Dan Meakin - Author Life

Dan Meakin, author of Thanks, Eve, For The Apple Thing, was published in September 2017. We thought it was time to catch up with the author and find out how life has changed since the book was released.

Did you always dream of becoming an author?

I have always been a story teller from a very young age. When I read my first book, Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl, it awakened something in me. My teacher at secondary school thought I had talent and encouraged me. However, I was easily distracted and you need discipline to write.

What was your first job?

Making croquet sets at a factory in a place called 'Kirby le Soken'.

How did you come about writing your book? Was that your intention or did you start writing for fun?

I had written two full novels before Thanks, Eve, For The Apple Thing. They were my first attempts and will never see the light of day; I was simply learning the craft. After achieving a literature degree at Essex University as a mature student, I lost my writer’s voice. Later in life, I visited my mother in a nursing home in Clacton. She was suffering from dementia. My father had died years before and I found it profoundly moving that my mother had lost her husband of fifty years and now was losing her family and her sense of self. I wanted to write a very human story, filled with love and deep emotion. After visiting my mother, I took a diversion and visited my old haunts as a child, and it was during this time I came up with the idea for the book.

What was your life like before you became an author?

I have spent nearly all my life up to this point in the construction industry; first as a labourer and ultimately as a senior project manager. Finding time to write was difficult, hence it took me six years to complete.

Did you face any struggles before becoming an author? If so, how did you overcome them?

I am from a large family and the youngest of four, so I have faced the loss of some members of that family and some close friends. Life offers difficulties and joy, and the love of my family and of humanity has always inspired me to write. However, when I met my wife, that was the day I really grew up and found my true voice.

Now that you are a published author, how has your life changed, if at all?

When I was offered the publishing contract I was living in a house in Romsey, Hampshire and we were struggling to pay the bills. My wife suffered from severe bouts of arthritis, and so could not work all the time. We decided to sell the house, pay off the mortgage and live on a narrow boat. This would give me the opportunity to write; it was dream we had shared since we got married. So now, when someone asks if I am living the dream, I can, in all honesty say, yes.

Can you please describe a typical day in your life now?

We have not long been on board the boat so it needs a bit of work. But a typical day would be to wake naturally, no alarms. I make cup of coffee, throw open the galley hatch and feed the ducks. If the sun is shining, I will continue to paint the boat; if not, I make notes on my next novel. I need my own space to write, and so am waiting for an office to be installed and then press on with my next book. If the evening is fair, I might fish for an hour or two and then might round the day off with a pint in the pub, swapping tips with fellow boaters.

What is your most memorable moment of your life as an author?

When I received the email to say that I had been offered a publishing contract, I realised that it was exactly twenty-five years and one day since I decided that I would write my first book. I was filled with so many emotions and thoughts, it almost overwhelmed me. The one thing that kept me grounded that day was the raging toothache I was suffering at the time.