Terry Kerr

Posted On February 27, 2020

• What lead you to write?

I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil! I loved to read (I read everything I could, even down to the ingredients on the cereal packets) and couldn’t get enough stories – so I had to make up my own! I’ve never stopped since.

• Was there a particular person that influenced you to pursue writing?

A particular ex-girlfriend, she read something I was working on and kept demanding to know what happened next. Even though we’ve been separated for twenty years, she’s still the voice I keep in my head – “What next? What next!”

• What is your preferred genre to write?

I love ghosts and monsters and the supernatural – you can get nice and allegorical that way, talk about stuff which you think matters without being didactic. Also, everybody’s going to die, so it’s a universal theme.

• What is your favorite genre to read?

Non-fiction – I spend so much time writing made-up stuff it’s nice to check in with the real world. I love a good biography.

• What are your favorite activities or hobbies outside of work/writing?

Dog walking. I don’t have a dog, so have to borrow other peoples. Dogs have a way of just being in-the-moment-happy that makes me laugh. It’s good exercise too. Which you need at my time of life!  

• Who is your favorite author and what do you enjoy about their writing style?

Aaaargh! Just one? If forced to limit the choice, then Stephen King. Everyone who writes in the genre should give thanks once a day that Steve was born. He taught us we could be funny and moving and scary and realistic all at the same time!

• What is one major struggle you have with writing?

Being published. Less facetiously, finding the main character’s voice – I try to make everyone sound different (no two people have the same speech patterns), and it can take a bit of time to find each individual rhythm.

• Out of all of your stories, which one did you most enjoy writing?

Pandora’s Last Act. There was a genuine sense when I was writing the first draft of having no idea what was going to happen. I loved that! I was just as much in the dark as anyone in the book.

• What projects are you currently working on?

I’ve two WIPS which I’m revising – one of which I may have to start over as I’m not sure I’ve got the structure right, the other of which just needs tightening.

• What has been one of your strongest inspirations for a story?

My first published book An Unquiet Past was directly influenced by the four hundred year-old cottage I was staying in. On my first night there I switched out the light and said to my girlfriend, “I wonder how many people have died in this room? Goodnight, love.” An hour later she was swearing at me because she couldn’t sleep. It seemed like a good starting point for a story …

• Do you place any of your life experiences into your stories?

Uh …sort of, but by the time I’ve revised and revised I’ve distorted them so much they may as well be lies. There’s a kernel of what actually happened in there, but I’m happier keeping things to myself.

• If your story could be made into a play or movie, what actor/actress do you think would be the perfect fit to play your mc?

I’ve never thought about it! Um …me.

• If you had enough money to travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I’d love to visit Rome. I’ve been around Tuscany, but never Rome. Rome has a lot of history I’d like to wander around in.

• What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

“Keep going! What’s next?”

• What is your dream car?

A 1970 Ferrari Dino, as driven by Tony Curtis in the TV series The Persuaders!

• What part of your writing is the most complimented?

Characterization, thankfully. It seems to be the one thing that people mention most – that you can believe in the people. That always makes me feel good.

• What part of your writing, do you feel, needs strengthening?

Endings. Endings are always hard.

• What is your favorite mixed drink?

I make a marvelous vodka martini …although I can never remember much beyond the second glass. Does gin and tonic count? I’d marry a decent gin and tonic if I was allowed.

• What is one of your most cherished items in your writing space?

My computer. Without the DELETE key I’d be screwed.

• What is one thing in anything you’ve read that stood out to you? (Could be meaning or even just sentence structure.)

I love Dickens, and I’ve never read a finer opening line to a book than “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” I don’t know why, but that sums up life to me. It’s everything at once.

• What advice would you give to someone trying to start building their platform and market their work?

Believe in yourself. It’s hard, I know – people want to knock you, laugh, make fun …but you have to believe you have something worth saying and that you can say it well. If you don’t, all the Facebook pages, Tweets, Amazon pages, Instagram photos won’t do you a bit of good.

• What is your favorite food?

One minute past midnight on Day One, God created pizza, said that pizza was good, and it’s all been downhill since then.

• What is your favorite show/movie?

I don’t watch television and rarely go to the movies, so my favourites are way out of date …last show I enjoyed was Buffy the Vampire Slayer and probably my favourite movie the Amicus’s Tales from the Crypt.

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