Stourbridge writer inspired by Hollywood producer
Added: (Wed Mar 13 2024)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
A family trip to Australia and some advice from a Hollywood film producer led a retired sales manager from the West Midlands to finally publish his debut novel.
Terry O’Dell was so gripped by his cousin’s real-life journey that took her and her brothers to Australia, he began researching similar internments and deportations during World War II.
It wasn’t long before the 73-year-old considered turning his research into a novel – although it would still take some rubbing shoulders with the stars before he finally put pen to paper.
Terry, who lives in Stourbridge, explained: “The idea of turning my research into a book formed slowly, not least because I had never written anything on this scale before.
“It was not until 2009 when we attended the Hollywood premier of Kissin Cousins, which stars my stepdaughter Rebecca Hazlewood, that I met the film producer Stephen L’Heureux.
“As we chatted, I told him about the idea I had of writing this book.
“He was very kind and encouraging.
“I also had some great advice from Rebecca’s friend, the writer Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla.”
Barbed-wire, Barricades & Miss Becker follows the fortunes of Anglo-German Ruby Becker and her three brothers at the start of World War II.
While the boys endure the squalid conditions of hastily erected camps before finally being deported on the ill-fated SS Arandora Star, Ruby is moved from Holloway Prison in London to the relative comfort of the Isle of Man.
Barbed-wire, Barricades & Miss Becker has already racked up a string of five-star reviews since its recent release.
Critics have described Terry’s debut as ‘a flowing story’, ‘a good read’ and ‘I didn’t want to put it down’.
While his characterisation, pacing and imagery make Barbed-wire, Barricades & Miss Becker a gripping thriller, it is his research that gives the book a gritty realism.
Terry, whose favourite authors include Stuart MacBride and J K Rowling, added: “In January 2004 my wife, Kate, and I visited Australia on holiday and met up with my cousin who told us some of what had happened to her and her brothers, 60-odd years before.
“When I returned to the UK, I began to research the various aspects of her story and became totally absorbed.
“I was also fascinated by the stories of others who were similarly caught up in the appalling mess of internment in the UK during the Second World War.
“In turning fact into this fictionalised form, I took the basic elements and added bits and pieces of others’ experiences together with a large amount of imagination to try and link it all together.”
For more information visit Amazon and search for T G O’Dell, where the Kindle and paperback versions of Barbed Wire, Barricades & Miss Becker are available.
Notes to the Editor
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