Interview With Author Stephen Ford

 

 

1. What inspired you to write this book?

I was inspired by observing the political polarization we see in Western countries these days, where people retreat into echo chambers, communicating with those outside their particular belief system only with shouted insults rather than discussion. In particular, as a liberal-minded person myself, I wanted to examine what is was about fellow liberals that so repelled around half of the population that they resorted to vote for populist demagogues such as Donald Trump, or their equivalents in their particular country.

 

2. What exactly is it about — and who is it written for?

The setting for the book is a university in England a little into the future under a very left- wing government. The United Kingdom has broken up, the monarchy abolished and English society is dominated by the Universities, new centers of power in the land, a power as great as the medieval Church and suppressing heresy against the new woke creed as zealously as Stalin’s secret police, dissenters banished to gulags, to protect the public from dangerous hateful influences. The book is aimed at anyone who is interested in what our politics has become and where it might be going on current trends.

 

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book?

Although this is a book with a political theme, it has a strong story line with twists, turns and sub-plots, well developed characters, love interest and I like to think will be a good read for anyone irrespective of whether politics interests them. Conservatives will probably enjoy it because I lampoon and ridicule liberal excesses and they will probably like the mockery.

Liberals may not like it as much, but they should read it because I aim to hold up a mirror to show how they appear to others.

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?

The book's title highlights the contradiction between an intolerant political creed and free speech, "hate" being the term used for anything that contradicts the current liberal ethos, assumed by the liberals concerned to be in all respects good and righteous. The cover design illustrates the setting, a university near Windsor, close to Runnymede where Magna Carta was signed, and the conflict between the liberal university insiders and the great unwashed outsiders excluded from a university education who rise up in rebellion led by a charismatic leader I have modelled on Nigel Farage, the UK's equivalent to Donald Trump.

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?

Speaking for myself, I write because I have things I want to say and I enjoy weaving those ideas into stories. I enjoy the craft of formulating a plot and storytelling in a way that grabs and keeps people's attention. I principally aim to produce something good that I can be proud of. If people then choose to buy and read my books, that's great, but I do it for its own sake. If nobody reads them, that would be a shame, but I'm glad to have written them anyway regardless of that. I would say to other writers, write because you believe in what you are doing and are confident in the quality of it, only then worry about attracting readers.

 

6. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? 

I spent 40 years developing IT systems. Funny as it may sound, I found that designing and constructing a novel has a lot in common with designing an IT system. In both cases getting the detail right and consistent is critical, as is getting the continuity and sequence right and tying up all the loose ends neatly. Everyday life and the human interaction that goes with it provides for the characters and situations featured in my stories.

 

7. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?

My books (I have written five so far) each have a theme I want to explore in the form of a story. Writers who have a similar inspiration to mine are George Orwell, HG Wells and CS Lewis, although I also aspire to emulate PG Wodehouse in getting my point across with comedy and humour.

 

8. How do you feel your book compares to others in your genre?

In the particular genre of this book, political commentary, the books have a tendency to be diatribes, which I very much hope mine is not. I use situations to illustrate, but I do not take sides, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions and I also aim to be even handed in my satire, mocking liberals and conservatives alike. I think I am probably unusual in this respect, I dare to say, possibly unique.

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book?

Getting it published. The subject matter is controversial and many liberals will find my portrayal of them uncomfortable. Many did not want to touch the book with a bargepole lest they get set upon by a social media mob.

 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?

Many must be asking, how did the Western world come to be swamped by a rising tide of right-wing populist leaders, Donald Trump in the USA, but also equivalents in almost every other country in the Western world, when of course liberal values as so self-evidently virtuous. I hope that my book goes some way towards providing an explanation.

 

Author Bio: Stephen Ford, retired from a career in Information Technology, is the son of a geologist, he had a varied and nomadic childhood in Africa and the Middle East. From childhood, Stephen has been inspired by wild places, mountains, rivers and forests, places where nature reigns, not people. Now, inspired to write, Stephen explores these themes: What forces shape human society? What is the future of humanity? Is human development driven by reason and logic, or are reason and logic mere tools used to justify people’s choices? For more information, please see: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.ford.1481/?locale=en_GB

By the way, the other books I have written are: Destiny of a Free Spirit; Walking Out of this World; The Glastonbury Triangle; and To Keep Us All Safe.

 

 

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum