Thursday 1 February 2018

Character Interview: Patrick Lynch from the Fly or Fall by Gilli Allan.



Today in our special character interview we meet, Patrick Lynch from the Fly or Fall by Gilli Allan.




1.        Introduce yourself and tell us where we can we meet you?
“Everyone calls me Pat, but I’m Patrick … Patrick Lynch.  I work with my dad, Bill, in Downland, on the edge of the North Downs. I live……. Look, if you can’t find me on someone’s roof, shifting bricks or pouring concrete, I’ll be in the sports club.”


2.       Why are you in this book?
“Don’t ask me!  Wasn’t my idea. ‘Fly or Fall’ is Eleanor Hardcastle’s story.  She’s the first woman since…… uh, the first woman to break through my defences. Funny thing was, she had no idea she was doing it.”


3.       Would you describe yourself as a likeable person?
“Ha ha ha ha. Who’ve you been talking to? I want to be liked, makes life easier, and I work hard at it.  If I can’t make people laugh I feel I’ve failed. But for the most part everyone always seems pleased to see me … except my brother. Maybe it’s too late to mend that relationship.”


4.       What would you say are your strengths and your weaknesses?
“I don’t go in for self-analysis, but….  Good humour? Popularity? Are those strengths? If it’s within my capabilities I’ll always help folk out, go the extra mile. That might just be a strategy, of course, to ensure I’m everyone’s friend. But the flip-side of being liked, particularly by the ladies, is that I’m not above taking advantage. Something I’m not proud of, but hey, I’m only human.
I have been accused of avoiding trouble and confrontation … is that a weakness? … but if you ask enough people about me, they’ll all have their own take. Few really know me. My own fault, I guess. I’m not always … well … completely honest. I tell people what I think they’d prefer to hear, what fits with their preconceptions about me.”



5.       Did your author portray you and your story correctly? If not why?
“‘Fly or Fall’ is told from Eleanor’s point of view. What she doesn’t know neither does the reader. At first, I come across as pretty shallow, a bit glib, a bit … ‘Jack-the-Lad’. I’m not complaining. It’s the part I often play because it seems to go down well with bored housewives. Eleanor was different … out of place, kind of trapped.  She changed, of course, and that threw me a bit, and then there was the incident with her daughter! The kid’s only 14! I admit I was shocked that Eleanor believed that of me. And after that, well, I wonder if anything would have happened … if the ice would ever have been broken … if I hadn’t fallen off that ladder!  Even then I only slowly began to open up, to begin … finally … to tell her the truth.”




About Gilli



Gilli Allan began to write in childhood - a hobby pursued throughout her teenage. Writing was only abandoned when she left home, and real life supplanted the fiction.
After a few false starts, she worked longest and most happily as a commercial artist in London, and only began writing again when she became a mother.
Still a keen artist Gilli draws and paints, and has now moved into book illustration. She regularly attends a life-class near her home, a village in Gloucestershire, where she lives with her husband, Geoff.
Gilli Allan has had five books published.




Also by Gilli Allan:
TORN – http://MyBook.to/gilliallansTORN

Find Gilli @
http://twitter.com/gilliallan  (@gilliallan)


4 comments:

Jane Risdon Author said...

I thoroughly enjoyed this interview. I always love character interviews, so revealing and it is good to compare one's own idea and mental picture of a character to the character the author reveals during the interview which hasn't been apparently in the actual book. I loved TORN and when my TBR list has shrunk - no hope of gaining a clone to help out - I shall be adding more Gilli books. Congrats on a fab interview. xx

Carol McGrath said...

What a hoot. I can't decide if I like Patrick so I must read the book when I get time. Clearly there is more to him than he's admitting too. X

Eileen Schuh: said...

Allan's books are like biographies of tortured souls, guided through life by unseen angels. Her unique, poetic writing adds to the mystery of her characters and where they are heading.
Her books make you think...about the meaning of life and our place in the cosmos.

Gilli Allan said...

Thank you Pauline for inviting Patrick to explain himself. Although I'm not sure he's giving much away. So sorry I've not thanked you before. When this first went online I was suffering internet connection problems, and then life moved on!
And thank you Carol. I can only hope your time management allows you to read FLY OR FALL soon. And Jane too, thanks for your kind comments. I hope your TBR pile shrinks rapidly. And Eileen.... What can I say? I love the concept of "tortured souls guided through life by unseen angels..." Brilliant. These comments have made my day.