Today I’m hanging out with an author I’ll admit I knew very little about until we hung out together, but I’m sure that many of you reading this will have read his books. I’d like to introduce you all to John Mayer – author of The Parliament Books.
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| Photo courtesy of John Meyer |
John Mayer was born in Glasgow, Scotland, a war-zone where violence and poverty reigned. In 1963 when he heard The Beatles on Radio Caroline, he decided to change his life. Aged 14 he left school because, in his opinion, he wasn't being taught. For the next year, in all weathers, he cycled 9 miles to and 9 miles from the Mitchell Library in central Glasgow where he devoured books of all kinds and began to understand what more the world had to offer. He became an Apprentice engineer, and soon was teaching men twice his age. In the early 1970s his love of music led him to set up as a Record Producer. He built his own record company trading in 14 countries. After a disheartening court battle with global giants, he left the business world and went back into further education at the University of Edinburgh, becoming an Advocate in the Supreme Courts of Scotland. There he acted for the downtrodden and desperate as well as Greenpeace International. His specialism was in fighting international child abduction.
John has written non-fiction, legal texts and articles; broadcast to tens of millions of people on US and UK radio, appeared on TV and in print media. Since retiring from the Law, John has enjoyed using his years of very colourful experience to create The Parliament House Books series.
The Trial is the first full length novel in this series. Set in Edinburgh and Glasgow, it is more than a nod to Franz Kafka's book of the same title. The Trial sees crusading Scottish Advocate, Brogan McLane, fight injustices so casually delivered by Low Life in High Places in the Old Town.
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Hello John and welcome to The Hippo.
We’ll start with a hard one. Can you describe yourself in five words?
Intelligent Fearless Ambitious Eidetic Humorous
Has reading any book ever made you cry and why?
J D Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ does it to me every time. The central character ‘Holden Caulfield’ who is around 15 years old and very emotionally vulnerable, represents the USA at a time of painfully growing up to take on the responsibilities of the world’s largest economy in the post Second World War era. Salinger captures perfectly the naivety and false sense of security that small happinesses bring Holden; and by association, those false happinesses felt by the people of the USA through being consumers. By the end of my first reading, I was screaming into the pages.
What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
I try not to write anything which I can’t see clearly in my mind’s eye. I don’t write to a timetable. I’m not a robot. I write only when I feel like writing and think I can give the session my very best qualities. What I do is turn my feelings into words and back again into the reader’s feelings. That, so I’m told, connects my writing to the very core of my readers’ hearts and minds. To write any other way would seem phoney to me.
Do you often hear from your readers and what do they say?
Oh, I’m very pleased to say that my books get comments all the time such as ‘If I could give this book six stars, I would’ - ‘I’m right there in the courtrooms, the jail cells, the Calton Bar and the bedrooms of Mayer’s characters. They’re very real to me.’ - ‘Mayer is a master at leading you in to the world of Brogan McLane QC. Well, his twenty years in Parliament House must help with that. Authentic? Yeah!’ - ‘Read all three Prequels before you start the novels. They’re free from the Parliament House Books website and will set you up for your Grand Tour through the novels.’
I feel very proud when I get such comments. Even though I get them more and more nowadays, that feeling of pride in the quality of my writing never goes away.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Oh that’s easy. Drinking late at night, is the answer. Right now I’m enjoying some fabulous farm-made white wine from Poros in the Saronic Gulf in Greece. I was privileged to be included in a small group of guys who went by sea late at night to buy it by the 100 litre barrel. I like to watch interesting things (often on YouTube) on subjects such as Astrophysics or Egyptology and drink my wine. If I get an idea for my current novel, I’ll write it on the white board above my desk for examination the next day when I’m sober.
You must have strong will-power John, as this is what happens to me when I venture onto YouTube! 😂
If a genie could grant you three wishes, what would they be?
I’d firstly ask for ten million dollars. I’m a firm believer that money can buy happiness; but you have to know how to spend it and on what things. That’s the difficult part. Ten million is just enough to keep a big investment income rolling in for the rest of one’s life. Any more than ten million could bring more trouble than the money’s worth. Secondly, I’d ask for the date, place and time of my death. That way I could schedule things I want to accomplish before dying. I’d also be able to die in any way I chose; which could be great fun. Thirdly - and here I remind myself that these wishes are being granted to me and not all of humanity - I would ask for that most elusive faculty; the one which the poet Robert Burns told us was impossible; that is to be able to see myself as others see me.
What did you edit out of your last book?
I edited out quite a lot of colloquialisms from the dialogue. Some readers say they love it because it is so authentic and deepens their experience of reading my books. But others - mainly Americans - say they can’t understand the colloquialisms and these therefore slow down their reading. My business is communication and if I slow down, or worse - stop my readers in their tracks, then that is a fault in the writing which I must correct. The joy of digital publishing of course means that I’m considering issuing versions of the novels written almost entirely in colloquial language.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Oh what a question! Actually I think I’d give reassurance more than advice. To give advice might alter the course of my life and I wouldn’t want to do that. What I would say is ‘Don’t worry, whatever you do, you’ll always become the guy who came from a tenement street in a gang war zone and rose to be an Advocate in Parliament House, sit on the Council of the University of Edinburgh and be the Legal Counsel to Greenpeace International. And of course, you’ll be the proud author of The Parliament House Books.’
Thanks for having me. I enjoyed this - John
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The Trial is the first full length novel in the series so here’s some more about it.
An urban legal/crime novel set in the beautiful Scottish city of Edinburgh.
Part I of The Parliament House Books series - 3rd Edition
When Glaswegian Brogan McLane completes many years of university education and legal training he crosses that great divide from Glasgow to Edinburgh. 'Called' to the Bar of the Scottish Supreme Court, he becomes a member of the most prestigious club in Scotland; The Faculty of Advocates in Parliament House.
When High Court Judge, Lord Aldounhill, is found dead after a transvestite party in his sumptuous home, those who know the killer close ranks and need a scapegoat – who better than 'outsider' Brogan McLane?
Out on bail with his career on hold, McLane and his band of blood brothers in the Calton Bar in Glasgow need to get ahead of their enemies or McLane will go down for life after Trial. But every time they discover a piece of evidence, it seems there is a mirror image to contradict it.
Through the murky world of Russian controlled transvestite hotels and with some unexpected police and judicial help, McLane battles against 'Low Life in High Places in the Old Town' until the killer is found.
But well protected and knowing all the tricks, will the killer ever stand trial in Parliament House?
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You can find out more about John, his books and connect with him using the links below:
Mailing list (sign up and receive 3 free books!)
I’d like to thank John for taking the time to stop by for a chat, it’s been great getting to know you and finding out about your books.
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