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Written by JJ Barnes
My name is Stephen Black, a blogger and fantasy writer from Northern Ireland. I live in the rolling countryside outside Belfast with my wife, Fionnuala. We have three teenage children (Adam, Hannah, and Rebecca) and a border terrier, called Charlie.
I started a blog, FracturedFaithBlog, about four years and got into a habit of writing regularly. People seemed to enjoy my work and the idea to write a book gradually took hold from there. About a year into the blog I got the idea for the Kirkwood Scott Chronicles.’
The first book in the series, ‘Skelly’s Square’ took around a year, on and off. I set it down a few times and stupidly wrote it back to front and upside down lol. So, a LOT of editing was required.
‘No Longer Forsaken’ is the third book in the ‘Kirkwood Scott’ series. It’s a four-book series so the reason I wrote it is fairly self-explanatory lol. It’s the story expanding and unfolding as I see it in my mind’s eye.
Finding the time. I have a full-time job so it was largely written on the train commuting to and from work every day. On my phone and then later transferred onto the laptop.
Kirkwood is an exaggerated version of my 25-year old self. I wrote him to make people more aware of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) which I was diagnosed with about ten years ago. The book seeks to educate others regarding this horrible, debilitating, but very misunderstood mental illness.
Augustus Skelly is the voice in Kirkwood’s head. Kirkwood thinks it’s a manifestation of his OCD or is there more to Skelly than meets the eye? He’s based on an old soldier I once interviewed. A real rogue with a twinkle in his eye.
The death of Kirkwood’s father, when Kirkwood is an 11 year old boy. This triggers Kirkwood’s OCD as he is convinced he is responsible. Skelly plays on this fear and Kirkwood becomes a prisoner to his obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions.
I’m a complete pantser. I make it up as I go along as the plot only comes to me as I engage in the actual act of writing. If I tried to plot a book I would be staring at a blank page for hours on end.
My wife is my greatest beta and I have a small, but very dedicated, cadre of other beta readers. I also have a great publisher, River Dixon at Potters Grove Press, who picks up a lot.
Just write. Don’t listen to the doubters. Get it out of your head and onto a piece of paper or laptop screen.
Aaaarggh! So many. A Kirkwood Scott spin-off novella based on Maura Miller, a character from ‘A New Jerusalem,’ the second book in the series. Then Book 4 in the series followed by a duology set in futuristic Northern Ireland. Tentatively titled ‘This Troubled Land Of Ours’ and ‘Gracetown.’ And lots, lots more further down the road.
Yes, yes, a million times over
Twitter: stephenRB4
And the blog is http://FracturedFaithBlog.com
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