Welcome to The Story Behind My Stories — the video podcast where crime fiction meets authentic experience. I'm Helen Taylor, your guide through the tangled web of my crime fiction stories and my real-life experiences in off‑the‑path locations. Readers of my crime fiction novels often tell me “It feels like I'm there” and “The places and spaces feel authentic.” That's because they are.

Here, I usually share how I ended up in the places my novels are set, how and why I chose to use those experiences in DI Goodwin’s investigations around the world and at home in Surrey.

But in this special Author Season, I’m sitting down with authors who have their own powerful stories behind their stories whether fiction or non‑fiction. We explore the real-life inspirations, lived experiences, and personal journeys that shaped their writing.

Please subscribe, follow, or comment - it means the world to an indie author.

In this episode, Gerry McGrath joins me to share the story behind The Trip. A fictional story of three friends growing up in the 1990s in Erdington, Birmingham. He is one of the characters and the real-life experiences he had with his two friends form the basis of the book. It's a great read and Gerry was fun to talk to.

Resources:

Please visit ⁠www.helentaylorauthor.co.uk⁠ to learn more about Helen and her books and experiences as well as the new series of books that expand on this podcast with personal photos and diary excerpts.

Get the latest from Helen Taylor at ⁠https://helentaylorauthor.com⁠

Or for all links go to ⁠https://linktr.ee/helentaylorauthor⁠

To learn more about Gerry McGrath and The Trip buy the book here:

The Trip on Amazon.co.uk :

https://amzn.eu/d/06ZF7Ojh⁠

Connect on Tik Tok: @‌gezmcgrath