Book Talk with Nathan Burrows

What inspired you to write this book?

In one word, insomnia!

I was working over in the Middle East for a 6 month fixed period, and I was living in a very small accommodation. Basically, it was a tiny shipping container with a door, not unlike a prison cell. I couldn’t sleep, and was lying there one night comparing it in my head to being in prison.

Now I’ve never been in prison, but one of the things that I thought about while I was trying to get to sleep was what would it be like to actually be in prison? Then, from there, what would it be like to be in prison for a crime you didn’t commit! And from there, Blind Justice was born.

What can we expect from you in the future?

I’m currently writing a dark comedy called ‘Meat’. It’s a very different book to Blind Justice, but it’s such a good story that I just have to get it out there! It’s set in a post-Brexit United Kingdom, and involves pig farming. I’m not going to say any more than that, other than the tag line for the book is

‘That Wasn’t Pork’…

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?

It was more a case of they came to me. Once I had the overall concept, some of the characters were obvious. I introduced one a bit later on – Laura Flynn – to avoid having an all male ‘cast’, and she quickly became one of my favourite characters. We’ll definitely be seeing more of her in the future!

Where did you come up with the names in the story?

I use a fantastic writing tool called Scrivener to write with. One of the features it has is a character name generator. I used it to come up with names that I liked, and that I thought fit the characters.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Finishing it! Seriously, it turned into a bit of a slog in the end, because I wanted the book to be as good as it could be.

Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?

My main character is a man called Gareth Dawson, and I guess to an extent there’s elements of me in the character. He’s not particularly complex, just a normal man in abnormal circumstances. With respect to the other characters, I would say there’s an undercurrent of fairness within them all – they all want the right thing to happen, but their motives are different.

Who designed your book covers?

I used a company called The Cover Collection. Their work is fantastic, and Debbie – the designer I worked with – was lovely.

If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

It would have to be Jennifer, Gareth’s wife, just to see if she’s as perfect as Gareth thinks she is! I would like to take her out for a meal to try to find out what makes her tick.

What did you edit out of this book?

There was a lot that ended up on the editing room floor. The first draft came in at way over 140,000 words, which is far too long. It’s difficult to go into too much detail about what was cut as this would give away parts of the story that I want readers to enjoy.

About the Book

Blind Justice by Nathan Burrows
Genre: Legal Thriller

Synopsis

Gareth Dawson is an innocent man. Not a murderer. His main problem is that the British justice system doesn’t agree with him.

He might be a reformed thief guilty of many things in his past, but not murder. In the space of a few short months, he’s gone from being married to the woman of his dreams to facing a life sentence.

Inside Her Majesty’s Prison Whitemoor, a Category A prison in Cambridgeshire, Gareth’s got all the time in the world to go over the events that led to the guilty verdict. The guilty verdict which cost him everything in the world that he loved. His dignity. His freedom. His wife.

Gareth is approached by a lawyer, Paul Dewar, who claims to have information that will vindicate Gareth. But is it enough to set him free? As threats against Gareth increase on the inside, Paul Dewar’s challenge, and Gareth’s fight for freedom, begins.

Add to your Goodreads shelf.

Purchase on Amazon.

About Nathan Burrows

Nathan Burrows is a writer based in Norfolk in the United Kingdom. His debut novel, Blind Justice, was published in March 2018.

Nathan’s a keen reader as well as a writer. He occasionally runs marathons, has a Norwich City football club season ticket, and is the proud part-owner of a Daschund puppy called Bertie.

His current work in progress is tentatively called ‘Meat’, and is a dark post-Brexit comedy. It’s currently scheduled to be released in the autumn.

Connect Website | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads