Interview with writer John Holland.

Interview with writer John Holland. 

Q: Hi John.  Congratulations on the release of your novella, Somewhere Far From Iris.  I understand it is book one of a series?

A:  Thanks Marion.  Yes there are four novellas in the Heartland series.  They are connected by setting, in that the stories all take place in the Australian heartland, but not connected by story line.

Q:  When will we see the others on the virtual shelves?

A:  The second novella The Light At The Bottom Of The Garden will be out very soon.  I’m planning on short intervals between the novellas.  Depending on the interest shown by readers, the plan is to perhaps bring out a book containing all four novellas.  This would be in both digital format and Print on Demand.

Q:  What is your background John?

A:  I was born in Queensland but my family moved to the Northern Territory and the Kimberley area of WA when I was a babe in arms.  I grew up there, on cattle stations managed by my father Jack Holland. 

After finishing school I worked as a ringer (stockman) on cattle stations in the NT and Queensland.  I’ve also been a miner, road worker and media officer for a politician.

Q:  Working for the politician must have been interesting?

A:  You could say that.  I had to learn how to write speeches, media releases and promotional articles.  All required a different style.  I’d been writing poetry for years so the easiest for me was probably the speeches.  As in poetry you tend to use language in an emotive way.  However, in the case of the speeches, I had to ensure the message conveyed was clear and not lost in language.

Q:  Have you had poetry published?

A:  There have been dozens of poems published on poetry sites and in poetry mags,  mostly in Australia, the UK and the US.  I’ve had two collections trade published.  Dry Bones and Under The Dog Star.  Both reached #1 on the Kindle bestseller list for Australia and Oceania.

Q:  But you are concentrating on prose these days?

A:  Certainly for the moment at least.  Apart from the Heartland series, I’m working with a Californian writer (Nia Simone) on a series of speculative fiction titled The Fabric.

Q:  You certainly sound busy.  Where can interested readers find your work?

A:  You can find most of it at the following links:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/449463

http://amzn.to/1oKLtHG

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=somewhere+far+from+iris

https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/somewhere-far-from-iris/id891212351?mt=11

You can find print copies of my poetry books at:

http://poetrysansfrontieres.weebly.com/online-store.html

My website:  http://poetrysansfrontieres.weebly.com/

Thank you very much John.  I hope you have great success with your books.  I’ve already been lucky enough to read them all (in various draft stages) and I know they will go like hot cakes if people find them.

Marion Black