Featured Poet: Ryan Sam Turner

Congratulations on your upcoming book! What inspired you to write it?

Thank you. I actually wrote Born a number of years ago, but the idea came to me as I was watching the news one morning. A young couple were on talking about their experience with having a stillborn son. It was completely heartbreaking to listen to, but it spurred something, and the story quickly came to me after that. Now that the novel is being published (on 15.06.21 by Balladeer Books), I was more than happy to get the Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Charity SANDS involved, and 10% of each book sale goes directly to them.

Can you describe your creative process?

With the novel Born I began by writing a basic outline of where I wanted the story to go. Obviously, the story can go in unexpected directions as new ideas come to you, but I like to have a skeleton of what the storyline should be. I had to do a lot of research also, speaking with various charities, midwives, families who have went through similar situations, so I could make sure that my book was factual and portrayed the real-life situations.

What does your workspace look like?

It's a very sparse workspace! It's just me, my laptop, a cup of coffee, and my notepad which contains my late-night incoherent scribbles which I then try to construct into some form of story or poem.

How did you become a poet?

I used to write and record my own music many years ago, so writing stories and poems seemed like a natural progression. A lot of my work is also based around mental health, and I find writing to be very therapeutic and calming.

What does literary success look like to you?

To just have people say that they've enjoyed your work, or that they can relate to it in some way. I'm not fussed about how many sales my book generates, but if it can help someone, or touch them, then I'll take that.

What are you looking forward to?

The release of my book on the 15th of June. It's been a long time coming and I'm looking forward to people finally being able to read it.

Where can readers read more of your work?

You can find me on all the usual social media platforms with the handle @ryansamturner and you can keep up to date with things on my own author website: www.ryansamturner.com

Where can we find your novel?

It can be purchased directly from my website (which means more money for the charity) but can also be found in all the usual bookstores. As well as the paperback, it is also available as an e-book and an audiobook, which is pretty cool. For those who do read it, I would love to hear your thoughts on it, so please get in touch.