Brian McHugh, author of the two successful novels, Torn Edges and Between Two Bridges, tells us about life growing up and the family connections he has to the settings he writes about— America and Ireland.
Before Brian McHugh was born, his parents individually immigrated to the USA— met and married in Philadelphia. They then returned to Ireland and later moved to the Gorbals in Glasgow, where Brian was born. He was the only member of his family to be born and brought up entirely in Glasgow.
Brian went to Strathclyde University to pursue an engineering course, but abandoned this after only a year. He went on to work around England, in particular Jersey where he spent a year working as a porter/dishwasher. After this time, Brian decided to return to Glasgow and complete his engineering course and worked for some years as a construction engineer and contractor, before deciding to become a teacher.
During his teaching years he was elected Trade Union official and President of East Renfrewshire Local Association of the EIS (teacher’s union) and went on to gain an arts degree in 1992.
The beginning of Brian’s writing career started with his short story The Day After the Music Died, which was based on an event in the fifties and published by The Scottish Book Trust. This story was selected to be broadcast in 2010 by the BBC and later a shortened version of the story was published in The Guardian. This early success paved the way to a writing career that would go on to produce two popular novels.
In May 2012, Ringwood proudly published Brian’s debut novel, Torn Edges, and in 2015, its follow-up, Between Two Bridges. In Torn Edges, a family heirloom is found at the scene of a Glasgow murder and the McKenna family go on a journey to uncover the mysteries of their ancestors and come to realise that their past may bring up some unexpected secrets. Between Two Bridges follows Charlie Mckenna, first mentioned in Torn Edges, as prohibition ends in America and he is sent back to Glasgow to set a deal, while once again his relatives in present day Glasgow uncover more about his history. In both novels, Brian cleverly moves between two worlds, tying together history with Glasgow today. Ringwood then published The Practice Field, a historical fiction spy thriller that follows Emily and Jack journeying across Europe by train during the Second World War as they try to gain some information on the German war effort, and offers a unique take on the role that Ireland played during WW2.
Brian’s novels can be purchased through the Ringwood Website or through Amazon.co.uk.
You can contact Brian here:
Webpage: http://brianmchughmedia.co.uk/
Twitter/X: Brian McHugh @pbmchugh
E-mail: mchughmovie@gmail.com
Facebook: Brian McHugh
See also: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/authors/brian-mchugh
On Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O66jaAYDejA The Day the Music Died
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFXEPImLX4k Gorbals Wedding 1961
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWo1P0CD7Lw Torn Edges Final