Interview with Barry Eva, aka Storyheart

Welcome to Book Talk with J & J, Storyheart. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

I was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, and in 2000 I left my beloved England and moved to the USA to be with, and then marry, a woman I had met on the internet. My real name is Barry, though I write under the name Storyheart. I am, up to now, better known for my short romance stories, both on the net and in my book Stories from the Heart.

I have been writing or rather telling stories from my late teens, including some songs and a couple of small plays for children. This developed about 15 years ago, into writing short romance stories on the net.

Across the Pond is my first novel, while written as a “Young Adult Fiction”, it is being enjoyed by people of all ages.

Storyheart is an unusual pen name, how did you come by that?

It goes back to my chat room days, my wife used to chat under the name Tenderheart and as I wrote stories, I used Storyheart.

Can you please tell us a little about your book?
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 curveball 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.

"Brit and her Brit", know that their young love will be followed by heartache when Fred has to return to England. But not before some final twists in the tale.

Across the Pond is an enjoyable book that goes from through all aspects of young love. With believable characters… humor, adventure, first love, 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.

I understand that you yourself moved from England to the USA, did that help with writing the book?

Yes, I have come across many of the differences and problems one runs into first hand; this really helped when writing the book. You could say that I have lived certain parts of the story.

What parts of the book can you relate to?

Well I’m a little older than Fred and Brit who are around 15, but some of there experiences, like the BBQ I can relate to. There’s even my favorite watering hole mentioned somewhere in the book

Do you plan subsequent books?

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 have actually started to sketch out the next book which I hope to complete by the end of 2009.

When a person goes to your web site at http://across-t-pond.com what will they see that is different?

Oh, you mean the characters. Yes, on the first page and several other pages you will meet some of the characters from the book doing the introduction.

Any final words of wisdom for those who would like to be published?

Never give up. Listen, learn and have faith in yourself.

Thank you for the interview, Storyheart! Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?

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

Storyheart will be stopping by the blog today to answer any questions you have for him. He's also giving away a print copy of Across the Pond to a random commenter. Leave a comment and you'll be entered in the drawing. I'll pick a winner tonight around 8:00pm PDT.