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Inspiration for novel came from Ireland 
A British-born author from northern England has released his debut novel
having begun the early steps of his career as a child in Bangor, Co. Down.
Richard T Kelly moved to the North of Ireland as a young child and it
was there that he began his love affair with the arts.
The 37-year-old said: “The love of the spoken word runs from the
head to the toe in Ireland.
“Both the six and 26 counties have produced great writers with an
appreciation for words that I picked up in due course.”
His debut novel Crusaders focuses on a world of drugs, politics and religion
in the heart of Newcastle and Durham.
And the author admits he was always focused on producing a book that would
reflect the strong history of his homeland but also reflect the admiration
and pride that he feels towards the north-east.
Mr Kelly said: “Just like the North of Ireland, the north east has
produced more history than it can consume locally.
“The north east has a rich industrial history with an austere but
beautiful landscape with Geordie people in particular being known for
their wit and wisdom.”
The father-of-one spent his childhood on the Emerald Isle after his father
was transferred to Belfast to work.
He said: “As a teenager in the 1980s in the North of Ireland it
was often the case that culture didn’t travel.
“A lot of music and theatre productions weren’t shown there,
such was the fraught times.
“However when it did happen, I discovered the world of music and
theatre, both local and worldwide there.
“It made me feel very passionate about the arts seeing how hard
people had to work to foster the arts there.
“The idea of making a fiction novel began to get its hooks into
me.”
The Durham-born author was introduced to Faber & Faber editor Lee
Brackstone who encouraged him to write the book he had been eager to write
about his birthplace.
Speaking about his editor, the London-based author said: “He is
a very interesting guy.
“He had a particular passion for the north of England.
“A lot of literature can be very metropolitan centered.
“It was a great cause of his to readdress the balance.”
The author — who was influenced by the 19th century works of George
Eliot and Dickens, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy — produced his meaty
debut novel partly inspired by the murder of a notorious Newcastle bouncer
in 1993.
He said: “It was a brutal thing to happen.
“At the time Class A drugs had exploded on the dance scene and the
violence was becoming more intense.
“It was good material for a story.”
Crusaders by Richard T Kelly is published by Faber. |
