THE WRITE STUFF: An Interview with G. L KEADY
by Jess Parker
As Detective Sergeant Jess Parker, the female protagonist in the paranormal, crime fiction novel Dreamraiders, I didn't require my arm to be twisted to accept the challenge of interviewing the author of the said novel, Gary Keady. Thoroughly aware that authors in general are prone to being, shall we say, somewhat unhinged, as one would expect with all of us characters occupying their minds, so, I sort to explore what makes Gary, tick?
“Gary, why did you come to be an author?”
“After a fifty-year career as a composer, record producer, screenwriter and film director, it seemed the next natural step for me.”
“And you chose to do so here in the Eurobodalla, why?”
“I spent the school holidays of my youth at Tuross Head. Then, after living and working all around the world since the late 60s, I wanted my new young family to share the South Coast experience. We visited Tuross in 2008, and they fell in love with the place. I could work remotely with my screenwriting, so we made the sea change.”
“And you transitioned from a screenwriter to author?”
“Yes, they're similar disciplines but to hone my skills as an author, I completed a post graduate Master of Arts, Writing at Swinburne. During the four years of the course I wrote two novels in series, 'Suicide Blonde' and 'Leg Man'.”
“So, then you wrote and published your latest book, Dreamraiders?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about the writing process?”
“Well, many of us live with our inner demons, I write mine into stories.”
“Where do your characters, such as mine, come from?”
“True life experiences. Those years of travelling the world, studying people, experiencing various cultures, and challenges, gifted me with a rich, colourful palette from which to draw my characters.”
“Tell me more about those characters?”
“You should know, you're the star. All my books are set in Australia. Dreamraiders is primarily about a detective duo: Thackeray, a flawed old gumshoe nearing retirement and you, Jess Parker, a young detective on her first assignment. They become embroiled in a case of witchcraft and sorcery in western Sydney.”
“How much research went into Dreamraiders?”
“Research is my favourite part of the writing process. For example, in Dreamraiders I wanted to determine the smallest piece of evidence the CIB had used to convict a murderer in Australia.”
“So, did you spend time at the CIB to find that out?”
“Yes, that and more. The answer was a single follicle of human hair, in fact, a pubic hair. I thought that was incredible, so I used it in the book.”
“Why the paranormal?”
“Oh, I think we take the paranormal for granted. People at different times in their life have premonitions but choose to ignore them for one reason or another. Dreamraiders explores what might possibly happen if they weren't ignored.”
”And the witchcraft or supernatural premise?”
“Always a fascinating subject for me. I first came upon a genuine supernatural event in the mid 70s when I was contracted as a composer in London. I had made friends with a sound engineer, Steve James, the son of the famous actor from the Carry-On movies, Sid James.
Steve, my co-composer John Vallins and I would get midnight-to dawn-studio time at Chappell Recording Studios in New Bond Street, to record our songs. It was eerie in the wee small hours of the morning in the old building.
Steve confided to us that he and others over the years had at times seen a ghost in the stairwell. I knew that anyone recording at that time of night was probably stoned, which probably accounted for seeing an apparition. That was until I saw it myself. It was wild: I was on my way along a dark corridor to the toilet, when I glanced at the alcove containing the staircase in passing and saw an opaque ghost of a fellow dressed in Elizabethan clothing, descending the staircase. But he was only half a man his legs and lower torso seemed to be embodied in the staircase. He paid no attention to me and disappeared. I raced back to the studio control room and reported my experience to Steve and John. It all became clear as to why the ghost was only half a man, when Steve explained that the staircase had long since been replaced and positioned differently to the original staircase, so that the ghost still descended to old staircase. That set me on a journey to further explore the world of the supernatural, a journey that is never ending and remains conspicuous in my writing.”
“How did the Dreamraiders story evolve?”
“I was writing a screenplay from a short story called Waxing Moon. It began with a young lass sitting on the grass in Centennial Park, Sydney, happily eating her lunch, when she feels something lumpy under her leg. When she picks it up, she realises to her distaste, that it's a human body part. The case of trying to match the body part to the owner falls into the hands of Detective Thackeray in charge of CIB missing persons. He embarks on a hair-raising ride into the world of the supernatural.”
“With me … you forget me to mention me.”
“Sorry. Thank you Jess, it wasn't a bad interview for a detective, if I don't say so myself.”
“Oh, we detectives get to do quite a lot of interviewing.”
“Yes, but in most cases interviewing criminals.”
“Which beggars the question, might you have a criminal mind in order to write crime fiction?”
“Perhaps, but for both the goodies and the baddies.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I wrote you, detective Jess Parker, didn't I?”
“You sure did. So, let's have a final rapid analysis of your novel?
“Once they're inside your head you can scream all you like but you won't get them out—Dreamraiders.”
Gary's book can be purchased at TUROSS HEAD Post Office or e-book and POD at https://www.booktopia.com.au/dreamraiders-g-l-keady/book/9781513642703.html
The Eurobodalla Fellowship of Australian Writers has two groups that meet monthly. The night group meets from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the first Monday of the month in a private venue. The day group meets from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month at the Red Door Hall in Page Street, Moruya. Annual membership is $45. To join contact: https://eurobodallawriters.org/contact-us/
