Interview with Young Adult Romance Novelist Barry Eva (aka Storyheart)

Born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Barry, also known as "Storyheart", left his beloved England in 2000, moving to the USA to be with the woman he'd met and fallen in love with on the Internet.

Better known for his short romance stories on the net and in his book Stories from the Heart.Barry is popular for narrating his stories on local TV or as a guest on other media stations,where his whit, oratory, and old-fashioned English charm make him a popular interviewee.

At present, Barry is living in Connecticut, with his wife and two children.

Thank you for this interview, Storyheart. Can you tell us briefly what your latest book, Across the Pond, is all about?

Across the Pond is about 15 year old, English born, Fred Squire who finds himself packed off to friends in the U.S.A when his parents win a trip to Australia, and he is not happy. Then he meets Brittany.

Struggling with his feelings for Brit and the language, Fred is further confused when he meets Brit's flirtatious friend, Angel.

Escaping from a confrontation with Steve Harris, the neighborhood bully, Brit tells Fred her dark secret about Harris, and Fred's world is turned upside down.

Life continues to throw Fred a curve ball when he catches a baseball worth a small fortune. Further run-ins with Harris, a crazy family BBQ, and a chase through a mall all add to Fred's American adventure.

With believable characters… humor, first love, adventure, education and a little sport thrown in for good measure. Across the Pond is a book for all ages from the young to the young at heart.

Can you tell us what (or who) was the inspiration behind your book?

They say "write about what you know" and after moving from England to the U.S.A. I certainly know all about the complications one can run into when moving "across the pond". I wanted to write something for a younger audience both with humor and with romance and came up with this story.

Is this your first published book and if so, can you tell us your experiences in finding a publisher for it?

I previously published a book of my short romance stories called Stories from the Heart however to be honest it was very badly put together full of mistakes and errors.

With this book it has been far from a smooth ride, more like a roller coaster of emotion. I spent over a year after the manuscript was ready, going to classes, lectures, meetings, seminars trying to get to the next step in the publishing chain. Receiving many "knock backs" along the way.

Publishers will not look at you unless you have an agent. Agents will not take you unless you have a publisher. In the end I basically lost heart and stopped writing. In 2007 the only thing I wrote was my normal Christmas short romance story. This in 2008, I started writing again, at first a couple of song parodies to do at my karaoke show, another of my hobbies. Then I started pushing to get the book published, this time with a Print on Demand Company.

Xlibris took the book on, and within a few months everything was sorted and the book published. That was in October, since that time, I have had nothing but great reviews and comments. These make all the effort worth while.

How has Xlibris been to work with?

They have been really helpful throughout the publication; hardly a day went by without some form of follow the editing, to the cover design through the final publication.

Do you have an agent?

No I don´t to be honest. Unless you are attached to a major publisher most the work regarding publicity etc. can be done these days on the internet. There are so many helpful groups and web sites for you to use I wonder just how much a agent will help once your book is published?

Can you tell us how long it took you to write your book and also how long it took from the time Xlibris sent the contract and the time it was released?

I set myself a target of completing the book in year. First though I had to basically re-learn how to write. Previously I had been writing short stories which I churned over in my mind, then wrote in an hour or less. For a novel I had to plan, to learn how to develop the story. The short story writing did though help with the hooks at the end of each chapter which keeps the reader wanting to read the book. In fact several people have said that once they started reading Across the Pond they could not put it down until they have completed it, in their reviews.

Once I had started working with Xlibris, everything went through in about two months, it was all very smooth.

Do you have any words of inspiration from other writers who would like to be wearing your shoes?

Look, learn and have faith in yourself and your writing. Don´t talk down if it is for younger people, live the story, become part of the story, and enjoy the ride.

I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in February via a virtual book tour. Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

Reading comments from many online groups and other writers, the virtual book tour is obviously the way ahead. Online sites such as American Chronicle enable you to get the word out about your book across the globe, rather than just a single book shop. You can share your words and your thoughts with many people.

What´s next for you?

I would love for Disney to sign the book up for the next "High School Musical – Across the Pond" film. But more realistically I have been asked this same question by readers, several of them noticing that there are two possible areas which could lead to a follow up book. I hope to research and start this next book during 2009

Thank you for this interview, Storyheart. Can you tell us how we can find out more about you and your new book?

Certainly, you can find out all about me and the book at

www.across-t-pond.com. The book is available at all the normal online stores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders even Target. People might want to check the reviews at Amazon to see what people have already written about the book. Any question people can always contact me at acrossthepond@mail.com.