My name is Terry
J. Newman. I was born and raised in Ardingly - a small village in Sussex,
England. The title of my first novel (“Drayling”) is an anagram of Ardingly. I
still live in Sussex.
Do you work
another job as well as your writing work?
I retired at 50
from an office job, so that now I have plenty of time to write - would somebody
please tell my wife.
What is the name
of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what
would you say?
My first – and,
so far, only – novel is Drayling. It is speculative fiction/dystopian sci-fi. It’s
a different kind of science fiction book – for the intelligent reader.
Drayling is an
“indie book” – published as a paperback in partnership with Pen Press in 2011 –
and now also available on Kindle.
Do you have
plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
I’m kicking
around the idea of a sequel, but I still haven’t made up my mind. As I said,
Drayling is my first full-length novel (my other writing up to now has been topical
poetry and short stories), and I’m still exploring – and enjoying – all the
post-publishing activity (like this interview!).
What genre would
you place your book into?
That’s a sore
point, really. The book stores put it on the Science Fiction shelf, because
that’s the nearest of a limited number of genres. I guess “futuristic drama” is
the best description, because it happens to take place in the future – but it’s
not about rockets or little green people.
What made you
decide to write that genre of book?
The idea behind
the plot had been in my head for years. In fact, I can’t remember where it
originally came from. It just evolved really.
Did you follow a
set routine when you wrote it? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?
I had to teach
myself how to write a novel! It was trial and error. I discovered all sorts of
things along the way – notably that there’s no ‘right way’ to do it. It soon
became clear to me that every author will write in a different way. Some will
use a pen, some will use a pencil. Some will dictate, and some will key into a
laptop or word processor. Some will create in short bursts, and others will
slave for hours at a time. I know these things now because, at various times in
the process, I did all of them. I don’t play music - I prefer silence.
Did you have
anybody read your book before it was released? ie. Your partner, children,
friends, reviewers you know?
I have some
close friends (and a brother) who were very supportive. They read drafts, and
fed in constructive comment along the way. I’ve included a “thank you” to them
at the front of the book. Also, it was professionally edited.
Do you gift
books to readers to do reviews?
I have done,
yes, although they tend to be electronic versions rather than hard copy now.
(Drayling is a $0.99 book on Kindle.)
Do you read all
the reviews of your book/books?
Yes. It’s an
important part of my learning process.
What was the
toughest/best review you have ever had?
I’ve had the
full range. One reviewer very politely said that it would be better if she
didn’t write a review, as it would do sales no good at all. On the other hand, Laura
Carter wrote the following review for “Readers Favorite” (I agreed to credit
her if I quote it):
For over 140 years the world has been at peace:
war, homelessness, starvation and corruption are all things of the past. The
world has been divided into small entirely segregated counties that are
independent of one another; inter-district travel is banned as is all
non-administrative communication. In the small community of Drayling in what
was previously known as England, all the citizens are as happy and peaceful as
the rest of the world until bit by bit everything starts to change. The local
historian and his son Marius take it upon themselves with the help of some
friends to find out what is going on. Each new discovery only reveals more
mysteries until it appears that they have been lied to and misled their entire
life but with the help of Stin – a new man in the district and an ancient
computer known as Cipherslider they may be able to unravel the truth.
This is such an astonishingly well-thought out
book. The world building is fantastic and the author has created a thorough
history as to why the world has ended up this way; something which is often
neglected in other books of this genre. The book is so detailed it almost
appears at times to be a true story, something which I as the reader personally
found incredibly enjoyable. I found myself thoroughly engrossed in this
masterpiece of a book as it is simply perfect in every way. This is a book that
will be loved by all fans of dystopian fiction and mysteries but also by anyone
who just wants to read a book that will blow them away with every detail.
Would you ever
ask a reviewer to change their review if it was not all positive about your
book?
No. I don’t mind
if a reviewer tells me it’s rubbish – it’s all subjective, after all. I’d be
far more disappointed if no one read it.
How did you come
up with the Title and Cover Design for your book? Who designed the Cover of
your book?
As I said
earlier, “Drayling” is an anagram of my birthplace. In fact, there are twenty
five other allusions to Sussex in the book. They’re nothing to do with the
story – they’re just for fun. I’m considering running a local competition for
charity, because, so far, I haven’t told anyone else what they are (other than
the title).
The cover was a
collaboration between me and the publisher’s designer, Jacqueline Abromeit.
Did you have a basic
plot/plan for your book, before you actually began writing it out? Or did you
let the writing flow to see where it took the story?
As I said
earlier, the basic idea of the book has been in my head for a long time. The
basic plan I followed was to write it out bullet-point style first, and then
“flesh it out”. However, there was certainly an element of “seeing where it
went” as well. In fact, there were times when it sort of took on a life of its
own. Eerily, there were a couple of occasions when a character said something,
apparently out of the blue, that explained something that had happened or been
said earlier, and which, up to that point, I hadn’t really understood. I guess
it means that my subconscious was beavering away, just below the surface, in
parallel with my conscious efforts.
Do you think
ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
I hope not. I
think there is something about holding a real book that ebooks can’t emulate.
There’s room for both.
Do you think
children at schools these days are encouraged enough to read? and/or do
Imaginative writing?
No.
Did you read a
lot at school and write lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in
your life?
Reading and
writing are both things that I’ve come to in adulthood. I was far too busy
playing sport when I was at school!
Is there
anything in your book you would change now if you could and what would it be?
I read somewhere
that you never finish a book, you just abandon it. In my case, that’s certainly
true. I think I could go on tinkering with it forever. I just have to accept
that it’s out there now, and there’s nothing I can do to change it!
What piece of
advice would you give to a new writer?
If you want to
do it, get out there and do it.
Do you or would
you ever use a pen name?
No.
Where can
readers follow you?
I don’t have a website. My Amazon page is
I don’t have a website. My Amazon page is
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to answer your
questions. I’ve enjoyed it.
I hope your readers will read Drayling – and then let you
know what they think.
Thankyou for taking the time to drop by my blog to do this Interview and I am looking forward to reading your book. Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic is my favourite genre!
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