It gives me great pleasure to welcome Jack Byrne onto the website today. Jack hails from Liverpool, a city I have a great deal of affection for; and has two novels set in this wonderful city in the offing, as well as one novel and a collection of short stories already out in print.
Alex: Tell us a bit about yourself, Jack.
Jack: I was born and raised in Speke, a large council estate in the South of Liverpool. I was second youngest of eight kids, my dad was from Ireland, and my mum was born in Liverpool but her parents were also from the same town as my dad, Wicklow. I read everything I could get my hands on as a kid; my mum's Catherine Cookson and an older brother's socialist literature. My childhood was weird. I passed the 11 Plus and so went to a Catholic grammar school to begin with, but I never felt comfortable there. After I had read the Communist Manifesto at around 13 my ambition was to be in and build unions. It was a troubled period for our family, in the space of a couple of years my dad had cancer of the throat and had his voice box removed. I was charged and convicted of GBH although in court the charge was reduced to Actual Bodily Harm. One of my older brothers committed suicide while serving in the army in Northern Ireland. Unsurprisingly I guess, I left the grammar and went to the local secondary modern for the last year. I left without sitting for a single exam. Toward the end of this period I started to write a biography of my dad. I didn't get very far, half a page, if that. Maybe it was my brother's death, but there was a feeling that our lives should matter more. My novel Under The Bridge was called 'A Love letter to Liverpool' with a touch of Peaky Blinders, The Irish Times called it 'A love letter to the Liverpool Irish.' In an article I called it 'A love letter to the men and women of my father's generation.' In reality it is the completion of the project started when I was 16. An attempt to make our lives mean something.
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Jack: Reading the above you won't be surprised to hear that the lives and struggles of working people are the centre of my stories. They are both a way of understanding and exploring what happens to us and why. I have no doubt the younger generations of activists will find their own way to improve society, but if my books can help them along that road I would be more than happy. So the first book includes, dockers, and car factory workers as well as cleaners. Social and political movements, strikes, police corruption and brutality, and climate change are all themes. I think my writing style is simple and straightforward but still able to raise fundamental questions about who we are, and why we are here. All this within a page turning mystery.
I have a book of short stories on Amazon The One Road. The main story is one of the first longer pieces I wrote, and the collection represents themes that I go on to cover further in my novels, finding who we are, dealing with loss and pain, growing up, in a dark yet funny way.
Alex: Tell us a bit about yourself, Jack.
Jack: I was born and raised in Speke, a large council estate in the South of Liverpool. I was second youngest of eight kids, my dad was from Ireland, and my mum was born in Liverpool but her parents were also from the same town as my dad, Wicklow. I read everything I could get my hands on as a kid; my mum's Catherine Cookson and an older brother's socialist literature. My childhood was weird. I passed the 11 Plus and so went to a Catholic grammar school to begin with, but I never felt comfortable there. After I had read the Communist Manifesto at around 13 my ambition was to be in and build unions. It was a troubled period for our family, in the space of a couple of years my dad had cancer of the throat and had his voice box removed. I was charged and convicted of GBH although in court the charge was reduced to Actual Bodily Harm. One of my older brothers committed suicide while serving in the army in Northern Ireland. Unsurprisingly I guess, I left the grammar and went to the local secondary modern for the last year. I left without sitting for a single exam. Toward the end of this period I started to write a biography of my dad. I didn't get very far, half a page, if that. Maybe it was my brother's death, but there was a feeling that our lives should matter more. My novel Under The Bridge was called 'A Love letter to Liverpool' with a touch of Peaky Blinders, The Irish Times called it 'A love letter to the Liverpool Irish.' In an article I called it 'A love letter to the men and women of my father's generation.' In reality it is the completion of the project started when I was 16. An attempt to make our lives mean something.
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Jack: Reading the above you won't be surprised to hear that the lives and struggles of working people are the centre of my stories. They are both a way of understanding and exploring what happens to us and why. I have no doubt the younger generations of activists will find their own way to improve society, but if my books can help them along that road I would be more than happy. So the first book includes, dockers, and car factory workers as well as cleaners. Social and political movements, strikes, police corruption and brutality, and climate change are all themes. I think my writing style is simple and straightforward but still able to raise fundamental questions about who we are, and why we are here. All this within a page turning mystery.
I have a book of short stories on Amazon The One Road. The main story is one of the first longer pieces I wrote, and the collection represents themes that I go on to cover further in my novels, finding who we are, dealing with loss and pain, growing up, in a dark yet funny way.
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Jack: The latter, although I am trying to plan out a little more. My characters come to life as they negotiate the events of the story. I do have a theme, or historical period in mind when I start and the first four books are all set in and around Liverpool. They can be read as stand alone mysteries but they also link in to each other.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Jack: It depends which the publisher accepts, there are two possibilities, both are part of the Liverpool Mystery series. One is set between Liverpool and Wicklow in 1975, and in this period of centenaries for Irish independence, it looks back at why people were forced to leave in such large numbers after the Second World War. The other is set between 1981 and 2016 in Liverpool. 1981 was the year of the uprisings in Liverpool Eight, and unemployment marches from Liverpool to London. 2016 is of course the year of the Brexit referendum. A group of kids in Speke take part in a robbery. Thirty five years later secrets kept since childhood lead to death and turmoil for those kids as adults.
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Jack: I have no idea, I read A Tale of Two Cities, when I was off school ill. I guess that would be one the first full length novels, I'm not sure how it ended up in the house. Later in life when people spoke of favourite childhood books, Narnia, or The Hobbit, etc. I realised I never went through the stage of childhood reading, I just jumped right in, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, The Iron Heel the list goes on.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Jack: Pre and post pandamic (hopefully) it involves revisiting locations, speaking to people who were around, if possible. In the pandemic, lots of reading about the historical periods covered, and watching videos of the times. Looking at biographies and newspapers. Somehow distilling all of this into scenes and events that will resonate with readers.
Jack: The latter, although I am trying to plan out a little more. My characters come to life as they negotiate the events of the story. I do have a theme, or historical period in mind when I start and the first four books are all set in and around Liverpool. They can be read as stand alone mysteries but they also link in to each other.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Jack: It depends which the publisher accepts, there are two possibilities, both are part of the Liverpool Mystery series. One is set between Liverpool and Wicklow in 1975, and in this period of centenaries for Irish independence, it looks back at why people were forced to leave in such large numbers after the Second World War. The other is set between 1981 and 2016 in Liverpool. 1981 was the year of the uprisings in Liverpool Eight, and unemployment marches from Liverpool to London. 2016 is of course the year of the Brexit referendum. A group of kids in Speke take part in a robbery. Thirty five years later secrets kept since childhood lead to death and turmoil for those kids as adults.
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Jack: I have no idea, I read A Tale of Two Cities, when I was off school ill. I guess that would be one the first full length novels, I'm not sure how it ended up in the house. Later in life when people spoke of favourite childhood books, Narnia, or The Hobbit, etc. I realised I never went through the stage of childhood reading, I just jumped right in, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, The Iron Heel the list goes on.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Jack: Pre and post pandamic (hopefully) it involves revisiting locations, speaking to people who were around, if possible. In the pandemic, lots of reading about the historical periods covered, and watching videos of the times. Looking at biographies and newspapers. Somehow distilling all of this into scenes and events that will resonate with readers.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Jack: Yes. There are two characters in Under The Bridge who were real people. One, Bob a dockers union organiser, I knew quite well in the late seventies, his actions in the novel are fictional but I hope I have done service to his traits. Tommy in the book was also based on someone I knew and again I hope his spirit shines through. My main protagonist is called Vinny in homage to a friend who died at a very young age. I guess in some way this goes back to giving our lives meaning, being recognised and valued.
An interviewer asked if any of the figures were a representation of myself, he thought he recognised me in one of them, the reality is part of me is in all of them, good and bad.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Jack: When I'm writing I generally read factual material about the times, or biographies of people involved. But I will recommend two recent books The World Turned Upside Down by Leo Zelig, is a political thriller, Leo manages to make the world feel smaller and manageable while showing its complexity and history.
Witness X by SE Moorhead, it's still on my list to be read, but my twelve-year-old daughter took it off my shelf and finished it in a couple days, so it comes highly recommended.
Alex: How do you market your books?
Jack: I have done one Festival and would love to be invited to more, and to be interviewed for blogs and Youtube shows as well as the regular media. Outside of big publishers the reality is you have to fight for every opening, and every book sold hopefully brings in more readers as word of mouth spreads. So if you have a platform and would like a chat feel free to get in touch.
Alex: Thank you so much Jack for sharing all this and speaking so candidly. It's great to have a writer from Liverpool on the website. It's the city my late father was born and bred in, so I have a particularly soft spot for the place. And good luck with the books. I'll certainly look out for them.
Jack. Thanks Alex. It's been great to chat.
Jack: Yes. There are two characters in Under The Bridge who were real people. One, Bob a dockers union organiser, I knew quite well in the late seventies, his actions in the novel are fictional but I hope I have done service to his traits. Tommy in the book was also based on someone I knew and again I hope his spirit shines through. My main protagonist is called Vinny in homage to a friend who died at a very young age. I guess in some way this goes back to giving our lives meaning, being recognised and valued.
An interviewer asked if any of the figures were a representation of myself, he thought he recognised me in one of them, the reality is part of me is in all of them, good and bad.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Jack: When I'm writing I generally read factual material about the times, or biographies of people involved. But I will recommend two recent books The World Turned Upside Down by Leo Zelig, is a political thriller, Leo manages to make the world feel smaller and manageable while showing its complexity and history.
Witness X by SE Moorhead, it's still on my list to be read, but my twelve-year-old daughter took it off my shelf and finished it in a couple days, so it comes highly recommended.
Alex: How do you market your books?
Jack: I have done one Festival and would love to be invited to more, and to be interviewed for blogs and Youtube shows as well as the regular media. Outside of big publishers the reality is you have to fight for every opening, and every book sold hopefully brings in more readers as word of mouth spreads. So if you have a platform and would like a chat feel free to get in touch.
Alex: Thank you so much Jack for sharing all this and speaking so candidly. It's great to have a writer from Liverpool on the website. It's the city my late father was born and bred in, so I have a particularly soft spot for the place. And good luck with the books. I'll certainly look out for them.
Jack. Thanks Alex. It's been great to chat.
