Today we’d like to introduce you to Damien Larkin

Hi Damien, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

After the birth of our first child, I decided to go part time in work while my wife focused on her career (she’s the careerist and I’m the dreamer)! I knew it’d be hard work looking after my daughter, but I relished the experience and decided I wanted to focus on some personal projects on the side (i.e while my daughter napped). I’d built up an app development business, managed to land three contracts and utterly exhausted from lack of sleep, somehow launched all three apps without a glitch or a bug in sight.

Unfortunately, they all bombed. Terribly. Worst than my worst projections. Since it was a profit sharing venture, unless the apps sold, I wouldn’t be getting any of my money back having already paid my team for their fantastic work. I may as well have taken what little money I had to my name and set it on fire.

I recall having what the poets call “a dark night of the soul” where I questioned what I was doing and if I wanted to continue with my app development project. I took a step back and analysed why I wanted to be an app developer and realised, the primary goal was to earn enough to support my family but also grow my business to a point where I had the time to do what, deep down, I always wanted – to become a writer.

It was a true lightbulb moment. Rather than focus on something I didn’t really enjoy, I decided to pour my energies into my dream. I wound down my business and within a week started writing my first book. That was six years ago and to date, I’ve four books published (three with a publishing house in North Carolina and one self-published) with three more landing some time next year.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

It’s been a definite struggle but I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed the journey. I self-published my first book (“Children of the Dying”) in 2018 having done months of research on every aspect of self-publishing. I released it out into the wild expecting to become the latest overnight sensation. Millions in sales, book reviews, maybe even a movie deal; it was all coming my way!

It bombed. So, so badly.

Looking back, I can list off two dozen amateur mistakes I made (if not more). But I did what I always do; I dusted myself off and went back to the drawing board. I analysed everything that I’d done from the launch day strategy, to the execution of the story and the cover design. I networked with other writers and soaked up their vast experience all the while kicking myself for making some silly mistakes (in hindsight). To take my mind off things, I wrote another book (“Big Red”) which ended up receiving a publishing contract from Dancing Lemur Press in North Carolina.

That one didn’t bomb. Granted, it didn’t make millions in sales either, but there was enough customer demand and interest in the story that the series now has three books in total with hopefully more to come in the future!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

My first three books (the “Big Red” series) are all in the military science fiction genre while my latest (“Lizard Skin and Sharpened Steel”) is a military fantasy. I served seven years in the Reserve Defence Forces of Ireland in the infantry, so I bring a certain realism to my stories based on my experiences of military life. Some of my most ardent fans are veterans (mostly from USA) and one of the things they love and remark upon the most, isn’t the visceral violence or actioned packed scenes. It’s how things go wrong so quickly or lack of planning and poor logistics can make a seemingly straight forward operation a living nightmare.

One of the most popular scenes commented about comes from my second novel “Blood Red Sand.” In this story, Allied soldiers are sent to Mars to hunt down the last remnants of the Third Reich. They don their bulky EVA suits as they prepare for a ground invasion until someone points out the colour of the suits are white, compared to the red/brown background of the terrain. Essentially, they’ll stand out to any enemy soldier without camouflage and have to hastily improvise finding paint to smear across their suits to avoid getting killed moments after landing. Little details like that seem to resonate with veterans and the realism adds another layer to the story.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?

Mindset. I’d say ninety-nine percent is mindset and the rest is hard work and determination. I’ve met plenty of people who say how much they’d love to become a writer but follow up with saying they just don’t have the time. My perspective is if you want something bad enough, you’ll find the time.

For me, I write through my lunch break in work or an hour after my shift ends. For the rest of the evening I hang out with my family and enjoy quality time with them. I’d love to relax on my lunch, but I’ve made a conscious decision. I want to focus on writing but also spend time with my family, so I utilise that time to further my writing goals.

Being a writer can certainly be a lonely business, so mindset to believe in yourself and keep pushing is vital. Only other writers can understand the sheer emotional and mental investment it takes to build up a unique world from scratch and it’s normal to start questioning if it’s worth it/if anyone will enjoy it etc. What makes a writer a writer is the ability to push through all that, focus on your end goal, and put the best story you can write together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.damienlarkinbooks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damo_danger_larkin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DamienLarkinAuthor
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Damo_Dangerman