Books Represent Real Life

John Lynch joins Richard Lowe (The Writing King) on Author Talks for a fellow-professional conversation between two ghostwriters, ranging across historical fiction, craft, and the business of writing for others.

A historical novelist who writes the people at the bottom of the heap, he is bracingly direct about professionalism, the folly of write what you know, and why a working ghostwriter does not get the luxury of writer’s block.

John Lynch is a ghostwriter and historical novelist who publishes his own historical fiction as R.J. Lynn, writing about ordinary people rather than the aristocracy. A longtime professional writer with a background in international sales, he is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

For more conversations with authors about craft and the business of books, see Author Talks with Richard Lowe.

DISCUSS YOUR BOOK

Full transcript of the interview follows.

Richard Lowe: I’m with John Lynch. He’s a ghost writer, a freelance writer, and he’s written historical fiction and contemporary fiction novels. I can’t wait to interview him. And we’re gonna have a good time. All right, John. Good morning. How are you today?

John Lynch: I’m fine. Thanks. Richard knew.

Richard: I’m doing fantastic. It’s a little early for me over here in the States, but I’m sorry

John: about that.

Richard: It’s no worries. I probably needed to get up and do things anyway. Some time.

John: Yeah, well, I tend to get up about four o’clock every morning. So you know, it’s my creative time will be running out just in the next couple of hours. And then I’ll go for a walk.

The Luckiest Generation

Richard: I see. I tend to move more towards the evening. I go to bed about two in the morning. So I’m going to sleep right now. All right, well, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?

John: Yeah, okay. Something I’ve often wondered about was whether anybody knows when they’ve left childhood behind?

Richard: It’s a good question, how they

John: came well known when they’ve left out of behind the doubt. Does anybody know how they can? What happened in those childhood, how they came to be? What they are, because I’m not sure that I do. But I’ll tell you what I can. I was. I’ve always said that in the UK, my generation was the luckiest generation.

We were the first generation and almost the last generation to have whatever education brings and titled us do free of charge. To be able to take advantage of that we also had free health care. And when I was a child a long time ago, when I was a small child, I was taking orange juice and coconut oil delivered by the government.

I can’t say I enjoyed the corner all the time, but I think it probably did a good job. Those who came before me. On one side, they were miners, coal miners, and on the other side, they were agricultural laborers, straw cutters, Brickyard workers, people like that. But I was a well, the most intelligent person I haven’t met was my grandfather.

But I say intelligent, I don’t mean clever. You have to have an education to be clever. And he went down a coal mine when he was 12 years old. And that was the end of that. My mother won a scholarship to go to a grammar school. But she couldn’t take it up because they couldn’t afford to have her not working.

And in fact, they had two new children to look after. So when it came to me, and this is why I say we live a little generation when it came to me. I also passed scholarship, one scholarship to go to grad school, and I was able to go and when I look back, all these people, agricultural laborers, miners, what they most valued, was education.

And they drove you and drove you mind beat my birthday presents Christmas presents were always books. And they used to say, work hard study. If you don’t, you’ll end up down the pit. And that was the last thing they wanted. And so I came, I suppose into a world where books represented real life and to me they still do I don’t know whether that’s an answer to your question.

But it’s a weird attitude. I know what the books represent real life. But that’s that’s how I see it. And it was, you know, it was it was a hard time for them my parents. But that wasn’t as hard as it had been for their parents. And for them.

It wasn’t as hard etc. We go back to one of the reasons I write historical fiction. And when I write historical fiction, I don’t write about Lords and Ladies, I don’t write about our secrets I write about the people at the very bottom of the heap.

Writing the People at the Bottom

Richard: Why did you choose to write about the common people rather than the rest?

John: I think because I found them more interesting. I actually put a video on YouTube about this called knobs nobody’s, it’s much harder, you have to do a lot more research to find out about the kind of people I’m talking about and what their lives are like, because what history records, of course, is the big figures.

I did find out one or two things about antecedents of mine who went to Australia, for example, actually, before they went to Australia, some of them went to America. And they went on boats, which they had not paid the fare and go into America. And then Australia was not their choice.

But you can, I’ve spent ages in, in, in places like Durham, in the records office, the archives, the historical archives, and you’ll get if you go through the documents that are there, forget about the Big History is written by big people about big people to go to the parish registers, for example.

And the notebooks that wrapped us kept. There’s all sorts of information about these people, you have to look but it’s there. And I think that, you know, just just in surviving, they, they probably achieved more than the son of some landed family did in going to war.

Historical Fiction and the American Revolution

Richard: That’s fascinating. So what are your What are your books about? Tell me about your books?

John: Well, I’m a ghostwriter. As you said, so my, when I ghost write, my book is really about whatever the publisher wants it to be about when I’m writing in my name prints the historical fiction that I write in my name. Actually, I write it as RJ Lin, which is my initial is in reverse.

That’s what I do. Start with fiction. I’m writing about the 18th century, I’m writing the 1767 in seven days. And of course, if you’re American, something big happened around about that time. And the early books are in the series are about the poor of the parish, right in in County, Durham, and how they, how much worse life is for them when the enclosures come in, for example, and how they are treated by by their betters.

The third book in the series, which hasn’t been published yet, but it will be the start of next year, is actually set in America, because these guys escaped to America, that they’re not going because the state has sent them, they’re going to get away from a false accusation.

And so they’re there at the time of the War of Independence. And if you’re American, and you’re looking at what is going on, I’m not gonna get into political disruptions, but you look at what’s going on now. And you read some of the nonsense that gets blasted around Facebook, you might have a particular view.

But for me, what happened in America, in the 1770s, is still the turning point of the of the free world. It’s the self healing democracy. And without it, the rest of the Western world will be an infinitely worse place than it is. And the the seeds for that we’re late, then.

I questioned whether Americans actually understand how lucky they were to have George Washington as their first president, the man who could have been president for life and who won his term was up just said, No, I’m going back to the phone.

Richard: I know it’s a fascinating story. I’ve read a lot about the American Revolution. And I don’t think that many Americans or even people in the world realize what really happened there and who was who was who? Or what, what motivated you to write that kind of book?

John: Can’t I can’t answer that. I can’t. I’ve no idea what it’s one of the questions, isn’t it? You must get it, I get it. You must get it. Where did you get your idea from? And the only answer I have to that is I have no idea. Because when I’m writing contemporary fiction, for example, I wrote a I wrote a coming of age book about a young English lad called the making of Harry Mike Lee Macklin.

And why I wrote the first sentence of that book. I had no idea what I was going to write. And I sat down right here in this room at this desk, and I typed without the words. All I’d said was, I wouldn’t mind seeing her in her knickers.

And I looked at it and I thought where the hell but I had no idea. And then the over the next few months, Billy McElwain, the subject of the book stood right here. We’re looking over my left shoulder. And he said, probably wouldn’t have said that. We didn’t do it like that.

Don’t forget the anger management. And this is a story I was making up. And yet, a character was telling me what I know. I know. I do understand that. Yeah, that makes me sound as though I’m insane. And perhaps I am. But that’s how it works. So Well, the idea for that book came from I don’t know, I have no idea.

Richard: Interesting. Yeah, I know the same phenomenon. My books tend to write themselves. I’m not one of those people. intricately does the plot.

John: You have to keep writing because you need to know what happens.

Richard: Yeah, I’m just as fascinated as my readers. When I write it’s like, I don’t know what’s gonna happen. Yeah, I have a vague idea of what the end might be.

John: I get that roundabout, the 30,000 word, Mark, I start to think, I think I see where this is going.

Advice: Forget Write What You Know

Richard: All right. Do you have any tips for writers to help them succeed?

John: Do I have any tips for writers? Yes, I do. The first would be look, it seems like a great idea, doesn’t it, you’re gonna be a writer, you’re gonna be your own boss, you’re gonna sit, like I’m sitting and you’re sitting. And it seems like a great idea.

And actually, if there’s anything else, you can see everything I’m doing. Do that instead, alright? Because it’s hard. But if you’re if you’re if you are determined to do it. And I can’t imagine doing anything else. And you probably don’t. I would say get rid of any thoughts you might have entitlement.

The fact that you’ve written a book does not mean you’re entitled to have anybody read it. Get rid of any false ideas of what you can do. But above all, read, read and read and read. And while you’re I mean, read everything read voraciously, and Catholics, but I’ve got a book in that bookshop there by Francine prose called How to read like a writer, I don’t know whether you will come across it.

And I will say, anybody who wants to be a writer, while you’re reading everything you can get your hands on. I’m talking about books, I’m not talking about concrete packets, while you’re reading everything, you will also be translating prose, because then you will start to, to read like a writer and think oh, yeah, that’s, that’s how they did that.

So that your technique would improve. Expose yourself to editors, not your mother and your sister. Read out of this. And when they tell you everything that’s wrong with the book. He doesn’t do anything. Don’t close your mind. And listen to them. And bear in mind that George Orwell who was immensely successful, eventually, when he started to write, people howled with laughter.

You know, the guy was utterly incompetent, probably far more incompetent than I’ve ever been, or anybody watching this podcast has ever been. It was useless. And I’ve seen examples of what he wrote. So it really wasn’t just people talking, it really was useless. But he worked out in the work that we worked on it and, and that’s what you would be right out to do.

And I’d also say, people are going to say to you write about what you know. Well, look, I spent a large part of this morning writing about France in the late 18th century as they approach the French Revolution. All right. I know nothing about it. Forget about write what you know.

But write about what you know about how people act how people operate, what makes people do what they do. You do know emotions, you do know how ideas are processed. So include that. But forget about writing what you know, it’s one of the worst best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given. And we got time

Richard: for one more or we got plenty of time.

John: Okay, whenever I look up here in this room where I work, if I look straight up there, there’s a picture of a great moment, in a game of international rugby, we’ll skip over that. But up here is a print that I brought back from the Prado, in Madrid.

And it’s the picture of the young prince batters on horseback by Google AdWords. And the reason I keep that there is a goat that print and keep it there and sell it somewhere else in the house. Is because the retirement I’m a writer, and there are times when I cannot do what I want to do, I don’t have the technique, I’m not good enough.

And the last word was one of the finest painters the world has ever known. Take a look at his picture of prints Bounders are on. on horseback. The picture prints banners are is wonderful. But the last was couldn’t paint horses. And I find that reassuring sometimes that I look at something and I think, you know, there are things I can’t do when he was one of the best who ever lived. And there were things he couldn’t do either.

Playing God on the Page

Richard: Interesting. All right, what’s your favorite thing about being an author?

John: I think the ability it gives you to play God, I was talking about this thing that I’m writing, I’m ghost writing, and actually, but it’s Saturday, it’s in the lead up to the French Revolution. Some of my characters are going to die by the guillotine. They don’t know that.

But I do. And in one or two cases, I have the ability to spare them whether I will or not. I haven’t yet resided.

How He Promotes

Richard: Interesting, interesting. How do you promote your books?

John: Well, of course, the ones I ghost writing, I ghost write more than I write in my own name, the ones that I ghost writer, somebody else, the publisher of grim oaks, those because I’m not even supposed to, I’m not allowed to say that I even wrote them. Except in a couple of cases.

I find it first of all, always have one or two of them with you. On something else that I like to carry things like this around. This is a it’s a glossy that I have done on one of my books. I have them on all of my books, and I carry them around with me.

So everyone on a train, and somebody has read you have to put yourself out there. If I’m on a train and someone is reading, I will say do you like to read? And if they say yes, I’d say, here’s a book that you might find interesting, given the book.

And the thing about it, right? I’ve stopped in car parks on motorway service stations, and chatted to the guy standing by the car next to me. And it says where you go and I say well, I’m going to a book Literary Festival, for example. Oh, you’re right. Yes.

And send him a book that you haven’t have in the book in the trunk. Okay, but sell him Don’t give him and I just mentioned literary festivals you need to work on to get yourself invited to those, because they’re a great way to meet people who are interested in books.

But most people aren’t. And, and people who are in the mood demiral. But other than that, I’ve tried. I mean, I have a mailing list, I have my blogs. I work hard at those. I have found Twitter gets me lots of retweets, but it doesn’t sell anything. Facebook absorbs a lot of money.

But for me, it doesn’t sell anything. I know it works very well. For some people. That doesn’t work for me. Amazon zone marketing worked very well for me. But I can’t promise that that’s going to be true for everybody. I mean, a great good friend of mine sells an enormous number of books through Facebook. And I know he does it very well. I have never been able to pull that off.

Richard: I haven’t either.

John: And it can cost you a lot of money. It does indeed. Which is fine. It was worth it.

Richard: Exactly. Do you get writer’s block and what do you do about it? If you do?

Why Ghostwriters Do Not Get Writer’s Block

John: I don’t think you’re a ghost writer too. And I don’t think ghost writers get writer’s block because you’ve got a deadline. It has to You’ve written so you just I’m not sympathetic towards writer’s block, to be perfectly honest with you. If somebody says that block that. I won’t, I may not say it.

But what goes through my mind is for goodness sake, get hold of yourself, right? Get over yourself. Get on with it sit down labor it. If you can’t think of anything else to do. Just lay brick Write, write something designed, what should happen next and write it. And if it doesn’t work, you lose it, but get on with it.

But I’m not. If I You’re a ghostwriter. Book for a publisher. You promised the publisher that it will be in the publishers hands by next Tuesday, the publisher drops you an email to say I’m getting a bit nervous. How are you doing? And you say, Oh, I’m not gonna make it back Tuesday, I might not make it rather month because I’m blocked.

What’s the publisher gonna say? And is he ever gonna turn to you again? No. So I don’t think ghost writers get writer’s block.

Richard: You tell me a little bit more about your ghost writing. How’s that work?

John: Well. It takes time to be established as a ghost writer, as I’m sure you know. And, but now I have three or four publishers that I write for. They know the kind of thing I can do. And I write nonfiction and fiction. They know the kind of thing I can do.

And they know the kind of thing I’m not good at. And they come to me from time to time and say, we’ve got this, we want this. There’s one publisher for whom I write a series. His name appears on the front is well known. And it would probably amaze that not many of that authors fans to know that actually the one that doesn’t exist?

Don’t tell me you haven’t come across this? Because you have? I have? Yes, I thought so. And you know that somebody said to me the other day, Isn’t that cheating? And I thought, why is it cheating? You know, people want something that’s good to read, I’m giving them something that’s good to read.

The publisher is there for the marketing, what the publisher is very good at is promoting this book, or promoting this series. And the publisher needs a reliable source. Only authors who get blocked and overuse to the publisher. They drag publishers around the bend, you know that what they are looking for is a professional job of work from somebody who regards this as regards himself or herself as a professional writer.

It’s not cheating, as people have suggested because you aren’t giving a product, you are a professional writer. You’re doing a job of work. That’s what the publisher wants. And the impression I have is that most publishers and I include large publishers in this most publishers would rather be dealing with a professional who agrees wants to be done and then does it agrees what they’re going to be paid and gets paid that amount and then goes off and does something else until the publishers that neck says Are you available? Isn’t that what you find?

Richard: I get hired directly by clients. So I’m slightly different.

John: All right, right. Right now I set out to I mean, I sold my first book to a publisher in 1989 1989. In fact was was my was a big year. It was my breakthrough year. Because I also sold my first article to a magazine Good Housekeeping. And my first short story to BBC Radio, and I’m so proud of that short story.

It’s actually on my website. It’s called Bird and you would need to know to understand that the in the UK bird is also a slang word for a prison sentence because this guy has done time. But he was a bird watcher, later into the story now you know the whole story.

So, and since then I, and it could take a lot of time since then I’ve set about saying the publishers, this is what I do. This is what I write, here’s a portfolio. This is my stuff. Do you need anything like this? And I know a lot of people write back and say, No, we don’t, we’ve got plenty of ghost writers don’t need another one.

Plenty of them, because this is the publishing business. You know what it’s like? Some of them never reply at all. But enough of combat and said, Yeah, so usually, you gotta reply that says, haven’t gotten anything right now PT on file. And you think, Oh, you guys heard that before?

And then an email arrives maybe three months later, maybe two years later. But an email arrives, say, are you interested in this? And the first question you ask is, how much? Course. And when we’ve agreed that, because I think about I calculate how much time this is gonna take me.

And I apply a non notional hourly rate. And as long as I’m happy that I’m going to get property remunerated for this, then I’d say yeah, I mean, you got all kinds of ludicrous offers. Somebody asked me yesterday, not a publisher, a human being asked me yesterday to write a 50,000 word book, a 50,000. Word romance for $600.

Richard: I get that all the time.

John: Yeah. And I’m always very polite about it. I don’t shout in London way. But I, I do have to explain the facts of life.

Learning to Self-Publish

Richard: Now, you’re also self published, correct? Yeah. Tell me a little bit about that. What

John: I had before I got into writing full time, I spent quite a lot of years in international sales. And I’ve lived and worked on every continent except South Africa. Don’t talk to me, what’s the matter how I have lived and worked in South Africa, and in other parts of Africa.

And I spent a lot of time in the Middle East. And while I was in the Middle East, I met a woman in Abu Dhabi. And she was a writer. But the stock of stuff she writes, she couldn’t let it be known in Abu Dhabi, that she wrote up because she’d be in serious trouble with the authorities.

And she didn’t know what to do about it. And it was her idea. She said, set up a publishing company. Let’s let’s do it. 5050. And I said, Yeah, okay. And she said, you’ll have to do all the admin and you know, you’re gonna have a share of my earnings.

And I said, Well, yeah, okay. And we did that. And it worked out just fine. For a while, I had to learn about printing and all that the majority of the books I read when I was a child were printed by a company called clays, which is in turn abunda, in Sussex.

And I wanted my book to be printed by clay. So I talked to clays, and they said, Yeah, we’re printing books, this is where it would cost me. And they have got supply the one with the two wholesalers, who supply libraries in this country and book shops in this country.

So I had to learn all about that. And I had to learn all about ebooks and how it was done. And I had to get involved with all the things that publisher should do for you. I had to get involved with cover designers, because the cover has to look good and the cover doesn’t look good.

Your last, however good the book may be if the cover doesn’t look good, you have it. And then I had to get involved with Proof Readers and editors, because there’s nothing worse than having somebody download an ebook or pick up a printed book and they get as far as page three and they’ve already found for for there will be they won’t read anymore.

I certainly won’t. So I had to get involved in all of that. And that was that was a big learning curve. And it took time but I I’m happy about it, unfortunately. And I hope she watches this. We’ve had something of a falling out because she introduced another writer.

And that writer writes things that I’m extremely unhappy with. That’s the kind of thing you have to look out for. So I am extracting myself from that venture.

On the Alliance of Independent Authors

Richard: Okay. Now you’re also a member of the alliance of independent authors. Tell me a little bit about that.

John: I find them extremely useful for advice on all kinds of things. There’s always somebody new, who knows, any question you’ve got, there’s always somebody who can answer it. It’s one of the very few Facebook books. It’s not a it’s not a Facebook group, but it is present on Facebook.

It’s one of the very few pages and pages you’ll find on Facebook, that sticks just to the point and isn’t written all kinds of political rebuff. pointscore and so on. Very good authors in in the Alliance, want to Jane Davis has one name that I’d recommend. And Allie bacon is another and David Penny is another when it comes to historical fiction.

David Penny looks a lot like you, by the way, when you come up screen will be very easy to think Hello, it’s David. And they are excellent writers who would who would be very successful anywhere. I think one of the questions people often want an answer to is well, why did you go down that road?

Because as I said, so my first book will publisher in 1989. I had a book. It’s called the making of buddy magazine. And one of the biggest publishers globally, was interested in it, and did it and hovered for about three years. And in the end, I said, Look, I can’t wait any longer, you know, I’m not been the first flush of youth, before this thing actually gets published, if you ever publish it, it will be I’ll be dead and alive.

And so I’m probably gonna miss out from taking it away from you on projects. And by the way, you’re not getting your advanced back. And I have a very similar experience with historical fiction book at the same time, which had been accepted by the company that was then the number one historical fiction publisher in the UK, who just been taken over.

And they came along and said, you know, that 80,000 word book we’ve accepted? And I said, Yeah, and they said, Well, we’re not publishing anything over 50,000 words now. So you got to take 30,000 words out you’re out of your mind. And I took the same approach with them.

You’re not getting your advanced back, neither of them argued. And the thing is, I mean, you’re looking at people, you know, David Penny has been, has been published by traditional publishers. So as Jane Davies, I was on a roll. So a number of other people. You have more control, if you do it yourself.

And there used to be a negative sort of idea about self publishing. You publish it himself, because nobody else will take it on. But that that is governing that is going because so many good books are self published. But there’s a drawback to self publishing. And I hate it when I come across it and I come across it a lot.

Somebody publishes their own book and they don’t get it professionally proof read, and they don’t get it professionally edited because they can’t afford it. And my answer that is wonderful. We’re not going to sell any and you’re going to get some terrible reviews. Because however much you think you can do your own editing and your own group reading your comment I can edit other people’s work and I do, I find it very difficult to do a final edit to mine, I need somebody else to do that.

So that’s the downside of self publishing. And the fact is, anybody that’s not publishing, I’m not going to tell you anymore, you’re gonna tell me that every self published book out there is a treat to read an A masterpiece. Through.

Richard: There’s truth to that. And what do you like being about about being an author? What? What? When you get up in the morning? You think I’m getting the right today? What? What motivates you?

John: You know, I said earlier that I was working odd years in international sales. And that’s true. And I’ve been almost everywhere. And somebody and now I work at home, and this is where I am. And somebody said to me the other day, don’t you get stir crazy being at home all the time.

And I say you’re mad I don’t, I don’t now have to wait for the car to pick me up and take me to Manchester Airport. Right? I’m not going to sit on it on a on an aircraft for seven hours that fly to Abu Dhabi or 10 hours of my route to Nairobi or 14 hours as I fly to to Johannesburg, or even worse, if I’m going to New Zealand, Australia.

I don’t have to do that. I can I spend my day at home. And I’m in 18th century France. I mean, 18th century America, I’m in present day. UK. Wow robots. The Making of Billy Magdalene, you know, he does a trip across America from Boston to Seattle tech and having one or two interesting adventures in places like Kodaline in Idaho, and becoming more and more amazed at what he encounters.

I can do all that and I don’t and then I can go downstairs and make a sandwich for lunch.

Richard: I understand that believe me. Do you have any copies of your book sitting around that we can see?

John: I can lay hands easily enough on to Okay.

Richard: guy that works.

John: Butterfly. And you see that? Okay. And this is Zappos man was a Slapper, which was renamed the making of Billy Maclean. This one here. Look at that cover. I wrote this book about a woman called Sharon Sharon right. It’s called Sharon right butterfly. And the tagline is no one gives Sharon a chance except Sharon.

I fell in love with this woman as I was writing this book. Now falling in love with Sharon will be a very stupid thing to do. Because when Sharon loves the way a female Mantis might knowing that when she’s done, the mayor may have to die. Okay. Nevertheless, I did I fell in love with Sharon as I was writing the book.

And then when we were talking about covers I didn’t know what and then somebody sent me a picture. And that is the picture that woman I’m holding it up to the wrong place there. And I looked at that picture, and I thought, Oh my God, that’s her. That’s my Shazam.

It’s it was just so perfect. That she was out there somewhere. But if I were you, if you see her walk straight by because she is dangerous. But she’s a great girl. And I wrote that actually because I wanted I wanted a counterweight to the making of Billy Makiling the maintainability McAloon sabse mamzer slapper.

That is a book that’s a coming of age book about a young man and I wanted from a very poor background. And I wanted to write a book about a young woman from an equally deprived background deprived in her case in cultural and all sorts of other ways.

That’s what I wanted. And and both of them both very McLean and Sharon right. Awesome close. We’re determined to get out of Have the life they’d been born into and find another one. But I was a story I didn’t tell you when we’re talking about how you get to be where you are tell it to you now.

When I was very small visiting, relations, visiting relatives in county government who are still coal miners, like many coal miners at that time, live in house with an outside laboratory. Something within in the north of England, Northeast of England, we call a natty body from the northeast of England ever says, Nettie.

That’s what they’re talking about. It’s an outside laboratory. Okay. I don’t suppose there are very many of them around now. Because the worst of it that time. And in fact, the house I grew up in was the first house for both of my parents where they’ve wanted talks.

And that’s just how it was. I have a memory of being about three years old. Sitting on this outdoor laboratory belonging to this relative, with the door open on my pants around my ankles. And I’m quite sure that people walking past and people did walk past, they must have thought, look at that disgusting little boy.

That disgusting little boy wasn’t disgusting that the boy, he was driving a gypsy caravan. Now that dusty road to somewhere new. And it’s what I always want to do. So it’s why I traveled. I had this. I mean, at the age of 21, my first job I was in the Bahamas, after that I was in Africa, and so on, and so on.

And so always wanted to do that was determined to and that’s what I wanted to give these two characters. Billy Sharon, neither of them is born with exactly a silver spoon. But they both have this desire for a better life. And they both have an idea how to get it in Sharon’s case.

That involves men suffering some reverse blows. And I won’t go into the blows, if anybody wants to know about that. They can read the book. But with billions, it’s different. That’s what I wanted to do. And it’s what I did. I still think about that little boy, was gypsy caravan. And I imagined that all those people who I imagined they’re all dead now, so it doesn’t matter.

Richard: All right, well, this has been a fun talk. Um, do you have any closing remarks?

John: Yes, I’d like to thank you. And I think anybody who has listened this long, I think what writers are engaged in is the same thing as what everybody else is engaged in. It’s it’s an adventure that starts with birth, and only ends one way, right. As a friend of mine, a guy I was at school with.

And that was a very long time ago. As he said, a while ago, it might be next week, it might not be for 30 years, but that’s the downward slope we’re on. That’s the end we’re looking at. And I’ve had a fabulous time getting this fall. And I hope you and your watchers, your viewers have to say because it’s not a dress rehearsal.

Richard: There’s truth to that. Well, thank you, John. We’ve been talking to John Lynch. If you want to hear more on this channel, this is a biweekly podcast. So hit subscribe button and you’ll automatically be seeing these podcasts in your inbox. Thank you very much, John. And you have a great day.

John: Love you and you. All right.

Richard: Not to cut. Thank you. Well,

Quotable moments

Frequently asked questions

What does John Lynch write?

Historical fiction, published as R.J. Lynn, about ordinary people at the bottom of society rather than the aristocracy. His 18th-century series follows the poor of a County Durham parish and reaches America during the War of Independence. He also ghostwrites fiction and nonfiction for several publishers.

Why does he write about common people?

Because he finds them more interesting, and because it demands more research, history records the big figures, so writing ordinary lives means digging through parish registers and archives. It reflects his own background: miners and laborers who valued education above all.

What is his view on writer’s block?

He has little sympathy for it, especially for ghostwriters. With a deadline and a professional obligation to a publisher, you simply sit down and write, laying brick after brick if you must. He sees block largely as choking under pressure, and the cure as getting on with it.

What is his advice to writers?

Drop any sense of entitlement, writing a book does not entitle you to readers, and read voraciously so you learn to read like a writer. Expose your work to real editors rather than family, and forget write what you know in favor of writing what you understand about people.