The Horrors of Morecambe – Andrew Michael Hurley

‘I think any place like Morcambe, so full of contraditions,  is interesting for a writer…’

Did you hever heard about this town facing a myterious bay in which the sea appears and disappears as quick as lightning? People love or hate Morecambe Bay, but since Lancastrian author Andrew M Hurley chose it as a scenery for his disturbing Gothic novel the place – and its unique imaginery – will be immortal forever.

Andrew has one of this inspiring stories aspiring writers like to hear. One day he was working as a librarian while writing a novel, next day he published it with a small publishing press, and the day after that the novel was bought by a John Murray imprint and won the Costa First Novel Award (in 2015).

But what people forget is that behind all this success there are years and years of endurance, writing, two books of short stories, an MA in Creative Writing and much effort… Listen to the interview for the full story!

And don’t forget Andrew’s final advice…

‘Don’t give up and always trust your own voice’.

What can you find in this interview?

-Doing a Creative Writing MA.

-Publishing with a small press. (Tartarus Press).

-Gothic.

-Teaching CW.

-Finding an agent.

Do you want to know more about Andrew M Hurley?

-Check out his fantastic novel The Loney. It has a brilliant ending, I promise! And, apparently, it’s the first part of a trilogy of Gothic novels set in the Lancashire area…

-Check out his Wikipedia page.

-Check out his collections of short stories Cages and Other Stories, 2006, ISBN 9781411699021, and The Unusual Death of Julie Christie and Other Stories, 2008, ISBN 9780955981401

 

Many thanks to our meticulous editor, Terry Garanhel and to the founder and sponsor of the programme, Yvonne Battle-Felton. Also, to Jenn Ashworth, who helped us get this wonderful interview. And, of course, to Andrew Michael Hurley, who was very kind an accesible. A true inspiration for writers and – specially – fans of Gothic literature!  We wish you the very best with your next novels.

 

 

 

The multifaced writer – Jerry White

‘I’m one of these sick people who likes to get up at 4.30 to write.’

Jerry White started watching his panda wallpaper and imagining stories when he was a child… Now he’s a successful writer who has just finished his first collection of dark fantasy YA novels – The Thickety – but he also teaches in school and has a filming company… There’s always time for your passions – specially if you wake up as 4.30 like Jerry!

What can you find in this interview?

-How to publish your first novel.

-How to contact an agent.

-Experiences doing book launches at bookshops and libraries.

-Balancing writing with your daily job and other hobbies.

-Waking up early to write.

 

Texts Read:

– The Thickety: A Path Begins (YA novel).

 

Do you want to know more about Jerry White?

-Check out his website.

-Check out his twitter.

-Check out his FB page.

-And check the amazing trailer of his first book.

Many thanks to our meticulous editor, Terry Garanhel, and the founder of the programme, Yvonne Battle-Felton. And, of course, to Jerry White, who spent his break at the school making an interview with us. We love The Thickety and we hope you write more successful books!

 

Don’t forget to check our next interview on Sunday 31st of January in 87.7 Bailrigg FM at 6pm with the poet Gary Boswell!

Writing the Weird – Tim J Jarvis

 

‘Getting used to London and becoming a Londoner went hand in hand with my writing,’ Tim Jarvis confesses. He likes to observe the city from Parliament Hill, one of the places he finds more inspiring in the metropolis.

Tim‘s first novel, The Wanderer, belongs to Werid Fiction, a genre that some might have never heard about before. ‘Weird fiction is a secular, post First World War ghost story telling,’ Tim explains, and then he adds ‘it is a paralel pulp form of Modernism.’ He recommends some authors, from H P Lovecraft to Mark Z Danielewski and Caitlín R Kiernan, and finally states, ‘Writing Weird Fiction allows me to articulate what I really want to express.’

Tim didn’t start writing until he was in his final year of undergraduate, and back then he was trying ‘to emulate the strange tales of Borges.’ Now he has completed a PhD, published several short stories and a novel, and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Bedfordshire. He firmly believes that the craft of writingf can be taught: ‘You can inculcate an exploratory way of thinking through teaching Creative Writing.’

What can you find in this interview?

-Weird Fiction, what to read and how to publish it.

-Inspiration from London.

-Teaching Creative Writing.

Texts Read:

– The Wanderer (novel).

Literary recommendations:

–Melmoth The Wanderer, by Charles Maturin.

–The Red Tree, by Caitlín Kiernan.

–House of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski.

–The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pymp, by Edgar Alan Poe.

–The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, by Angela Carter.

Do you want to know more about Timothy J Jarvis?

-Check out his website.

-Check out his twitter.

Many thanks to our meticulous editor, Terry Garanhel, and the founder of the programme, Yvonne Battle-Felton. And, of course, to Tim J Jarvis, who has been so kind and friendly with us. We loved to interview you and we hope you write many more Weird Fiction novels!

Don’t forget to check our next interview on Sunday 24th of January in 87.7 Bailrigg FM at 6pm with best-selling author J A White!

Giving voice to the other – Gary J Flood

‘If you’re a creative person you want an audience, and publishing can be the way to get one’. Gary J Flood expresses with this sentence the ambition – and necessity – of many writers. He’s very aware, though, that the literary genre he writes in – Slipstream – is not for everyone. But he confesses he’d be happy to just have five – devoted – readers.

Gary has a background in Philosophy and Rhetoric and currently makes a living as a journalist and content creator in business and technology. He was an early admirer of the Lancaster University Creative Writing MA, and finally decided to start it in 2013 because ‘your life it’s what you actually did… you’ve to do stuff‘.

He is also an avid and eclectic reader – Albert Camus, Peter Watts, William Golding… One of his literary obsessions is giving a voice to ‘the other’ in literature. That included, for example, writing a short story set in the The Lord of The Rings‘ world from the perspective of an Orc.