Check out this spotlight for author Derek Power!
You can find all his links furthest down the page, and don’t forget to check out his books!
1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!
I began writing in early 2001, mainly focusing on short stories. After winning the odd contest here and there I figured I would try and write something a little longer. A few false starts later I managed to complete my first novel, titled Filthy Henry: The Fairy Detective, in early 2013. Since then, I’ve written four more Filthy Henry novels as well as a sci-fi noir novel called Duplex Tempus. I’ve also been included in a few anthologies over the past year.
I currently live in Skerries, Dublin, Ireland.
2. To get to know you just a little bit better, I’d like to ask you some this or that questions. Answer 5 of these and explain why you chose this or that, or maybe an entirely different alternative!
Winter, spring, summer or autumn? Winter, because if you are too cold you can just put on more clothes.
Cat or dog? Dogs, cats are soulless creatures.
Tea or coffee? Coffee in vast amounts.
Plotter or pantser? Plotter, I need the roadmap. Sometimes the plot evolves as it is being written, but I need the roadmap.
Pen and paper or computer/phone? Computer and Remarkable (digital tablet) – I need to be able to undo and backup and paper just gets ruined when you spill coffee (which is a warcrime).
Standalone or series? Both, all I care about is the story.
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
I am a sucker for sci-fi, but the old style stuff like Philip K. Dick. Space operas don’t really hold my attention. Fantasy is also high on the list, but I typically read anything and everything with the only exception being I don’t go near Romance/Erotica.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
So far I have focussed on writing just fantasy-comedy stuff. Filthy Henry is a comedy fantasy series about a half-human, half-fairy who solves magical cases in Ireland. It draws heavily on the old Celtic myths and legends, but then puts modern spins on them. The short stories I have written for anthologies are also comedy-fantasy. I grew up reading Discworld and always loved how the two genres had been pushed together.
Currently I am trying something a little different and trying my hand at writing a crime novel. It’s a serious one too, so it will be an experiment to see if I can keep the comedy out of it.
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
My most recent novel is ‘Nearly Christmas – a Filthy Henry novel’
Blurb:
Mortals magically murdered generally is enough to get Filthy Henry, Ireland’s first and foremost fairy detective, involved in the case. But when those murders happen on Halloween there is even more reason for him to investigate what is going on. As the walls between Realms weaken, allowing spirits to roam the land, Filthy Henry and Shelly are in a race against time to ensure All Hallows Eve goes off without a hitch. Otherwise dead mortals are going to be the least of Ireland’s problems…
It can be gotten from numerous places at the following link: https://books2read.com/u/4AvOEp
6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!
I’m a huge fan of Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin and Tom Holt. I’ve also read everything ever written by Philip K. Dick and Blade Runner is my all time favourite movie, I’ve watched it at least a hundred times.
Being Irish I have a deep well of Celtic myths and legends to draw from, which feed into Filthy Henry a lot but also some other aspects of my stories.
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
I have a job, I have young kids, so writing always happens at nigh time. Which isn’t ideal, because you are tired from the day – but the writing has to be done in order to stop the voices in my head. I write every day, including birthdays and Christmas, and get at least 800 words written. Some days this is a slog that can take an hour or two, other times I blast out 2000 words without breaking a sweat. But writing a little every day means the story gets done, eventually.
8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to becoming an author, what would it be?
Drafts are your best friend. Back when I first started writing I spent so much time trying to craft the perfect sentence before moving on, that nothing ever got written. I might get three or four pages out one night, then immediately start to tweak them the next night. What I should have done was gotten the drafts done, then started editing/fixing/perfecting on the next draft. I would probably have gotten a lot more books done that way.
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
Books to read: https://books2read.com/ap/xqkYXL/Derek-Power
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dcpower_author
Website: https://www.powerwrites.com/
