From mathematical numbers
to creative words, Derek Farmer, shares his writing journey, from being a teacher
to the author of a fast paced, high octane thriller that has the reader on the
edge to the very last page, The Dark side of Innocence. Please sit back
and meet my wonderful guest.
What is it that inspires
people to write books? If it’s to create a million copy best seller, then think
again because the chance of that happening is virtually zero.
I started
writing as a young maths teacher in the late seventies. I approached Longman, an
educational publisher with ideas for a set of text
books with refreshing and inspirational content that would stimulate secondary
kids and was awarded a contract to produce three books. It was then that panic
set in. I had a young family with three children under the age of four, so I
could see my spare time would be monopolised for a long time ahead.
Then disaster struck when two out of our
three children were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and life changed forever. In
those days treatment was basic and very time consuming. My writing initially
took a back seat, but I knew that I had to carry on and the work took me later and later into the night and
weekends.
A series of books “Getting on with Maths” was published in the eighties.
Despite this mammoth undertaking, the greatest
achievement for my wife Jan and I, is that our two
sons have reached the age of forty and are still going
strong.
After everything, you’d think I’d had
enough of writing. Not a bit of it. I’d been smitten by the bug and enrolled in a local night school for creative
writing. My ambition was to write
a novel and I had a great plot. Even with the
greatest will in the world, things don’t always go to plan. With all the pressures
of bringing up our family, something had to give
and sadly it was my writing.
Eventually, my wife
and I retired to Spain, for a lifestyle in the sun
and my love of writing was reignited when the grandkids were born. I’d written many stories
for my own children and used the old ideas to
create a story with my three grandchildren as characters. They travel back in time
and meet their grandparents (that’s us) in a very humorous story. The award winning SOMEWHERE IN YORKSHIRE was
published in 2021 and can be found on Amazon. https://amzn.eu/d/hafnXD9 It’s written
for 7–12-year-olds and grandparents love it!
Then came the challenge
of writing the novel that I’d had in my mind for so
long. It’s a political thriller set in the 1980’s London underworld with a romantic
element and a high body count (of course). The plot is full of twists
and turns which makes for a fast paced, high-octane story and the outcome leaves the
reader on the edge to the very last page. THE DARK SIDE OF INNOCENCE was
published in 2023. The reviews so far are terrific and it can be purchased through Amazon https://amzn.eu/d/3KfX7Hx
My next project is a trilogy. It’s a saga
following the fortunes of two families, beginning in mid-19th
century Scotland and concluding in WW2. The first book, THE
LAIRD’S WIFE (a Victorian serial killer) is at
the editing stage!
You can
find out more about Derek from his website Https://derekfarmerauthor.com
As
always, thank you for stopping by. I hope the sun is shining on your face and
in your heart. Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.
Pauline
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