Author Bio:
Pete Barker grew up in the seventies in a small Dorset village and in 1994, produced the history booklet, ‘East Lulworth Through the Ages’. His first published work were poems in anthologies by Poetry Now in 1990 and 1991 and by Arrival Press in 1992. Since then he has written blogs for Greenpeace and self published the non-fiction, ‘Grumpy Guide to Building Your Own Off Grid Home’ and the novel ‘System Error: invitation to revolution.’ Also writing short and sometimes bizarre stories, his piece, ‘Someone To Hold’ won the Flash 500 competition early in 2018.
Pete is a Greenpeace volunteer and with his wife, lives off-grid in mid Wales with 35 rabbits.
“For me, the best thing about writing fiction, is to sit down with an idea in your head and then to just let the story take over.”
What inspires you to write?
I write to express the myriad of ideas popping through my head, driven by the need to tell people about the hidden depths of the world around us.
Tell us about your writing process.
For me, the best thing about writing fiction, is to sit down with an idea in your head and then to just let the story take over.
I tried to use outlining but it seemed to lose the magic of creativity, that moment when the characters do something unexpected but completely right and you just have to go with the new direction.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don't talk to my characters as separate entities but I hear their voices as they interact with each other.
Who are your favorite authors?
My favourite authors would be Phillip Pullman and Douglas Adams.
Phillip's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy was so deep whilst completely engaging.
While Douglas's Hitch Hikers Guide series was sheer genius – way out there but funny and so true.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I'm a very self-reliant person, I don't like handing things I have such an attachment to, over to someone else to muck up. If anyone is going to do it, I would rather it be me.
And I don't want to waste time trying to interest a long list of skeptical publishers, let's get on with it, self-publish, get it out there and move onto the next project.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think there will always be a love of books that you can hold, cherish and keep. Or pass onto friends.
Short stories make for easy e-book reading but the commitment to a full novel is best suited to paper.
As far as self publishing goes, it's great for getting your work out into the world but it's a bit like casting a note in a bottle to the seven seas. Who knows who or even if it will get picked up.
Established publishers provide a quality gatekeeping service and they can get your work in front of the eyes of readers. It can still fail though and your book ends up in the discount bin.
What genres do you write?
Non fiction – environmental themes. Fiction – dystopian, political & literary nonsense
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print
Website(s)
Peter Barker Home Page Link
Follow Peter Barker On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Waterstones
Author’s Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
All information is provided by the author and is presented as it was submitted so you the reader get to hear the author’s own “voice” in their interview.
