Former Waterford resident to launch debut novel
David Looby photographed with his debut novel, 'A Billion Sharp Pieces'.
A former resident of Waterford City has released his debut novel, 'A Billion Sharp Pieces', on digital platforms, with the physical launch taking place this month.
The novel is a psychological thriller set in a beautiful coastal city in Spain, and in Ireland.
It explores toxic relationships and is the first release by author David Looby, a former journalist and Gracedieu resident, with 22 years’ experience covering local and national stories.
The story is a sinuous and exciting take on the psychological thriller genre.
On a sun-drenched beach in northern Spain, Todd McCarthy sees an old college friend – a friend with whom he shares a troubled past.
The life he has forged for himself – with his partner Jade – is suddenly upended as their paths cross once more.
‘A Billion Sharp Pieces’ asks how far someone can be pushed before they crack and what does it take for Todd to realise there are only two choices: living or dying.
Exploring themes of toxic masculinity, romance, obsession, narcissism, relationships, class divisions and more - and set in the wilderness years of late teens and early twenties into the late twenties across several locations - ‘A Billion Sharp Pieces’ is a work of psychosexual fiction which depicts the lives of vividly drawn characters as they negotiate school, college and work life, while wrestling with inner demons.
The book was released online via publishers Ybernia, in December and is available on Amazon, other online outlets and in book shops and it's official physical launch will take place in New Ross town library on Saturday, February 28, at 4pm.
Speaking about the book David said that as a teenager growing up in Kerry he was always fascinated by the workings of the criminal mind in fiction.
"Whether it’s Macbeth or Hannibal Lecter, there’s nothing most of us enjoy more than peering inside the criminal mind," he said.
"That quickening of the pulse and heartrate that a crime novel brings is addictive and something I always wanted to replicate in a book," he added.
He said that as his own literary tastes widened and he started writing himself his fascination with the workings of the criminal mind increased.
Having studied English and History in UCC and Psychology as a minor, he said his interest in psychology continued into his reading life with authors like Joseph Conrad, Edgar Allen Poe, Jeffrey Euginedes and Truman Capote being of particular interest to him.
"As a regional journalist for more than two decades – and as someone who reported on numerous court cases and crimes – I felt I was fortunate to have had the ideal career to write about crime and psychology," he said.
"Psychological, suspense thrillers with a criminal edge have always captivated me, so I guess it was no surprise that I ended up writing a book in this genre," he added, before going on to comment: "The challenge was writing one which surprised me and offered something different, and I hope I have achieved this ambition with 'A Billion Sharp Pieces'."
The author said writing always presented a way for him to understand the world and make sense of his life.
"I began the novel with a simple idea – two friends who grew up alongside each other: shy, tormented Todd McCarthy and confident, ladies’ man Jack Salback," he said.
"Their journey through life, as they negotiate the wilderness years of the late teens, early 20s into adulthood, and the moral (and immoral) choices they make," he added.
The story swings back and forth between the early 2000s up to 2019, across several locations and is laced with humour and hedonism: "The book asks the question how far someone can be pushed before they crack."
The book was released by bilingual Madrid-based publisher, Ybernia, on Christmas week, and David said it was the best Christmas present he could have received.
"It was the best Christmas gift ever for me – worth all those early mornings and late nights," he said.
"I began 'A Billion Sharp Pieces', in 2018 and completed the first draft a year later," he added. "During the pandemic I returned to the novel and a chance meeting with a writer who was published by Ybernia led me to submit my manuscript to them."
David said it was difficult to pull the story together trying to juggle his professional life with the responsibilities of being a father of two young children, and so the writing took place in "snatches before work and during the night" over several years.
However, after several edits he was happy with the finished story and so too were his publishers.
"Encapsulating, as it does, the thematic darlings of my reading life and, let’s face it, obsessions with works of criminal and psychological fiction and horror, the difference this time being I was the person who came up with the crimes," he said.
"Looking into the dark crevices of the human psyche is a strange hobby to have, but I am clearly not alone," he added.
Noting that crime fiction, in print and on TV, has risen in popularity enormously in recent years he highlighted that crime and thriller books account for over a quarter of all fiction book sales in the Western world and are growing exponentially elsewhere globally.
"The novel I have written attempts to depict what it means to be a young Irish man, someone facing numerous challenges: from expectations of what it means to be a man and coping with bereavement, to a meditation on how choices impact our fate," he said.
"Bringing readers on a journey, and touching on class distinctions in modern Ireland, it features a detective and the romantic lives of both characters," he added.
'A Billion Sharp Pieces' is a twisting, immersive story of personal perseverance, but also one the author hopes is entertaining, authentic and one that will have an emotional resonance with readers.
"From the calculations and psychopathology of a Tom Ripley to the pitch-black depravity of Hannibal Lector, the darkness within human nature has and continues to exert a powerful fascination for me," he said.
"We have all seen stories of career criminals and people who, through a rash impulse or a calculated crime, have found themselves on the run or in jail," he added.
"This passion for crime writing for me goes back to Agatha Christie’s classic, 'And Then There Were None', to 'In Cold Blood', by Truman Capote, and to the Greek tragedies."
With everyone talking New Year’s resolutions, David advised any aspiring writers that it's about sitting down in front of the screen and getting on with it.
"Even if whatever you’re writing doesn’t seem to fit, as you might be able to recycle that paragraph in another story," he said.
He also said each creative writing workshop course he attended helped him develop as a writer.
"I owe this book to the courage and honesty of numerous writers and lyricists whose work inspired me over the years," he sad.
"Also, to the online and in-person creative writing lecturers who gave me great advice, from the local librarian, to my Creative Writing lecturer in Lemoyne College in Syracuse, Upstate New York, way back in 2001," he added, before commenting: "The best writerly advice I heard was ‘write your heart out’, and this is what I’ve done."
"‘Read your eyes out’ might be another salient piece of advice, as it is only by reading that you can glean what hasn’t been written, and then you can carve out your own niche with your authentic voice," he said.
"There is a huge sense of satisfaction in holding your own book in your hand, so I can attest that all the hard work is so worth it," he added.
Not content to rest on his laurels David has already written a second novel, which he hopes to release within a year or two and is working on a third.
