About Derek
Derek Farrell has, since childhood, told stories.
Of course, back then they were called lies, and usually got him in to trouble, but nowadays his stories, humorous poetry and song lyrics are entertaining people from Kansas to Crawley.
Derek grew up in a small terrace close to the Guinness brewery in Dublin’s Liberties neighbourhood, where the smell of roasting hops alternated with the yeasty fermentation of the mash, and the cry of the seagulls was interrupted occasionally by the snorting of an escaped cow on the rampage from the abattoir at the bottom of the street.
To date, Derek has completed three novels. His latest novel is a contemporary Cosy-Noir mystery story called Death of a Diva. The book features his wonderfully human detective Danny Bird, and it’s been described as “Like The Thin Man meets Will & Grace via Ab Fab. In Bermondsey.”
Derek’s literary heroes include Agatha Christie, P.G. Wodehouse, Lawrence Block, Joe Keenan, Steven Saylor, Scott Fitzgerald, Jonathan Harvey, Doctor Seuss and anyone who actually drags their arse to the desk and writes, Goddammit!
His jobs have included: Burger dresser, Bank teller, David Bowie's paperboy, and eventually Investment Banker on the 80th floor of the World Trade Centre. Time in high finance, has given him an opportunity to observe people, to understand the persuasive power of language and to develop an insight into the workings of the criminal mind, whilst allowing him to live and work in Hong Kong, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Prague and London.
And all the time, he’s been telling stories.
You should get to know him.
Twitter: @derekifarrell
Here are my most recent posts
by Derek | Apr 23, 2016 | Writing
I don’t wish death on any living thing, But find it hard to know that Bowie’s gone. That Prince no more will dance and play and sing, While Bashir Al Assad goes rolling on. Yet I’ll still play “Let’s Dance,” and “Kiss” Out LOUD Not read Mein Kampf from first page to...
by Derek | Apr 17, 2016 | Uncategorized
“There’s something wrong with Sandra,” said her mum As Sandy Sat and hugged a Prada Bag “She’s quiet nowadays; morose and glum And has a tendency to lose her rag. Since Yves, that French boy, left, she’s been this way Cos...
by Derek | Feb 13, 2016 | Travel
So we woke at 0600 this morning to sit in the half light on a deserted beach and listen to the South Pacific Crashing on the shore, and hissing as it dragged back out, pulling shingle with it. It was cool, but not cold, and we chatted for a few minutes before...
by Derek | Feb 8, 2016 | Travel, Writing
This week’s been an interesting one for my writing. I write crime fiction, which I think is heavily reliant on plot, and as a result, before I start writing, I always have a plot (and several sub-plots) mapped out, from beginning to end. I write a detailed sketch of...
by Derek | Dec 19, 2015 | Memories, Music, Reading, Writing
Death of a Diva is available now. To buy it, click here. You can also send it as a personalised Gift E-Book here. I write in noise. My mother used to tell anyone who cared to listen that, as a child, I was incapable of enduring silence, and that – with the arrival of...
