Brian McGilloway
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Interview by Carl Marsh - July 2014
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Hi Brian,
thanks for doing this Q&A, you are an author I have admired for a few years now. Hi Carl and readers. Thanks for inviting me to do this Q&A! As a writer that you are, it will be obvious that you love books! So as a writer, why should people read more, like you and I do? I genuinely believe that reading is good for you mentally and spiritually. Writing is an attempt to create a connection between yourself and the reader. Readers are, therefore, as essential an element of that connection as the writer. Reading then is a way to assure ourselves that we are not alone – that our experiences, hopes and fears are shared by us all. It creates links between us. Reading also helps create empathy and understanding of how other people feel. That can only be a good thing. What is your favourite book and why? This is a difficult one, because I have so many books that I love for different reasons, so picking one is almost impossible. I do have a soft spot for The Great Gatsby mind you – it’s such a beautifully written book and works on so many levels. It was a book I really enjoyed teaching in school, too. Are you reading anything at the moment, is it any good? I’ve just finished The Two Deaths of Daniels Hayes by Marcus Sakey which I really enjoyed. It was a recommendation from Dave Torrans in No Alibis Bookshop in Belfast, and Dave is rarely wrong in his recommendations. Of the books that you have written, which is you favourite? Again, that’s a very difficult question. I love each of the books and can see the strengths and the faults with each of the books. I think the most successful book, in so far as it did everything I was trying to do, is Little Girl Lost. That said, I have a real affection for The Nameless Dead. What will the next 12 months be like for you, what have you got lined up? I started writing full time last September having been a teacher for 18 years, so things have changed a lot. I also won BBC Northern Ireland’s Tony Doyle Award for screenwriting this year so that’s been a change in direction which I’m really enjoying and which has proven to be a steep learning curve. I will be do some screen writing over the next 12 months, I’m finishing a re-read of the new Lucy Black book after going through an edit on it and I’ll be starting a new novel soon. How did you actually get your first book deal, was it quite difficult? I tried a number of agents and publishers initially and one in Ireland seemed very interested. They kept Borderlands for about 8 months and were making very promising noises. Finally, though, they decided it would be too difficult to try to launch a new crime writer in what was a crowded field and felt they wouldn’t do the book any favours publishing it. I was disappointed at the time but in retrospect it all worked out okay. I was finally picked up through the Macmillan New Writing scheme. It took about 3 years from finishing the first draft through to acceptance, then another year to publication. I do have my fair share of rejections for the book though, including one which said they weren’t interested because they only publish crime fiction… And lastly, “if you could be an animal, what would it be, and why?” I’m going to go with an eagle. I’ve no idea why – maybe that sense of freedom and solitude I associate with eagles. Either that or a particularly well cared-for dog! Thank you Brian for all your answers, Carl Many thanks for inviting me to do this, Brian @BrianMcGilloway |
Occupation: Writer
Country: UK 
Amazon
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