Today in our special character interview we meet, Patrick Lynch from the Fly or Fall by Gilli Allan.
1.
Introduce yourself and tell us where we can we meet you?
“Everyone calls
me Pat, but I’m Patrick … Patrick Lynch.
I work with my dad, Bill, in Downland, on the edge of the North Downs. I
live……. Look, if you can’t find me on someone’s roof, shifting bricks or
pouring concrete, I’ll be in the sports club.”
2.
Why are you in this book?
“Don’t ask
me! Wasn’t my idea. ‘Fly or Fall’ is Eleanor
Hardcastle’s story. She’s the first
woman since…… uh, the first woman to break through my defences. Funny thing
was, she had no idea she was doing it.”
3.
Would you describe yourself as a likeable person?
“Ha ha ha ha. Who’ve you been talking to? I want to be liked, makes life easier, and
I work hard at it. If I can’t make
people laugh I feel I’ve failed. But for the most part everyone always seems pleased
to see me … except my brother. Maybe it’s too late to mend that relationship.”
4.
What would you say are your strengths and your weaknesses?
“I don’t go in
for self-analysis, but…. Good humour? Popularity?
Are those strengths? If it’s within my capabilities I’ll always help folk out, go
the extra mile. That might just be a strategy, of course, to ensure I’m
everyone’s friend. But the flip-side of being liked, particularly by the
ladies, is that I’m not above taking advantage. Something I’m not proud of, but
hey, I’m only human.
I have been
accused of avoiding trouble and confrontation … is that a weakness? … but if
you ask enough people about me, they’ll all have their own take. Few really know me. My own fault, I guess. I’m
not always … well … completely honest. I tell people what I think they’d prefer
to hear, what fits with their preconceptions about me.”
5.
Did your author portray you and your story correctly? If not why?
“‘Fly or Fall’
is told from Eleanor’s point of view. What she
doesn’t know neither does the reader. At first, I come across as pretty shallow,
a bit glib, a bit … ‘Jack-the-Lad’. I’m not complaining. It’s the part I often
play because it seems to go down well with bored housewives. Eleanor was
different … out of place, kind of trapped.
She changed, of course, and that threw me a bit, and then there was the
incident with her daughter! The kid’s only 14! I admit I was shocked that
Eleanor believed that of me. And after that, well, I wonder if anything would have happened … if the
ice would ever have been broken … if I hadn’t fallen off that ladder! Even then I only slowly began to open up, to
begin … finally … to tell her the truth.”
About
Gilli
Gilli Allan
began to write in childhood - a hobby pursued throughout her teenage. Writing
was only abandoned when she left home, and real life supplanted the fiction.
After a few
false starts, she worked longest and most happily as a commercial artist in
London, and only began writing again when she became a mother.
Still a keen
artist Gilli draws and paints, and has now moved into book illustration. She
regularly attends a life-class near her home, a village in Gloucestershire,
where she lives with her husband, Geoff.
Gilli Allan has
had five books published.
Also by Gilli Allan:
Find
Gilli @
http://twitter.com/gilliallan (@gilliallan)
4 comments:
I thoroughly enjoyed this interview. I always love character interviews, so revealing and it is good to compare one's own idea and mental picture of a character to the character the author reveals during the interview which hasn't been apparently in the actual book. I loved TORN and when my TBR list has shrunk - no hope of gaining a clone to help out - I shall be adding more Gilli books. Congrats on a fab interview. xx
What a hoot. I can't decide if I like Patrick so I must read the book when I get time. Clearly there is more to him than he's admitting too. X
Allan's books are like biographies of tortured souls, guided through life by unseen angels. Her unique, poetic writing adds to the mystery of her characters and where they are heading.
Her books make you think...about the meaning of life and our place in the cosmos.
Thank you Pauline for inviting Patrick to explain himself. Although I'm not sure he's giving much away. So sorry I've not thanked you before. When this first went online I was suffering internet connection problems, and then life moved on!
And thank you Carol. I can only hope your time management allows you to read FLY OR FALL soon. And Jane too, thanks for your kind comments. I hope your TBR pile shrinks rapidly. And Eileen.... What can I say? I love the concept of "tortured souls guided through life by unseen angels..." Brilliant. These comments have made my day.
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