Featured Interview With Alan Bayles
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Hartlepool, England in 1970, along with my twin brother. I was raised in Langley Park, Durham, England up until 2006, where I moved to Northern Ireland married my wife, Monica in 2007 (still very much happily married). We don’t have any pets or children (my wife says she doesn’t need children when she has me!).
Much to my wife’s dismay, I’m a huge science fiction and comics fan. Love all forms of sci-fi, from Star Trek, Doctor Who, Blake’s 7 etc and I have been a massive Marvel comics fan for over 40 odd years. I am also a Sunderland AFC, even though I am not able to get to the games I still proudly listen to them on the radio.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My fascination with books probably began when I was around 6 or 7 years of age. I blame my mum for this. She was a voracious reader, and was a big fan of Catherine Cookson. One day she thought I appeared to enjoy reading comics (not just looking at the pictures), so she encouraged me to read by getting me my first library ticket.
The very first book I loaned from the library was Doctor Who and Death To The Daleks. After that I slowly moved onto reading some of the books my mum had. I have a fond memory of reading Catherine Cookson’s The Fifteen Streets and enjoying it.
I first started to write when I was 14, when I was given an assignment by my English Teacher to write a prologue for a story. Even though, I enjoyed the experience and wanted to to write a book, I didn’t think I was good enough, so put it to one side. It wasn’t until I approaching my 50th birthday, when I decided that I was going to write. I felt if I wouldn’t do it now I may never do it, so down to write the story I had been putting off for 30 odd years.
I self-published my first book in June 2021 – Double Jeopardy, the first book in my mirror wars series.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favourite authors are James Herbert, Clive Cussler, Stephen King, David Eddings, Dean Koontz, Neil Gaiman and Audrey Niffenegger.
My favourite genres to read are science fiction and fantasy books. I also enjoy reading action & adventure novels and the odd biography. I also occasionally read crime thrillers.
I was around 10 or 11 when I first read James Herbert’s The Rats and being so terrified by it, but still ended up reading the next book! His writing was so vivid and engrossing, to this day I still retain certain scenes in my head from that book. I then moved onto Dean Koontz and Stephen King. Along the way I also fell in love with Clive Cussler’s books. I was also introduced to the fantasy genre when I came across Alan Dean Foster’s The Spellsinger series.
I would have to say it was my mum who inspired me to write. If she hadn’t given me my first library ticket, then that would not have sparked my imagination and set me off on a journey exploring literary worlds. She was very proud when I published my first book. Even though she admitted she was too terrified to read it, she still could not help tell everyone she knew every time she bumped into them in the street or whenever she visited the hospital etc that I had published a book.
Unfortunately she passed away on June 2023, so she did not get to see the release of my second book.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book was released on 1st January 2024. It is called Oracle’s Vision and it is the second book in my Mirror Wars series. It is a science fiction thriller with a wee smidge of horror thrown in for good measure. The story follows on from Double Jeopardy and follows the antagonist, Oracle who was revealed towards the end of book one. She is an insane AI who has delusions of ruling over all organic life across the multiverse (hence the title).
The book’s main protagonist is Dave Barnes, the world weary 50-something Detective Inspector from book one. After uncovering a global conspiracy and its ties to a parallel world, he is forced to make an alliance with his manipulative doppelgänger from counter-Earth; Colonel David Barnes. After learning Counter-Earth and its population are now under the control of Oracle, both men realise they must set aside their distrust for another if they to have any chance in stopping Oracle, or Earth Prime will be the next to fall.
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