Ask the Author: Barry H. Wiley
Answered Questions (6)
Barry H. Wiley
Ms Lytle:
It would have been great to learn more about your grandfather for the AEF bio. Yes, I did get into Eva Fay's life, but not to the degree of AEF. That Annie hated Eva was very real. But, Eva and John regularly visited Heathman Manor, Annie's home as was noted in the local Melrose papers..
One problem in digging into AEF is that she and Eva were and are confused. Physically, of course, they could not have been more different, as Eva was almost six feet tall while Annie was only five feet. Both women had a very strong stage presence, as was noted in Eva's case when, after the death of John Fay, she went on the stage in a weak play that didn't last long, but Eva's stage presence was noted by most of the critics. A poster of that play is included in the Bio. If you live near Boston, or may be traveling to Boston, the present owners of Heathman Manor would be delighted to show you around. They are Dr. Gene Yee and Jennifer Yee. Jenn is Annie's great niece (she is a Pingree). The Fay home, the house that Annie gave to John, furnished with a full bank account, is next door and is still called the Fay House. The house to the right as you approach Heathman Manor is the house where Annie's servants lived.
All my files for the Fay bio are in a box in the attic, but I can dig through for the Eva file. I don't recall now what all is in there, but I would be happy to look through depending on how much information you might need. I assume you know the story of Eva being killed in as car crash.
Regards, Barry
It would have been great to learn more about your grandfather for the AEF bio. Yes, I did get into Eva Fay's life, but not to the degree of AEF. That Annie hated Eva was very real. But, Eva and John regularly visited Heathman Manor, Annie's home as was noted in the local Melrose papers..
One problem in digging into AEF is that she and Eva were and are confused. Physically, of course, they could not have been more different, as Eva was almost six feet tall while Annie was only five feet. Both women had a very strong stage presence, as was noted in Eva's case when, after the death of John Fay, she went on the stage in a weak play that didn't last long, but Eva's stage presence was noted by most of the critics. A poster of that play is included in the Bio. If you live near Boston, or may be traveling to Boston, the present owners of Heathman Manor would be delighted to show you around. They are Dr. Gene Yee and Jennifer Yee. Jenn is Annie's great niece (she is a Pingree). The Fay home, the house that Annie gave to John, furnished with a full bank account, is next door and is still called the Fay House. The house to the right as you approach Heathman Manor is the house where Annie's servants lived.
All my files for the Fay bio are in a box in the attic, but I can dig through for the Eva file. I don't recall now what all is in there, but I would be happy to look through depending on how much information you might need. I assume you know the story of Eva being killed in as car crash.
Regards, Barry
Barry H. Wiley
That's easy. The writing itself, and the people with whom it brings you into contact, whether other writers, editors, and such, or people who are part of your research whom you would never have met otherwise.
Barry H. Wiley
I don't know of any writer who waits for "inspiration" to write. As one mystery writer said, "I get inspired at nine o'clock in the morning every day of the wek." Every writer has a different writing regimin, but no one, including me, waits for inspiration.
As to writing at all, I do it because it is fun, frustrating, and, in the end, satisfying.
As to writing at all, I do it because it is fun, frustrating, and, in the end, satisfying.
Barry H. Wiley
My most recent book. A Spirit of Fraud, on Kobo, is an occult novel set in 1876. I wrote the biography of the novel's protagonist, Annie Eva Fay, for Hermetic Press in Seattle, in 2005. In about 1909, Annie Fay was called "the greatest female mystifier" by Harry Houdini, and in 1877, was described by detective Alan Pinkerton as "a woman possessing a terribly fascinting power and capable of any devilish human accomplishment". She was called The Indescribable Phenomenon, which is the title of my biography.
Having gotten to know Annie Fay very well, including interviewing the last man alive who had actually known her, one very wretched afternoon in the south of England. The interview was one of the most amazing times I have ever spent.
In any case, it felt time to go back to Annie's time and match her against a well known British occult brotherhood whose objective, following the apparent direction of the archangel Uriel, was to take over America, at a time when America was truely defenseless.
It was a fun book to write. The plot includes several historical characters in addition to Annie, as President U.S. Grant, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Robert Alan Pinkerton, and others.
I am now working on the third novel in my Adventures in Second Sight series with my seventeen, now eighteen year old heroine, Kyame Piddington which hopefully will be completed around the first of next year, while finishing some promised short projects along the way.
Having gotten to know Annie Fay very well, including interviewing the last man alive who had actually known her, one very wretched afternoon in the south of England. The interview was one of the most amazing times I have ever spent.
In any case, it felt time to go back to Annie's time and match her against a well known British occult brotherhood whose objective, following the apparent direction of the archangel Uriel, was to take over America, at a time when America was truely defenseless.
It was a fun book to write. The plot includes several historical characters in addition to Annie, as President U.S. Grant, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Robert Alan Pinkerton, and others.
I am now working on the third novel in my Adventures in Second Sight series with my seventeen, now eighteen year old heroine, Kyame Piddington which hopefully will be completed around the first of next year, while finishing some promised short projects along the way.
Barry H. Wiley
It may sound arrogant, but I have never had to deal with writer's block, largely because I have 3-4 projects going at the same time, so running out of steam on one means I move to another one, then back. It depends on contractual obligations, promises made to editors, and to keep on a project that has particular appeal.
As Paul Gauguin will be a key character in The Shadow Play, the third book in my Adventures in Second Sight series set in 1897with a large protion in Tahiti, I have been digging into Gauguin's Tahitian experiences as well as his likes and dislikes, his physical presence, and so on. Then I write brief scenes with my heroine, Kyame Piddington, who is also an artist, their dialog and how Gauguin aids her insights into the plot problems. Thus Gauguin becomes more real, even while I am actually writing a novella, The Man Who Knows, set in 1920 duriing Prohibition. I fiind that switching back and forth keeps each project fresh and fun.
As Paul Gauguin will be a key character in The Shadow Play, the third book in my Adventures in Second Sight series set in 1897with a large protion in Tahiti, I have been digging into Gauguin's Tahitian experiences as well as his likes and dislikes, his physical presence, and so on. Then I write brief scenes with my heroine, Kyame Piddington, who is also an artist, their dialog and how Gauguin aids her insights into the plot problems. Thus Gauguin becomes more real, even while I am actually writing a novella, The Man Who Knows, set in 1920 duriing Prohibition. I fiind that switching back and forth keeps each project fresh and fun.
Barry H. Wiley
I am currently working on The Shadow Play, the third novel in my Adventures in Second Sight series. Set in 1897 in Sand Francisco, Honolulu, and Tahiti together with some of the other Society Islands. To fully plot out the book, I need to become more familiar with familiar places and people, like Paul Gauguin, who becomes a valued ally to my eighteen year old heroine, Kyame Piddiington, who though possessing remarkable skills, as developed in the first two novels, needs yet new talents and insights. I have been going deeper into Gauguin's life than I ever have in the past. I have been fortunate enough to experience a wide range of his works, but I need to know him. Also the uniqueness of the Polynesian people, which I experienced while exploring Mo'orea and the marae, the ancient temples there. So I am sketching out the story, while working on filling in the details of 1897.
In addition I am writing a long mystery short story for Kindle Singles submission, called The Man Who Knows, set during Prohibition in 1920. It is a fun project and quite different from Tahiti.
And finally, I am in the final rewrite mode for the thriller Beyond The Tempest, set primarily in Bermuda in 2014. The book is written, and now I'm working on the details. The transition from 1897 or 1920 to 2014 can be difficult -- but still fun. Writing has to be fun, or why bother.
In addition I am writing a long mystery short story for Kindle Singles submission, called The Man Who Knows, set during Prohibition in 1920. It is a fun project and quite different from Tahiti.
And finally, I am in the final rewrite mode for the thriller Beyond The Tempest, set primarily in Bermuda in 2014. The book is written, and now I'm working on the details. The transition from 1897 or 1920 to 2014 can be difficult -- but still fun. Writing has to be fun, or why bother.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more