Gary Wright is a talented author, who released his debut novel, A Parent Apart earlier this year. A Parent Apart is an emotional but truly brilliant debut that received a great reception and was very popular with the bookstagram community. Gary is very busy at the moment, writing a new novel, and also writing a screenplay for his debut novel. I was very excited to be able to speak to Gary about his inspiration for A Parent Apart and also about his upcoming projects.
Hi Gary, thank you so much for talking to us today. Your debut novel is called A Parent Apart, can you start by telling us a little bit about the novel?
Oh, it’s miserable. Thoroughly, utterly miserable. But it’s quite a curious thing that people tend to like a bit of misery in their books! Maybe it’s like the dream scenario – are you happier to win the lottery in your dreams, then wake up and realise you haven’t got all that money, or would you rather have a dream where everything is going wrong, but wake up to a happy reality? Either way, if you want misery then I’m your man!
I have struggled to define what the novel is, as it doesn’t fit neatly into a genre. It is part crime, part thriller, part tragedy, part roma……. Actually, no. There’s definitely no romance.
It is about two families and the fallout following a tragedy at sea. It is about decisions taken, the consequences of those decisions and accountability, or lack thereof. It’s definitely, definitely miserable.
2. What would you say was your biggest inspiration for the story of A Parent Apart?
I was a policeman for ten years before my heart went bang (long story, but I was medically retired at 29). I policed seaside towns for my whole career and dealt with many incidents on the beaches. I can’t claim any of those were the inspiration for the novel, but they may have helped to shape the way that I wrote it. I’ve always been fascinated by nature and how completely vulnerable we, as a race, are. The power of nature over man. It’s something that I was so keen to explore from the outset, and I actually used it as a hook in the prologue.
3.You have included trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, which I’m sure a lot of people appreciate. What were your main reasons for doing this and do you think more authors should include these?
Right, so I’m going to be honest here. I hadn’t even heard of trigger warnings when I published the book, much less considered that my writing could have an impact on anyone. It was only after receiving feedback from numerous sources about some of the triggering content that I took a moment to step back and think about it. I genuinely think that we are all learning, all the time, and this was a moment of pure reflection and introspection for me. Look, I think any rational person would agree that one person’s mental health is worth a thousand spoilers, and I genuinely don’t want anyone to be upset by what I have written. It was such an easy decision to include the warnings, but I have done it in a way that the reader isn’t confronted by them on the first page. Instead, if they want to read about the contents, then they are advised to flick to the back page where there is a comprehensive list. It’s sensible, it doesn’t spoil the book for those who don’t want them, and I can’t see why every author wouldn’t include them. As I said, one person suffering would be too many.
4. I think it’s fair to say you ended A Parent Apart with quite a cliffhanger, are you writing a sequel and if so, how much of the story have you got planned so far?
I’ve got ideas sprouting everywhere Bec!! There will be a sequel, but I’m holding off doing anything with it at the moment because I’m currently sorting out the screenplay… which leads nicely into your next question!
5. Your book is now going to be coming to the big screen! Congratulations, I know you’re currently writing the screenplay. How has this differed from writing your novel? Has this been much of a challenge for you?
It’s been such a fun process. The Producers that I’m dealing with are brilliant and it’s all been a huge learning curve. I’m so thrilled that they put their trust in me by commissioning the screenplay from source, as it has allowed me to set foot into a world that I hadn’t even thought about. Writing the screenplay was amazing. Because I knew the story intimately, it was great to bring the characters to life in even more detail, and to think about other things like camera shots, musical arrangements and the like. Life changing? You bet.
6.Do you have any tips for anybody who is thinking about or has currently started writing their own book?
I think just to write. Even if you’re having a bad day and feeling like you’ve hit the wall, just write something. It’s easy to get out of the habit, and hard to get back into. Write write write! I absolutely love it and, when I’m involved in a project I aim for about 2,500 words a day. It could all be absolute rubbish and not be included in the final draft, but at least it keeps the fire burning.
7. You posted recently that you have started to write a new book. Have you got any details about that which you can share with us?
More misery! I’ll keep you posted. The working title is ‘Oh, Precious Life’, and it is a book very personal to me. A lot of the topics and issues within it have shaped my life, and it is written totally from the heart.
8. I know your family time is very important to you, what are your plans this Christmas and do you have any special family traditions?
If you follow me on Instagram (@GazWrightWrites) then you’ll know just how important my kids are to me. And my wife, and my wife!! Family comes before anything. We have two babies, Florence who is four, and Sullivan (Sully) who is two. We struggled for years to have babies but were finally blessed with these two.
I have a horrible heart condition. I am on loads of medication and have a defibrillator implanted into my heart (I mentioned before my heart went bang… I’m lucky to be here). Well, I will do whatever it takes to keep my heart beating for my babies. So, yeah, family time is so very important to me x
Plans for Christmas!? Eat, drink, eat!! Then, turkey sandwiches. Have an amazing Christmas everyone, and keep smiling xx
A huge thank you to Gary for taking the time to speak to us, and for such an amazing q&a. A Parent Apart is currently available to purchase from amazon, and we wish Gary luck for his upcoming projects.
You can find Gary on Instagram here
or on Facebook here
or on Twitter here
You can buy A Parent Apart here (UK)
Bec
Interviewer
Comments