Hi all! Hope you are having a lovely day. I am back with another fabulous author to share with you. See his interview below and make sure you grab a copy of his book, Beyond Dark Waters! Take care, my friends. Until next time..
- Tell me a bit about one of your favorites that you wrote.
That is a difficult as I wrote a series of three. Basically I have introduced the concept of a Quinling: a gift from nature whereby one species is given the opportunity to enter into five species in turn, leading quests and seeing problems from a different point of view.
Book one (Beyond Dark Waters) is about a boy who falls into a lake. His quests cover subjects from friendship and bullying, to the energy cycle and environmental issues.
Book two (Above and Beyond Dark Waters) sees a girl take to the air. She learns leadership, kinship as well as how to handle life when everything is against you
Book three grows up the boy from book one in the real world. The lessons he learned as a Quinling should have kept him on the right path, but misplaced trust and naivety see his world fall apart when it had only just begun. This book takes the boy from being a straight A student, to being thrown out of school with a criminal record. It takes him through the fight to make himself a good life. It tackles what it is like to grow up, fall in love, marry, raise a family, enjoy a granddaughter (the girl from book two), have close family members die and finally face death himself. I have seen grown women in tears over parts of this book.
2. Writing is a difficult endeavor. What makes you continue to write?
Writing is something I have always done. When my children were young I wrote them stories. When close friends died I wrote pieces of comfort for their families. When a girl who called me Dad (but not a blood relative) was dying of cancer at the tender age of 32, I wrote her a story to take away her fears. Writing is my preferred form of expression (since I no longer play Rugby Union) and I have written for weddings, funerals and other events. Books are a natural extension and I like to allow my passion for the natural world to seep through the pages.
3. What do you look forward to every day?
Having just turned 65, waking up at all is a gift. I look forward to Julie’s (my wife) first smile of the day. I look forward to sorting the thoughts in my mind into some kind of order so I can put them on paper. I look forward to sunrise, and wonder if the wild creatures around me are enjoying it as well. Mostly, I look forward to the gift of another day.
4. How do you define success? What makes you successful?
Success to me is contentment in most things I do. There might be some people who are content with everything, but I believe they are few and far between. Writing success is when I read a passage from one of my books, smile to myself and say: “Yes, that’s exactly how I meant to say it; that’s the effect I wanted to create.
5. Any tips for a new writer?
Learn all the rules of the English language (or whatever language you favour). Don’t worry that you’re not following someone else’s rules. Rules do not make good books. Passion does. Be brave, because with every manuscript you submit, you are sending out a piece of yourself to be enjoyed, hurt or abused. Write what makes you happy and don’t worry about how fast or slow someone else writes. Know your story before you begin and let nobody put you off. Writing is a personal quest, and only you know what works for you.
AWARD
Beyond Dark Waters by Des Birch presents a totally original story precept. The author succeeds in weaving facets of life that all face including fear, misunderstandings, courage and compassion. The main character is transformed into the necessary forms to understand how all of life is connected. It is rare to find a book that can be highly recommended by many. Beyond Dark Waters goes beyond this expectation and should be mandatory reading for all people.
Beyond Dark Waters is hereby recognized for story originality, depth of interwoven plotlines and delivering a significant message during the rights of passage into adulthood. Des Birch has achieved an accomplishment with this book as well as other published works and this has earned him the ePublishing Consortium Writers Award of Merit.
TK Lawyer 