« The Backstory: Dream On by Terry Tyler »
Terry Tyler is an independent British author who wants to get you hooked on her books. She’s written here to tell us about the inspiration for Dream On, but she’s finalizing the sequel, Full Circle which will be published in the next month or so. Dream On sounds like a fun ride—but let’s have Terry tell us about it.
Terry: Dream On is most definitely rock fiction, as it is about wannabe rock star Dave Bentley, and his Viking-orientated rock band, Thor; it’s also contemporary women’s fiction, as the other two main characters are Janice, the long-suffering mother of Dave’s son (Harley, David’s son…), and singer songwriter Ariel, who is the love of his life. Much of the novel is about Dave’s relationships with them. It’s quite funny, too…!
What made me write Dream On? It’s a story I’ve told in a couple of interviews in the past, so I apologise if you’ve read a condensed version before.
I’ve known quite a few struggling musicians over the years, gone to lots of rock gigs, and frequented rock music orientated pubs. In Northampton (England), where I used to live, the main one is called The King Billy—the inspiration for Dave’s local, The Romany, in Dream On.
In 1995 I was sitting in The King Billy with my sister, Julia, and we were looking at two guys at the bar. They were both tall, fair, nice looking and leather jacketed, with long hair—very much ‘all man’, almost like latter-day Vikings who’d been born in the wrong era. Because it’s the sort of thing we do, we started to weave a story around them. They became Dave Bentley, and his sidekick Shane Cowley, of rock band Thor. I’d already written a few novels, and the very next day I started on Rock ‘n’ Roll Dreams—all about Dave, Thor, Janice, and the love of Dave’s life, singer songwriter Amber Fox (later to be renamed Ariel). I wrote the novel for my own amusement, and for my sister, brother and sister-in-law—they were the only people who ever read it. Between 1993 and 2000 I wrote about nine novels, but Rock ‘n’ Roll Dreams was the one they all liked the best.
By coincidence, a few years later I got to know the Dave Bentley and Shane Cowley characters—who were actually called ‘Lockey’ and ‘Stodge’—typical biker nicknames! They weren’t rock musicians at all! Their real names were Martyn (with a ‘Y’, he always said—so we called him ‘Myartin’), and Alan. In 1999 I married Alan (the Shane character), and Myartin was the best man at our wedding. The marriage only lasted a few years, but I thought I’d put that in as a little coincidental aside—it’s funny how life works out, isn’t it :).
In 2010, very happily married to my new and much lovelier husband, I started writing again, and publishing my books on Amazon. I had always thought of re-writing Rock ‘n’ Roll Dreams, but, although I have a cupboard full of old, yellowing manuscripts, I could only find half of it. I wonder what happened to the rest…I never found it, so I re-wrote it from memory. I brought it up to date, with the inclusion of such things as the TV talent show, and the bit where one of the characters (I won’t say which one!) gets dragged onto The Jeremy Kyle Show. My sister Julia ‘test-read’ it—at the time there was only a mention of the Jeremy Kyle Show appearance; she thought this had massive potential, so I turned it into a whole scene, and developed the circumstances that led to it into a sub plot.
To sum up, if you’re into rock music or have ever known any struggling musicians, you will like Dream On—and it’s also very much a book for people who like to read about relationship tangles and dilemmas, too! Dave is torn between his love for Janice and his son, and his obsession with Ariel. He’s a thoroughly nice guy, though a tad misguided, while Janice is a favourite amongst those who have already read the book, and Ariel is so much more than just a pretty face.
I have just finished the sequel, Full Circle, which is now having its final proofread, and and the cover is being agonised over! I hope it will be out by mid-April. Julia has test read that, too, and likes it even more than Dream On! Whereas Dream On is told from the points of view of Dave, Janice and Ariel, in Full Circle Shane gets a look in, too—I loved writing about his womanising ways, and thought he was worthy of star billing in the sequel.
I hope you have found this interesting, and thank you for reading! Thanks also, Behind Blue Eyes people, for inviting me to your blog!
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