Featured Interview With Duncan Whitehead
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Preston, an industrial town in the North West of England, but I was raised in Thornton-Cleveleys, a smaller town in the Blackpool area. Blackpool, amongst other things, is the UK’s most popular tourist destination, a kind of ‘poor man’ Las Vegas. After completing high school and college, I joined the Royal Navy. In addition to serving at sea, I had the opportunity to work in British embassies across South America, including Argentina and Uruguay. After I retired from the Navy, I made my home in London; however, soon, I was off on further adventures when I was hired by a well-known Australian TV producer and his author’s wife to work aboard their superyacht. After seven more years of traveling the globe, I eventually settled in Savannah, Georgia, before I finally (I hope) moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I’m married, have one wonderful daughter and two equally wonderful step-daughters, and a cat named Mike.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was an avid reader from an early age. I began reading ‘grown up’ novels at the age of ten and it was hard to find me without a book in my hand. I read extensively when I was in the navy and working overseas and I always wanted to create something myself. I began by writing short stories, which were not very good, but I had no intention of publishing them. As time went on I wrote more, until I eventually wrote my first book, The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club, which I did nothing with for three years.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors include Agatha Christie, Ben Elton, and John Kennedy Toole. I also enjoy JK Rowling, C Terry Cline, Jnr, and Richard Osman. My favorite genres to read are dark comedy and mysteries. However, a combination of both is my ideal genre.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, ‘A Cozy Mystery…With Cupcakes and Zombies’ is a parody of poorly written cozy mystery novels. I do enjoy cozy mysteries, don’t get me wrong, but I also love comedy. The book centers around Poppy Darling and her unorthodox methods of solving murders while baking cupcakes in her spare time. It is pure parody, with the character the polar opposite of the usual cozy mystery heroine. She is spoilt, entitled, inadvertently racist, and homophobic, as well as unlikeable. Luckily, she is aided by her sidekick, Chelsea Sweetheart, who is more like a poorly developed cozy mystery heroine. The book is purely tongue-in-cheek and is my first real comedy since my novel, The Reluctant Jesus, won the Reader’s Favorite Book Award for Comedy in 2014. The book took me four months to write; it is short, and if you enjoy satire and deliberately over-the-top characters, then any reader would enjoy it…apart from fans of some cozy mystery writers!
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