Today we talk about An Unusual Inheritance, a book by Raymond G. Wyborn published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Raymond G. Wyborn to get to know him better, what prompted him to the writing of his book An Unusual Inheritance, as well as how he chose the title of his book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What prompted you to the writing of your book?
I have always been interested in old railways and other mechanical things. In my late twenties I visited Amberly, an ex-brick works that housed a collection of railway items that I was interested in, and several sheds that had a collection of old radios, televisions, old machinery and other items of interest. I wondered what had prompted the start of this collection and formulated an idea about a story. This was in the 1960s before the age of the computer so I wrote it in an old ledger in long hand. Gradually the story evolved but then got forgotten about as life and four children got in the way. Years went by and my marriage came to an end. After my divorce I remarried and moved house. Finding the ledger amongst my things prompted me to take up the story once again. By this time, I had acquired a lap top and proceeded to transfer the story to the computer. I found I was full of ideas and wrote whatever came into my head. One story was about a bowls club who were about to lose their lease and a crooked landlord. I sent the story to one of my sons in Hong Kong for his assessment, but he said he was too busy to read it. Imagine my surprise when on my birthday a courier delivered two hundred copies of the story that my son had typeset and published for me, but what to do with them? He suggested I contact the local bookshop, but the manager said without publicity it would just sit on the shelf, so since then I have been giving them away. Our local Waitrose store has a book swap section where I drop in a copy or two. So far all have been taken and I am down to a few dozen copies.
- What would you like to hear from your readers?
Feedback from readers is the lifeblood for any author but finding out what people think about any story is very hard to come by. I have an old work colleague who I use as a sounding board. I value his advice, although I don’t always follow it. Since the publication of my novel, I have given away copies of the book to a wide number of people and asked them to give me an honest appraisal. So far, I have not received any negative feedback. I would like to know what my readers think of the story line regarding the characters and their interaction with one another. When I write, I can hear in my head any conversation that is happening between any of my characters as though I was sitting across a table from them.
- How did your passion for writing start?
I was born in 1938, just before the second world war in the east end of London. My sister was six years older than me and had her own friends, so I was left to my own devices and made-up stories to pass the time. I was never academic but got the reading bug around the age of twelve. I was artistic and used to write stories and illustrate them in an old loose-leaf folder. In my late teens I became interested in model railways and started writing articles for the model railway press. After leaving art school I worked as a commercial artist in London servicing advertising agencies. I found writing down stories very tedious but with the purchase of a laptop I was immediately free to indulge my creativity. Words flowed like water from a lake, but they had nowhere to go. I am now in my eighties so my wife suggested I try and get them published; the result is An Unusual Inheritance.
- How did you choose the title of your book?
Finding the right title for any book can be a problem but ‘An Unusual Inheritance’ said it all. Right from the beginning it encapsulated all that I wanted it to do. As the story developed, I thought of other titles but kept coming back to my original idea. The cover illustration on the other hand proved a problem until I decided to incorporate a final farewell party for the film crew at the quarry. Rod’s uncle, known as Nunky had left him the quarry so he proposed a toast to him. I attempted to illustrate the cover myself but my failing eyesight and arthritis in my hands soon put a stop to it, so I asked my old work colleague, Jim Spencer, to work his magic on his computer. He has several graphic programmes that I do not have on mine, and he came up trumps for me. I suppose I owe him a drink.
- Are you planning to write more books? Can you tell us more about it?
I have two other books that I have finished, and three more part written. The first is called ‘An Eye for an Eye’ about a man diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour who rails against the iniquity of the justice system when some lads on crack are let off with a slap on the wrist after they kicked a boy with learning difficulties to death. He meets up with two others in the same boat as himself in a self-help group and they decide to become vigilantes to right the wrongs the courts have made before they all meet their maker. The second is a very racy story called ‘A Change of Career’. Arabella Main, Harry to her friends, is made redundant from her job with a publisher. She is head hunted by Sir John Pierson, Minister for Trade and Industry and offered a job as an assistant. What he is looking for is a Girl Friday as his wife, a successful author, is in a wheelchair after a riding accident. She joins the Pierson team and is immediately put to the test, becoming involved in a dangerous situation. She finds out that her redundancy was all engineered by Sir John and that she had been vetted before being offered the job. Pierson’s wife involves herself in a drugs scandal with the Russian Mafia which almost finishes John’s career, but he survives and goes on to become Prime Minister. In the end the mafia take their revenge and Harry loses her job.
Europe Books thanks the author Raymond G. Wyborn once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book An Unusual Inheritance. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, may the characters’ stories and their relationships excite you, intrigue you and allow you to experience them as if you too were part of their interactions so as to immerse yourself totally in their vicissitudes.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your Editor!