Ballynahinch Author Clinches A Three Book Deal With A Leading UK Publisher.
Kerry Buchanan, a retired vet, is already well known and admired across Northern Ireland as a prolific, award-winning author who writes fantasy novels as well as copious numbers of short stories published nationally and internationally.
Her stories can be found in Distaff – a Science Fiction Anthology by Female Authors, Kraxon Magazine, Inklings Press anthology Tales of Magic & Destiny, Page and Spine, the latest Women Aloud NI anthology North Star and many more.
Kerry, a regular reader of her works at NI literary events, is an avid supporter of (and panellist at) TitanCon. She is an experienced convention panellist (including moderating panels at WorldCon, Dublin 2019), and has captured audiences with her readings at Women Aloud NI events.
And now she’s turned her very talented hand to crime.
Kerry has just signed a three-book contract with Joffe Books – one of the UK’s leading independent publishers of crime fiction.
She said: “I’m very excited to be joining such a successful company, alongside their numerous bestselling authors. They are the only publisher I sent my manuscript to because I was a fan of several of their authors already, and I like the way they work with their writers to produce the best work possible.
“These authors include Helen H Durrant, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis – whose latest novel The Patient is currently number 3 in the E-book Top Ten list.
“My crime novels – the Harvey and Birch series – will be coming to Amazon in the next few months. These characters emerged during the first novel in the series and took on a life of their own. They are helped by an elderly Caribbean police sergeant who has served in the RUC and PSNI, and who has had to learn to deal with both sexism and racism throughout a long career.
“The first in the series is called ‘Knife Edge’ and should be released in the autumn.
“Writing for me is a fantastic pastime. I am a carer for my dad, who has Alzheimer’s, and he is a hugely important part of my life, as are my two daughters and a son and my husband… not to mention the many animals we have around the farm.
“We have a small farm set in an idyllic location which looks onto a forest, two lakes and the rolling County Down drumlins. It’s definitely CS Lewis country.”
Kerry explained she had a busy life as a vet but retired for health reasons and is now absorbed in the world of creative writing. She added: “It was in 2014 that I picked up my husband’s iPad and started to write. This is an addiction, and I don’t even try to kid myself that I could stop if I wanted to anymore!
“I’ve learned a lot over the last few years and I’ve worked with many writing groups such as the Belfast Writers Group, the Hexmen, and the Yellow Door Group, and I have absorbed a lot. These groups have really been formative in helping me shape up as a writer. I also attended a couple of short writing courses at Queen’s adult learning centre.
“As a writer, you need the private space to focus on your work, in isolation at times, but interestingly, once you are finished writing, the process becomes much more social as you need feedback and you have to promote your work.
“My experience of disability has helped me create an online creative writing group for carers, disabled people and those suffering from mental health issues etc who would not normally find access to a writing group that easy. With support from the Arts Council NI, I will be launching this initiative soon and I’m looking forward to it.
“I also host a writing group at Ballynahinch Library on the first Monday of the month and a second one at Comber Library, but due to lockdown neither group has met recently, so I know they are all champing at the bit to get back into it again.”
For more information – and a chance to learn more about this truly lovely, self-effacing writer who’s going to be a major new voice of Northern Irish crime fiction, log onto:
and like Kerry on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KerryBuchananFantasyAuthor/
