To celebrate and officially launch the book, David and I sat down for a little chat. He's got a wonderful rich voice, with a lyrical accent that rests easy on the ears. You can find out what that sounds like by visiting his website and following the links to his radio interviews.
Pinkeens to Diddies (info and purchase links): http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com/pinkeenstodiddies
David's website: http://davidrmccabe.wordpress.com/
The Interview
Today I'm very lucky to be interviewing David McCabe author of Pinkeens to Diddies.Hi David, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Hello Debbie, I'm retired now. I was born way back in 1940 in Southern Ireland, when Ireland was still in the British Commonwealth. I was brought up as a Protestant in a predominately Catholic country and lived in a large country cottage on the outskirts of Dunlaoghaire. I went to a small private school, formed to cater for the Protestants in the area, had a marvellous childhood, made lots of school friends. In 1957, I took an apprenticeship with the BP Tanker Company to start a career as a Navigating Deck Officer.
A road accident in 1961 put paid to my sea-going days. I then started a career in sales, working for various international firms. I left retail sales in the mid eighties and started a career in insurance, eventually running the sales branch of a large UK Insurance company in Liverpool. In the nineties I opened a company recruiting sales management for insurance companies in the UK. I now live in Lancashire, England with my partner Joan, play the keyboard, paint, write and fly fish.
So, what have you written? And what in the world is a Pinkeen and what are Diddies?
Debbie, I have written many short stories and poems in my time and of course my first book Pinkeens to Diddies. What are pinkeens? They are pink-bellied tiddlers found in streams, whilst Diddies are the attractive pointy upper parts of a female body.
My book is written in a gentle humorous style and tells the story of Brendan Harris, the hero in my book, as a young boy awakening to the delights that surround him in his semi-rural village, he stumbles through confusion and embarrassment as he is introduced to some of life's tough realities: social differences, sexual development, and a mother whose good intentions often lead to disaster and humiliation. This book is sure to appeal to everyone who is interested in self-discovery, and the perils and pleasures of growing up.
Where can we buy or see them?
Pinkeens to Diddies can be purchased anywhere in the world on the internet and is delivered in soft cover or on Kindle. In Google or any well known server just enter the words Pinkeen and Diddie and this will provide you with all the information you require. Sales price on Amazon is £9.95 (£4.99 for the Kindle edition) or the equivalent in Euros or US Dollars.
If this book is part of a series, tell us about it?
From my first answer, you will see I went to sea as an Apprentice Deck Officer with the BP Tanker Company. This was the time when the shipment of oil was really only beginning. I travelled through the Suez Canal on one of the first tankers to traverse the canal after it was closed in 1956 by Nasser. Visited many ports throughout the world. Ran aground off the port of Takoradi in the Gold Coast now Ghana. Was frozen in in the Baltic and had many shore-going adventures in ports around the world. My second book is the continuing adventures of Brendan Harris as a seaman and I should have it on sale by December 2014. Book three will then start, fingers crossed.
What are you working on at the minute?
As a member of a very successful writing group in my home town, here in Formby Lancashire we are preparing a collection of short stories and poems for our second anthology, for production by the end of 2014. I am also working hard on the final chapters of my second book, where Brendan Harris goes to sea.
Did you do a press release or anything else to promote your work and did it work?
My first release of Pinkeens to Diddies was with a large publisher in the USA and immediately had sales in the States, with interest from Australia, South African and numerous countries in the EU. I have now contracted with Beaten Track to concentrate on expansion in the UK and Irish market.
Did you get interviewed by local press/radio for your book launch?
I had great support from the local media and did many book signings, with interviews on Radio Merseyside, New Zealand Radio and Irish Radio.
How can readers discover more about you and you work?
With the advent of the wonderful world wide web, all you have to do is input these magic words into your search engine: 'Pinkeens to Diddies' and you have all the information you need. Of course don't forget my name: David R McCabe.
About Pinkeens to Diddies
In this gently humorous story, young, sensitive Brendan Harris learns much about life, family and the need to fit in while growing up during the 1940s in semi-rural Southern Ireland. Raised in a Protestant household and attending a private school in this predominantly Catholic country, Brendan stumbles his way through the confusion of social differences and sexual maturity while his mother, Alice, often embarrasses him with her good intentions among the local "poor"...which, all too often, end in total disaster.Life brings the typical surprises for young boys turning into young men, as Brendan grows up fishing for "pinkeens" and later learns his fair share about the opposite sex, and the delights and disappointments of coming of age.
Pinkeens to Diddies (info and purchase links): http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com/pinkeenstodiddies
David's website: http://davidrmccabe.wordpress.com/
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