Interview with Author D.J.Kirkby

Todays post is a question and answer session with published author D.J.Kirkby. Denyse wrote Without Alice, a brilliant book about Stephen, a man with a secret, a man “who you will love to hate until you learn to love him.”  When I read Without Alice I loved the feeling of real emotion and the complexity of intertwined lives so I asked Denyse if she wouldn't mind popping over to Life in Clarity to answer a few questions about her writers journey. She very kindly obliged.

Firstly Denyse, I want to thank you for taking the time to come over to Life in Clarity to answer a few questions. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.

How did the idea for Without Alice come about?

The concept for Without Alice came about during my years of clinical practice as a midwife. As a midwife you are witness to some of the very worst and best of human interaction and relationships. Once in a while relationships I had observed would stick in my head making me wonder how different their relationship might have been if their circumstances had changed or they had communicated with each other better or differently. I began playing around with these scenarios and from that time Without Alice began to take shape.

I love watching people interact, it always amazes me how completely different everyone is. When you started putting these thoughts down was it the first time you had written or is it something you've always done?

I've written since I could string enough words together to form a coherent sentence :) I love writing, it is my way of making sense of the world and one of the ways I clear my mind.

How did Without Alice go from your written version to published book?

WA went to BubbleCow for a professional edit before I subbed it to my publisher because I am dyslexic and I wanted to make sure it was in the best shape possible so I didn't embarrass myself. It worked and my publisher offered me a contract at last year's London Book Fair. He then did an edit of WA too. By the time it was ready for publication I was sick of the sight of it though by the time it was on general release I had fallen in love with it all over again.

How exciting was it to see your book in print?

It was very nice, it looked pretty, and I felt very proud of it. I still do!

Can I ask what you are currently working on?

I am currently working on my next novel – Love and Other Lies and there is an excerpt from it on my blog: I am also writing a non-fiction book called Butterfly Babies – Modern midwifery is more than just a delivery service and the excerpt is here: Butterfly Babies.

And where can Life in Clarity readers get hold of a copy of Without Alice?

Without Alice can be ordered from any bookstore as well as any online bookshop. Paper copies cost around £6.99 but Amazon has digital copies for sale for £0.86 and $1.36 which can be read on Kindle, iPods, PC’s and many other systems.

All that is left to say, is thank you so much for talking to me about this and to wish you all the best with your current venture. I can't wait to read it!

Thank you for interviewing me on your blog, and for being such great company on twitter!

For anyone wanting to follow Denyse, you can find her on Twitter and on the Without Alice Facebook page.