Interview with Peter Darrach, author of 'Tavern on the Edge of Time'
Peter Darrach has
lived in New
York,
London, Prague, Munich and Vienna. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in
English Literature and a Master of Arts degree in German Literature, both from Pennsylvania State University. Darrach pursued a career in sales and
marketing in fields as diverse as amusement parks and retail before moving to Europe in 1991. Since then he has worked in
Eastern and Western
Europe, holding a
series of executive positions with blue chip FMCG companies. Most recently he has returned to the U.S. to pursue his career as a business coach
and fiction author and currently lives in Florida.
His latest book is
the sci-fi, Tavern
on the Edge of Time.
For More Information
About the Book:
During the year 2125, former asteroid miners
Max Cody and Elaine Zhou never get a moment’s rest. No sooner have they doused
the flames of war between Earth and Mars or returned from their first trip to
the Tavern on the Edge of Time when they are called upon to help fit out the
fledging Martian colony orbiting Jupiter’s moon Callisto. In parallel, Earth
extradites the war’s fomenter, ex-billionaire arms merchant Xanthus Rex, hoping
to gain from his insights into Martian teleportation technology, but he manages
to turn Earth’s resources toward private revenge against Max, Mars, and the
Callisto Colony. In the meantime aliens are leaking into the Earth-Mars
continuum from the Tavern, whose proprietor repaired and upgraded Max after
accidentally injuring him during an asteroid mining expedition. Max’s
enhancements help, of course, but when strange beings with the power to animate
matter—the Assemblers—find their way to Earth, Max, Mars, and humanity are
sorely beset. Worse yet, the Tavern itself is becoming unstable, its
acquisitive host having overstretched his considerable powers. His prospecting
for collapsed neutron matter has also opened portals between continua,
inadvertently adding still more aliens to the mix. That’s when the Assemblers’
overlord arrives and Max finally meets his match. Oh, and Elaine is expecting
their hybrid baby. Yes, you might say these are difficult times at the Tavern
on the Edge of Time.
For More Information
- Tavern on the Edge of Time is available at Amazon.
- Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
- Download your copy at iTunes.
- Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
- Read past reviews.
Q: Welcome to The Writer's
Life! Now that your book has been
published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the
beginning? Where did you come up with
the idea to write your book?
We are talking about the current book, Tavern on
the Edge of Time (Book Three of the Second Skin Series, www.peterdarrach.com).
My ideas tend to come to me when I am doing
something mindlessly repetitive like swimming, running, or maybe driving long
distance, as if some door is opened through which the ideas flow.
Actually, for me these three books wrote
themselves, flowing as it were from some external muse. I wrote the first of my current three books
as a rough draft in 2008, but didn’t actually publish it until 2012. I do have
two degrees in literature, so I’ve been involved with the medium rather a long
time—with a 22 year break to go off and be a business executive in Europe.
Q: How hard was it to
write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which
would make the journey easier for other writers?
The first book was undoubtedly the most
difficult. Although the story flowed
easily enough, the physical writing, editing, correcting, continuity checking,
etc., seemed unendingly laborious.
However, I learned a lot of short cuts during the process and books two
and three were much easier on this technical level. This allowed me to put much more energy into
the characters and the story lines, with demonstrable results, I think.
Q: Who is your publisher
and how did you find them or did you self-publish?
I decided to go the self-publishing route. These stories have been bubbling in me for
some time and I simply needed to release them. Both the formal and informal
reviews have been quite positive. It’s very inspiring to have strangers tell
you your that reading your books is like “dreaming with your eyes open.” Who
knows, a publisher may be intrigued by the positive attention.
Q: Is there anything that
surprised you about getting your first book published?
Surprised, no, delighted,
yes. I suppose the first time you hold
your book in your hands it is a little like beholding your child for the first
time. The characters are my friends. The
books are my children. But, once I’ve
written and finalized a book, I am already off on the next one.
Q: What other books (if
any) are you working on and when will they be published?
Book Four in the Second
Skin Series is currently taking shape.
I’m on chapter 6 and creatively it’s going well. Finding the quality time to focus on it is
more of a challenge, however.
Q: What’s your favorite
place to hang out online?
You mean other than www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com?
Q: Finally, what message
(if any) are you trying to get across with your book?
My books are indeed
science fiction and adventure stories, but they are also testament to my love
of life and I hope they help people enjoy their own lives a little more.
Q: Thank you again for
this interview! Do you have any final
words?
Well, yes, actually. We haven’t explained what the book is
about...
The action begins in the
year 2125. The first book in the series (Second Skin) follows the asteroid
miner Max Cody who is wounded and repaired with some unexpected enhancements by
aliens while prospecting. He and his navigator / girlfriend Elaine Zhou face
vicious ice pirates in the asteroid belt and on the enormous Mars Orbital
Smelter Array (a.k.a MOSA) who plan to attack Mars and Earth.
In the second book (Second
Skin Too) the duo is called upon to join a diplomatic effort to try and avoid
war with Earth over Mars’ mining prowess, a conflict driven by billionaire arms
merchant Xanthus Rex.
The latest book (Book
Three, The Tavern on the Edge of Time) brings us directly in contact with the
alien who repaired Max, not to mention numerous other aliens, who frequent a
peaceful place call the Tavern on the Edge of Time. Unfortunately, Earth, Mars,
the Tavern, and even Mars’ poor fledgling colony on Callisto come under attack
both from human and far stranger adversaries—especially the Assemblers. It
looks like Max has met his match this time.
Visit www.peterdarrach.com
for more details.
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