Interview with Richard Kerr
Published 2014-04-30.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
My ipad - which I won in a competition. It was second prize. I missed out on a trip to Japan which was the first prize.
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
I'm at a loss to answer this one as I haven't used any techniques. I don't have much of an online presence. Even in the real world I'm the one at the back row of any group photo half hidden behind someone's shoulder. I suppose in a world where everyone is pushing their face you either have to join them or die. The thought of it makes me die inside.
Describe your desk
I work in my living room. It's a small, dark room. My desk is very economical in size. In fact it is a classic square card table with four fold-up legs. I love card games. But, importantly, it has a good depth to it. This means I can rest my elbows on the desk whilst typing. It isn't very wide, but the floor is good enough for any over-spill.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The period known as 'The Troubles' almost matches the year I was born and the time I left. As a small child the conflict didn't seem to be abnormal. It didn't impinge greatly - though there were moments of sadness. But children play - first and foremost. If anything about there has influenced my writing it would be the sarcastic, rapid-fire humour. And I grew up amongst opinionated, hard working people who had no time for culture. The city was under a curfew during the 1970s so anything superfluous died off. There was TV, though. I saw a lot of tragedy on our News. My main memories are of working class people with little education coping with grief yet coming off with profound messages of forgiveness. I can't reconcile this with wealthy, well educated people who have never been wronged yet they preach bitterness. My education was important to me and I keep contrasting what I've learnt with where I've come from. I think that's a common theme in my writing.
When did you first start writing?
Ha! I secretly wrote books from the age of around 10. Of course, at that age, any project that takes longer than an afternoon is an epic. Whenever I had to write a story in school I did well - but only if I wrote quickly and without thinking. I remember once writing a story for English homework. I took ages over it and got a C. Later in the year I wrote a desperate, last minute story for a homework I forgot about. It got an A+. I put down writing because I went on to do animation in art college. I've taken it up again only recently. I think I should have remembered my inner child. I'm one of life's undecided ditherers and it takes me ages to do anything right as I have to get it wrong first. I hope this doesn't apply to life itself as I've only got one shot at that.
What's the story behind your latest book?
I have several half-written books lying about my hard-drive. This latest book - 'Murder on the Road' is a sequel to one of those. It began life as an independent book but was set to one side while I was distracted by something else. When I picked it up again I realised I should set it in the world of the other story. This helped to kick start my imagination. It needed a sense of place - which the previous book idea had. I also had been watching a glut of Agatha Christie stories on DVD. I took inspiration from her 'closed set' dramas. By which I mean a limited cast of characters and locations. Also, unlike a lot of modern crime, her stories are unconnected to the world of police procedure and political corruption. I think, on this occasion, a small scale was best. It's not a genre for epics and it would have been wrong to force it into something grander. Though I've an urge to upscale for the next book set in the same world.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
Here I can express my love of the internet. It certainly is a revolution. I'm glad I witnessed the world before it so I could see the revolution in action. I'm too young to have not known a world before TV or the telephone. One of my favourite things about the internet is the resurgence of the cottage industry. I'm talking about all those self-employed people or tiny businesses who, thanks to the internet, can make an independent living doing their thing. This can be someone such as my cousin who sells her crochet-wear (search for Nancy Said). Or it could be someone retired who has an expertise and they do web-cam lectures for a paying audience. The possibilities are endless. I want to be part of that.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
Is this where Smashwords wants its tummy tickled? This ties in with the previous question. It's a forum - probably more of a coliseum - to allow people like myself to get their work out there. This is my inspiration to write more. The 'success' is dependent on your criteria for the word.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Simple really - I slip into a different world. Time loses all meaning. As does housework.
On a more practical level - I love dialogue. I also love the problem solving aspect of getting the plot from A to B, while C pops up unexpectedly.
But the first response is the main joy.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Sadly - paying the bills. I love my bed. I could lie there and daydream all day. But that doesn't pay the rent. Putting my daydreams down on paper in the form of a story is the first step to trying to resolve that issue.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Daydreaming! I like my food so I cook nearly all that I eat. But when I cook I'm in my own little TV show demonstrating how easy the recipe is. I cycle a fair bit - and I daydream when I'm on the empty canal path. I like swimming. You can certainly slip into a daydream world if the pool is fairly empty. Though I constantly watch everyone who is faster to see what they're doing right. I like the sensation of being in water. I do karate - which is a different form of 'getting away from it all'. I'm quite clumsy and I spend my time in karate class observing my body very closely. It's good to remember the flesh and bones bit of being alive. It's not all in the mind.
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.
Books by This Author
Murder on the Road
by Richard Kerr
(5.00 from 1 review)
Classic whodunit mystery in a fantasy world setting. Wolf Hill joins a merchant caravan to further his yearning to get away from home. A small group of varied travelers get separated from the main group. When isolated in a forest glade one of their number gets brutally killed. Wolf joins forces with an enigmatic, little old gnome to discover the killer in their midst as the body count rises.
8 Fantasy Flashes
by Richard Kerr
(4.67 from 3 reviews)
Flash fiction is a very, very short story. These 8 are just 250 words each. They are fantasy and sci-fi themed.
Fairytale Confidential
by Richard Kerr
(4.33 from 3 reviews)
Andy Clarke is a kid from the wrong side of town. Except this town is where they used to make folktales. After years of decline they're finally making a new one and Andy gets his big break. Then an actor is murdered. Unwittingly Andy and his friend Beau are drawn into the corrupt underbelly of the folktale world. Everybody has something to hide and it leads all the way to the top.
Not Really Galileo
by Richard Kerr
(4.00 from 1 review)
All kids have a folklore about their neighbourhood, whether it's an old woman who's really a witch or, in this case, a derelict house that's haunted. Two boys decide to watch an eclipse at the dead of night. -0-
The world is full of wonder and meaning yet, today, to understand it we seem to have to choose between science and superstition. I prefer the daydeaming, storytelling way.
1s Upon A Time
by Richard Kerr
(4.00 from 1 review)
For those who hate numbers; and those who like them. Are numbers weird, annoying things that don't mean much? And where did they come from anyway? We don't learn the history of numbers in Math class. This gives them an unreal image that confuses a lot of people. But they came from somewhere for a reason and it helps to know where. This is a short article about the invention of 1, long, long ago.
Totally For Real
by Richard Kerr
(5.00 from 1 review)
The white trash Watsons, are the working-class people I grew up with: opinionated, fake victims for whom everything is always someone else's fault. Not the imperilled, plucky heroes of middle-class novels. Science got me out of that and it does the same for the Watsons. They get pulled into the largest online fantasy game. Can they find redemption in a world where their reality has become unreal?