Interview with Brian L. Porter, Author of A Study in Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper has fascinated the public since he carried out his horrific murders in Whitechapel, London, in the autumn of 1888, also known as The Autumn of Terror. There have been many movies made and books written on this mysterious killer, and the top hat, black cape, and old-fashioned doctor's bag continues to be a popular costume on Halloween. Here to talk about Jack the Ripper is award-winning author Brian L. Porter, whose novel, A Study in Red, combines fact and fiction and traces the identity of the infamous Whitechapel murderer from the discovery of a mysterious journal... one supposedly written by the Ripper himself. 

Thanks for this interview, Brian. Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself?

Hello, Mayra. Well, to answer that I suppose I'd have to say that I'm a multi-published award-winning author, writing dark psychological and crime thrillers. My novel The Nemesis Cell, and novella 'Avenue of the Dead' were published in 2007 by Stonehedge Publishing. The Nemesis Cell recently achieved sixth place in the Preditors & Editors Annual Readers Awards (Mystery Novel).

A new, dark psychological thriller A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper was released by DoubleDragon Publishing in January 2008, and is selling very well in paperback and e-book versions, will shortly be available in audio book, and the cover won The Authors Lounge May 2008 Best Cover Illustration Award. Two collections of my short stories were also released last year, The Voice of Anton Bouchard by Stonehedge Publishing, and Murder, Mayhem and Mexico by Eternal Press, which came ninth in the anthologies category in the Preditors & Editors Readers Awards. My next paperback release will be Pestilence due out very soon from Steel Waves Publishing, soon to be followed by paperback editions of Purple Death, Glastonbury, The Nemesis Cell and Avenue of the Dead, from the same publisher. The covers of both Purple Death and Glastonbury have also won Cover Design Awards from The Authors Lounge, in June and August of 2008.

Under the Harry Porter name I also have eight children's books due for publication by 4RV Publishing between now and 2010. Look out for Alistair the Alligator, Harry Porter's Dog Tales (a six book series), and Wolf!

I'm also an occasional Science Fiction Conceptual Consultant for Stonehedge Publishing and I enjoy studying the history of crime and studying forensics to enable me to present believable fiction.

I live with my wife, two step-daughters, and five rescue dogs, in northern England, and I'm a member of The American Authors Association, The Military Writers Society of America, and The Whitechapel Society 1888. My websites can be found at www.freewebs.com/brianlp and www.harry-porter.webs.com.

Article Author: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani is the National Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com.

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