This month we had the pleasure of sitting down with another of York’s brightest fiction writers to discuss his new book “John Ryder and the Incredible Golden Pond.” Read on to learn more about David and his work.
Nice to meet you, David. How would you introduce yourself to our audience?
Well, I’m 63 years… No, not 63 years. I’m 62 years old, 63 in November, and I’ve been writing as a hobby writer for probably 10-15 years now. I’ve written quite a few books. Generally short stories, stuff with sci-fi, 80,000-word novels. As a job, I’m a sewing machine technician— so I repair sewing machines from home.
And you’re from York?
I’ve lived in York for nearly 40 years now, and it was because of my 10 years of living in Appleton that inspired me to write this particular book.
What was it about Appleton Roebuck that inspired you?
What inspired me was the fact that I was alone. The house was on its own, surrounded by a stream. You had to go over a small bridge to get to it.
After I left, I started writing it. I was pining for the life that I had back then. I missed the solitude. I missed the lovely surrounding of nature, which, of course, living in a semi-detached house in Heworth, you don’t get.
I hated the idea of possibly in the future somebody buying the field and building houses. You could watch kestrels, and barn owls flying over the field to catch their prey. It would be such a shame to lose that.
Have you found that living in York has also inspired you?
The architecture and the history are great for a writer. I had a business on the Shambles. And of course, if you’re on the Shambles, there’s so much history, there’s hundreds of years of history, and it inspires you to sort of delve into fantasy.
This book touches on lots of fantastical themes like that too. What was so magical about Appleton?
Living in isolation, you’re more connected to nature and you can see more of the magic around you, without any distractions from modern technology.
Because we live on this planet, it’s surrounded by so much magic. We just can’t see it sometimes.
When I’m out in nature, that’s when I get most of my inspiration. Just being surrounded by the natural world helps me to think more clearly and come up with new ideas for my writing.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I start work generally around 8 in the morning. One of my bedrooms is converted into a workshop so customers can deliver and collect their machines from my place. So at 8 I go into my workshop. I then spend a few hours bent over a sewing machine or two repairing them, and then after lunch I sit down and then start writing in the living room.
How would you describe yourself to someone who has never read one of your books before?
It was a hobby. I’ve never had any interest in writing before. I’ve never had any at school. I was terrible at English; I was into maths and physics.
But my advice to anybody if they want to become a writer would be “just do it”. If it’s no good, rewrite it again. If that’s no good, rewrite it again! You’ll never get anywhere unless you write it down.
Why should someone buy “John Ryder and the Incredible Golden Pond” ?
Because it’s an uplifting story. It will make them smile. It will make them feel happy inside. They’ll love to read it. They’ll pick it up and read it and not want to put it down till they get to the end.
You can pick up a copy of John Ryder and the Incredible Golden Pond from Amazon now.
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