Today The Blonde Plotters are having a chat with Roy McCarthy, author of, Supply and Demand.

Thanks for popping by to visit us.

Please can you tell us a bit about your book Supply and Demand

This is my eighth book, and it’s been a challenge. My aim is, through this story, to bring attention to the inhumane crime of human trafficking, and specifically that of trafficking children into the sex industry i.e. slavery. I write from the POV of a young, trafficked Nepalese woman to bring immediacy and realism to the subject. The location of most of the action is in Kolkata, India. As you’ll imagine it took some researching, though I have someone in Kolkata to fact-check for me.

My two other main characters allow me to develop related sub-plots and add new dimensions to what might otherwise be too dark a read for some.

And the inspiration behind it

Several years ago, the plight of young sex slaves in Sonagachi, Kolkata was highlighted one evening during the annual Amnesty International Film Festival at the Arts Centre here in Jersey. Many people were surprised and shocked by the film in question. It took one or two false starts over a long period before I was happy that I had the characters, the story and the proper facts to bring this project to completion.

Are you traditionally published, a hybrid, or an indie?

Indie for sure. I’m not great at edits and re-writes and I’d never have the patience to make wholesale changes at an editor’s behest. Neither would I have the patience in the first place to set out on the rocky and uncertain road to traditional publishing.

What are your favourite aspects of being an indie and what would you change about it?

The freedom to publish without compromise.

What have you learnt that you wished you’d known when you started writing and what would be your biggest tip for a new writer?

I knew nothing when I started out. I didn’t even realise that there were such things as methods and rules to consider when embarking on writing a book. I’d certainly advise any new writer to take a course or two on the basics of writing, plot structuring, character development etc.

And it helps to be comfortable with social media (which I’m not) if you hope to find a market for your work. There are an enormous amount of books out there and you need to get yours into the mix if you hope to sell.

And for those reasons, write for pleasure or even duty, not for the hope of getting rich.

Bio

Roy wrote his first book Barry in 2010 during an unforeseen employment break. Having enjoyed the writing process he researched and wrote two Jersey historical novels, two mysteries set in his beloved Ireland, a follow-up to Barry and a collection of short stories. Supply and Demand was released in December 2018. His paid job is as a Finance Manager of a container leasing company.

Book Blurb

Two young women from a remote Nepal village, full of happy hopes and dreams, are kidnapped and trafficked to work as sex slaves in Sonagachi, Kolkata’s notorious red-light district. One of them, Chameli, tells her story. Chameli’s younger brother sets off on a quixotic rescue mission only to find himself fighting to survive on the city’s streets. Meanwhile, an Australian student arrives in Kolkata with idealistic intent, determined to help young sex slaves if she can. Can there be a rare happy and life-affirming ending to this story of the world’s most inhumane trade?

You can buy Supply and Demand here: Amazon UK and Amazon US

Links

Paste here your url website/blog/social media links:

Blog – www.backontherock.com

Twitter – @mccarthy_roy

Instagram – roy_mccarthy