Page Turning Books: Author Interview

Author Interview – Ted Tayler

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How important are friends in your life? New ones are vital! I made good friends at school, socially, through work and recreation and over time some friends move on, never to be seen again, others eventually pass over. I have never worried about how many friends I have at any one time. I give any relationship 100% and expect the same in return but I never hanker for ‘the old days’ and getting back together for school reunions or the like. I’d rather look forward to the possibility of the next person to walk through the door to turn out to be my new ‘second best buddy’. Whoever they are, they’ll always have to defer to my best friend – Lynne, my wife.

What is your favourite quote, by whom and why? ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’ Aristotle.

I have always felt that if I keep doing what I believe to be right, in whatever venture I undertake, eventually I will reap the rewards. I never give up.

What is your favourite colour? Another easy one! Blue. A particular shade of blue, as worn by the football team I have supported for over fifty years. Birmingham City FC – the mighty Blues!

When and why did you begin writing? In 2006 we were on holiday in Ibiza and we met two young American girls, a long way from home, who stopped to have a drink with us in a bar one evening. They listened with great interest to some of my stories from my time in groups back in the day and when I got home, a friend Tom Sangster asked me if I had any of these stories written down, for posterity. I laughed. He said it would be a shame if they died with me and other people didn’t have the chance to share them, particularly my children and grandchildren. So I relented and started from the beginning and trawled through those that were fit to print until my singing days were over. It was four years before I got the book published, partly due to my laziness, partly due to the recession. I haven’t stopped writing since 2011.

How did you come up with the title of your current book? I had started out writing ‘The Tipping Point’ then I discovered Amazon was infested with them! I decided to switch to ‘The Final Straw’ then as the book was published Snow Patrol brought out their latest album. Curses, foiled again! Ah well, perhaps they could provide the soundtrack for the movie?

Who designed the cover? I was really lucky there. I searched for cover designers in the UK and their prices were out of my price range. I chanced upon www.bookcovers.us and a delightful young lady called Melissa G Alvarez. She had a range of options, catering for the thrifty author on a limited budget like myself and the upper end of the food chain. She gave me four basic cover designs based on my book ‘blurb’, allowed me a couple of revisions, then in days I had my cover at a price I was comfortable with. Melissa even managed to capture Colin Bailey as I had imagined him. If the book sells well, then the cover will play a significant part. If there are further books, I know where I’ll be going for my covers!