Interview with Author Chris Yarnall

Chris Yarnall is a talented author with an intriguing book, The Pit, which you can find on Goodreads.com along with a bunch of positive reviews. “The Pit is a love story set in a terrifying world. Lauren and Matt are kidnapped and separated. Imprisoned within The Pit they are forced to fight others to the death for paying voyeurs. Survive five fights and they earn their freedom. Lauren befriends her cell neighbour Jaime, her only contact in the nightmare situation. They grow closer, supporting each other in the time between fights. Do they survive and earn their freedom? The book tells of the warm, developing love story set against the cold, brutal graphic violence” he said.

            I asked him about his inspiration for The Pit.  “ My wife and I when we were first dating visited a remote Scottish pub (not the one in the book). It was very quiet and when she went to use the ladies, I started to wonder what I would do if she didn't come back. What if I couldn't find her? What if the staff denied seeing her, saying I came in alone? It stuck with me for over 10 years and I developed it in my mind before putting it on paper. The original premise is visible, but the story has grown significantly for the book:

Chris is also a father to two girls (and a cat). It isn’t easy juggling a family life with a writing career . Plus he says his own children are young so he won’t let them read his work until they are at least 15. “It is a very difficult balance, with writing always being the lowest priority. I try to find evenings and some weekend days where I can focus on the writing as I find it difficult to dip in and out in small sessions. Ideally if I could increase the writing and decrease the other work that would be my preference! That will only happen with traditional publishing I believe”

As with most writers, Chris is working on several projects at once. “I have finished the main story of my next book. I am currently going through editing which is taking a lot of time. It is called The Bride and is a modern ghost story set in London and Whitby. Rather than being slow, tense and haunting, it is fast paced, action filled and hopefully terrifying. There will then be a sequel to this which is currently planned out. These two will hopefully start a series involving a Detective and her partner who work on these paranormal crimes"

I also have a sci-fi book finished and ready for editing, but that is a long way from being ready for public eyes. Lastly there is The Robin, a paranormal story of an elderly man who is visited everyday by a robin. That one doesn't sound like much but there will be a lot of surprises, and if I ever got the chance to co-write with Stephen King then that will be the story I pitch to him”

That reminds me, Chris is a huge Stephen King fan. I asked him his favorite Stephen King  book and he said, “Tough question! I would have to say Christine or Under The Dome. Christine as I watched the film when I was younger and only read the book as an adult. It is a great story, and being a fan of classic American cars it really stuck with me. To be able to give that car personality and such a presence in the book is very well done. Under The Dome was the book that brought me back to his writing. I have read all of his books since. He is a master of making you care about characters, hating the villains and supporting the good guys! In my opinion that was done incredibly well in that book. You really wanted bad things to happen to the villains! It was a very interesting concept too, and kept you guessing 'why' until the end.”

His greatest dream as a writer? “To be traditionally published. I know writers who earn a lot from self publishing and some that don't earn much from traditional publishing. But to have a contract with a publisher and see my work in the media and in bookstores is the dream. Hopefully that would enable me to write more too” He also has some advice. “The most important things would be to read as much as you can and write as much as you can. Nobody writes gold the first time. Keep writing and rewriting, and have a good beta reader to support your journey. Write what you like, what you have a passion for. Most importantly don't give up, it is very difficult to get noticed”

He has goals for 2024. “Within this year I would like to have finished The Bride and started sending out to agents and publishers. Then I would like to have written most, if not all of the next book in the series, The Deal” I can’t wait to see what he does next.