own 24 foot steel boat. It’s still sitting in the garden, so my wife calls it the Chicken house...

14.       How can readers contact you?

       Facebook
      Alternatively, you can email me at johnhighblue@gmail.com
     Amazon Author Page 
      

15.      When does your book go on sale and where can we buy it?

    Amazon

16.     Last but not least is there anything that you would like to add?

          Thanks Leigh for the opportunity to do this interview!


1 comment:

  1. What a fantastic interview. Jack it is lovely to meet you. I wish you all the best.

    ReplyDelete