‘Dair’ to be different…

I met my current guest a number of years ago – not many months after we had both decided to move into independent writing and publishing. We connected because at that time, there weren’t a lot of Australians treading the independent path and the friendship has seen much laughter and happiness as we share in each other’s successes.

We have both been lucky enough to win similar medals (except she added a gold one to her collection) with Readers’ Favorites (USA) and also with the RONE Awards (USA). And whilst I have diverged and gone along the historical fiction path, she has established a very strong brand in her genre, bringing quality writing, stellar research and elegant covers to all that she touches.

She has a magnificent Pinterest account which secured the interest of New York’s fastest growing fine arts blog, Hyperallergic. And most recently, her partnership with a group of American historical romance writers has secured her the coveted New York Times Bestseller title.

I am of course talking about the high-ranking historical romance novelist, Lucinda Brant.

Along with high fliers Ann Swinfen and SJA Turney, she is one of those I invited to be a partner in the Main Character Blog Tour, begun by Debra Brown, the instigator of the massively popular Facebook and blog site – English Historical Fiction Authors.  Ann, Simon, Lucinda and I are in the process of having brand new novels published and to be able to introduce our main characters to you either here, or on our own blogs, is very special!

Welcome Lucinda, and tell us…

1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?

Alisdair “Dair” Fitzstuart, Major Lord Fitzstuart, recently of the 17^th Lancers, and hero of the Battle of Long Island campaign (August 27, 1776) of the American Revolutionary War. He received the nickname Dair Devil from his days at Harrow, where he was known to accept any dare put to him, and that carried over into his adult life. With a reputation to uphold as the Dair Devil, he does not refuse a wager. Major Lord Fitzstuart is fictional.

 

2) When and where is the story set?

London and Hampshire, 1777.

The American Revolutionary War continues to rage on the other side of the Atlantic with the British determined to win the war, and rebel American colonists just as determined to cut ties with Britain and forge a new nation. Yet, life in England is peaceful. For the aristocracy life is opulence personified, with houses the size of palaces, and days spent dressed in fashionable silks and in leisurely pursuits. Yet, no level of society is immune to the war. Members of the nobility hold key positions in the army and navy. And if not directly fighting, like Dair Fitzstuart, are in Parliament debating the war, as well as holding positions in government departments, secret committees and operations to try and bring about a resolution to hostilities before France publicly declares its support for the rebel colonists

The American Revolutionary War is the first war where intelligence gathering (spying) comes into its own, with spy rings on both sides. Spies and spying play a major role in helping both sides gather information on troop movements, supply chains, sympathizers and traitors. Both Dair and Miss Aurora ‘Rory” Talbot are intimately involved in the spying game—more I can’t say for fear of spoiling the story!

 

3) What should we know about him/her?

Dair Fitzstuart is a ruggedly handsome ex-officer who’s a bit of a rogue and a rascal. He’s one of the boys, who’s not afraid to use his fists in an affray. He’s considered vainglorious and arrogant, and is said to keep a mistress and children, with no intention of giving them up upon marriage. And yet, for a daughter of the Georgian aristocracy, he ticks all the right boxes as suitable husband material: He’s heir to an earldom, a direct descendant of Charles the Second, and cousin of the all-powerful Duke of Roxton.

Yet appearances can deceive. People are never one dimensional, and none more so than Dair Fitzstuart, who has a well crafted public façade. What Society—even his family—thinks it knows about him is only what the man himself permits to be revealed.

4) What is the main conflict? What confuses his/her life?

Dair Fitzstuart is prepared to gamble with his life, but never with his heart. That is, until a chance encounter at George Romney’s painting studio where he literally runs into Rory Talbot, one very astute young woman. The attraction is immediate and mutual, and the consequences profound.

Rory Talbot is unlike any other female he has met; for one thing, she cultivates pineapples—not an easy thing to do in the 18^th Century. Pineapples were considered such a rare and exotic fruit that if you had the money you could hire one for your next party; the fruit was the celebrity and the talking point.

After Dair’s chance encounter with Rory, his public persona beings to fall apart. He starts to question his own motivation for hiding behind a façade of blustering arrogance. It helps that Rory has seen through his guise from the start.

 

5) What is the personal goal of the character?

From the moment Dair realizes he wants no other woman but Rory for his wife he sets about convincing her they are destined to be together. He is determined to show her he is worthy of her, and that she, for all her misgivings, is his ideal life partner. It’s not an easy quest. In the process, he learns a few home truths about himself that he would never have dreamed of addressing if not for Rory, and he is determined to be a better man.

 

6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

DAIR DEVIL: A Georgian Historical Romance, Roxton Family Saga Book 4

You can read more about it here: http://lucindabrant.com/dair-devil.php

Go behind-the-scenes of DAIR DEVIL and explore the places, objects, and history in the book on Pinterest:

 

7) When can we expect the book to be published?

The book has just been published and is available from all eRetailers:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JX9ILWS

Amazon UK: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JX9ILWS

iBooks, Nook, Kobo, and other eRetailers: http://lucindabrant.com/dair-devil.php

 

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Am I unique? Don’t think so…

I was asked by historical fiction writer Ann Swinfen to be part of a Writing Process Blog Tour this week. Ann is a superbly elegant writer of literary and historical fiction. Formally a mainstream writer, she has now taken her backlist to the writing public independently and added to it with Flood, a stunning book on the politics of humanity in the 17^th century Fens and with The Testament of Mariam which is a sensitively handled novel, poignant and crafted, about Jesus’s sister. You can read about Ann’s writing process here. http://www.annswinfen.com/column

The questions for this blog tour reveal me in situ at my ‘desk’, (bearing in mind my ‘desk’ moves from town to House every few days) pouring the sweat of my soul onto the screen. Read on:

1. What am I working on?

It’s the end of summer in Australia and I sometimes ask myself if I am actually writing at all when I take advantage of sun, sea and sand. But the truth is I write so much more and so much better in summer. I am ¾’s of the way through the final book of The Gisborne Saga – Gisborne: Book of Kings.

Three books ago, I became enthralled with the Robin Hood legend, but rather than taking Robin’s story and re-writing it, I decided to take Guy of Gisborne’s story and move it far from the original canon. We are told that Gisborne ended his life separated from his head and I suppose we all applauded that after his less than chivalrous treatment of the peasants around Nottingham.

But I had a decidedly ‘what-if’ moment.

What if Gisborne had never met the Sheriff of Nottingham? What if he had never met Maid Marian? What if he had never met Robin Hood? How would his life have been different? What might have happened? In this final book in the trilogy, we follow Guy of Gisborne, his lady, Ysabel, and a cast of favourite characters ranging from a dwarf minstrel to an Arab physician. It is a poignant, maybe even a tragic story. The Middle Ages were not for the faint-hearted and this story illuminates that.

Each day, I struggle with medieval Christian values, with revenge and brutality and one little child called William who is an angel and an innocent and can’t say his ‘s’s. I love the writing of this story. I think Ysabel has grown and Gisborne has suffered – what the end result will be I cannot say. Sometimes I wonder if I even know, as the characters have a way of riding at the quintain and spinning it off its axis every time.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I don’t think it differs all that much at all and I am not sure I want it to. Historical fiction is a steady, strong genre which draws on past lives to give it texture and depth. That said, if my work is any different, it may be that I take an event and make it utterly and uniquely my own. Show me another Guy of Gisborne that has lived his life so far from the Sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John. That is quite simply why everyone must read the saga! It’ll change your image of Basil Rathbone and Richard Armitage forever, I swear!

3. Why do I write what I do?

I write historical fiction because I am compelled to. Isn’t that wonderfully clichéd? But I truthfully love history, I like the way it can define our own lives. And even more so, I especially love the way daily archeological and forensic discoveries are changing the way we view our history. It’s fluid and can be bent more with each find. So it was for me when I decided to take the Gisborne legend and re-write it. Fluid, bendable…

4. How does my writing process work?

*I have a one page outline of the story from the original idea.

*I have a character call-up with card profiles for each one, including images from real-life of people who might look like the characters. For major male and female characters, if they are based on a particular actor then I will watch that actor in various roles over and over to get the nuances of movement and expression. Subsequently I fill in a sheet/profile for each character (a mini history).

*I have a pinboard (Pinterest) of all images of locales, routes, architecture, lifestyles etc that are suited to the novel.

*Those research books set aside for the novel are defined by dozens of post-its that mark key points.

*You Tube sequences are bookmarked on my computer.

*I have a large (very large) A4 folder with plastic leaves into which I insert any photocopies and print-outs of research for that particular novel.

*I have a running style sheet divided into alphabetical order on which I write all names and odd words so that the spelling can be consistent throughout.

*In my head, I have key points which the novel must reach before it can move on.

* I write my whole story on A4 paper and in pen. The story evolves and I transcribe to the computer and edit every 30 pages.

*I read through and edit again.

*It is sent to two Beta-readers when finished. For unbiased comment.

*I edit again.

*Finally it is sent to my UK editor and we have a month of work nipping and tucking.

I am a much slower writer than the average independent author. The book, from idea to research to writing and editing, takes about a year. Then it has a professional cover design, formatting and is ready for release to an unsuspecting public. But that 12 months is absolutely key to me getting my work out in the way I want. Professional advice these days is to write often and fast, publishing 2-3 books a year. For me that is uncomfortable, indeed well nigh impossible because I’m a farmer’s wife and have almost an acre of gardens. If my readers can cope with a year between books, I will love them forever!

And if you wish to hot foot it over to the links below, you can read the first two books of the saga and be up to date before Gisborne – Book of Kings is released in late May of this year.

Gisborne  – Book of Pawns.

Kindle UK: http://amzn.to/LrzO8l

Kindle USA: http://amzn.to/JFLNh8

Gisborne – Book of Knights.

Kindle UK: http://amzn.to/13F2im9

Kindle USA: http://amzn.to/1awRZ9Z

***

Now…

As part of this blog tour, I am required to invite three writers to continue the tour. I thought I would invite the three that have impressed me most in the last year and fortunately they agreed. I urge you to seek them out because in their own way, they are contributing great writing to the hist.fict genre.

SJA Turney. Not just a writer of energetic Roman fiction but also one of the most exciting series I have read in the last two years, titled  The Ottoman Cycle. He’s one of the most successful independent writers to emerge within the historical fiction genre in this new era of publishing. ‘Turney … weaves a fantastic fast paced, well researched atmospheric tale that sucks the reader back in time into the mix of… dirty streets and dangerous politics. His skill is always in educating whilst entertaining and (he) does it in spades.’

He is a historian and writer of Roman and Medieval historical fiction, as well as the occasional Fantasy work. His love of antiquity and travel has combined with his only worthwhile talent to produce three series so far, with two more in the works. Simon lives in rural northern England, where he finds it easy to procrastinate.

He has just returned from a trip to Istanbul, researching the last piece of the jigsaw of The Ottoman Cycle. I’m thrilled he accepted my invitation.

David Pilling.

I invited this gentleman because he has taken Gisborne’s arch enemy, Robin Hood, and set him in 1224 (only 30-ish years beyond my own trilogy) in a series that I absolutely loved. “Mingling fact with fiction, and drawing heavily on surviving contemporary records, “Robin Hood” is a tough and unsqueamish tale and like no other version of the ancient legend.” I urge everyone who has ever enjoyed the Robin Hood Tale to buy this version. I swear you will not be disappointed. David too, has just returned from Turkey and I long to see if we are to enjoy a novel because of the trip.

David is an English writer and researcher, addicted to history for as long as he can remember. He spent much of his childhood dragging his parents up and down the misted ruins of castles in Wales, and the medieval period has always held a particular fascination. He is also interested in the Roman period, the Dark Ages and the British Civil Wars of the 17th century. His latest book is a twist on Arthurian legend.

Steven A Mckay.

How could I not invite this furiously energetic Scotsman? Another writer of the Robin Hood legend and one who has moved the whole thing, lock, stock and screaming war-arrows to 1321 AD and the reign of Edward II. The second in the series is to be launched at the London Book Fair 2014 and that’s no mean feat for an independent. His series ‘brings the brutality, injustice and intensity of life in medieval England vividly to life, and marks the beginning of a thrilling new historical fiction series.’ It too is a must read and rounds off interpretive ways of writing history perfectly.

Steven was born in 1977, near Glasgow in Scotland and now lives in Old Kilpatrick with his wife and two young children. Bernard Cornwell’s King Arthur series was his biggest influence in writing “Wolf’s Head”, and now “The Wolf and the Raven”. He plays lead/acoustic guitars (and occasional bass/vocals) in a heavy metal band when he can find the time to meet up with his fellow band members.

Now you might say – ‘but they are all men!’

Well yes, they are, but don’t hold it against them. I love working with men and have done so all my life in the media and on the farm. The writers above are giants in the independent field and I have a great deal of respect for each one of them.

Go seek them out people, and run, don’t walk!

And if and when you do, please review them (and me). It’s one of the best ways for  a writer to see his/her books reach the people he/she is writing for.

Cheers all!

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Survivor…

 I was interested to read on Bopress’s blog what books she would take to a desert island and it prompted me to wonder what I would take if I was intending to be marooned. I toyed briefly with  RL Stevenson’s Treasure Island, (I need to search for the hidden ‘idol’ after all)

(obviously in hard copy, not kindle)

David Cooper’s Silence, Spirituality and Solitude, (I’m the last one standing in the game…)

(ditto!)

Michael Keneski’s Survivor: The Unofficial Bible of the Greatest Reality Show Ever Made. (hmm… may be a good choice!)

And then decided that beyond learning how to make a fire ‘because fire represents life’ that I needed true entertainment for the long soulful hours when I tired of listening to the waves, swimming, catching fish for cooking on my ‘life’ fire, and watching the stars drifting across the heavens above my head.

I would have been marooned wearing bra and knickers under my swimsuit. Over the top of that, shorts and t-shirt. Over that, a long sleeved shirt and a polar-fleece jacket and over that a storm-jacket, my head swathed in a beach towel and my sunglasses on and my reading glasses stashed in a pocket.

By the time I had made shelter from timber and tree fronds, and had stacked as many coconuts and green bananas as I could find, worked out how to make mascara and eyebrow dye (I’m blonde) from squid ink and after I had challenged myself to ‘immunity’ by puzzling over the design made from driftwood that had to be put together against the odds of weather and loss of daylight hours, I would surely need to read to stop my mind from stagnating.

I made a list of top loved books and as I am compiling the list, I decided series could be included. Toward the end of the list, I included one or two books designed to make me happy and to ward off the Black Dog that might occur on the inevitable change from solitude to downright loneliness…

1. The House of Niccolo by Dorothy Dunnett

2. The Lymond Saga by Dorothy Dunnett

3. The Ottoman Cycle by SJA Turney

4. Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff

5. The Anne series by LM. Montgomery

6. Harry Potter by JK Rowling

7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

8. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

9. The Merlin series by Mary Stewart

(one cover from an EXEMPLARY series called The Outlaw Chronicles)

10. The Outlaw Chronicles by Angus Donald

11. A large blank, bound journal with a packet of pens taped to the back cover!

And as for the lighter side of life:

12. The Rutshire Chronicles (all of them) by Jilly Cooper!

You see, the votes have been tallied and the tribe has spoken…

I’ll be fine until the marooners remember the maroonee is waiting…

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Historical Tales…

At last this wonderful anthology is available.

When I joined Inkslingers, I never thought I would be contributing two hist.fict stories to an anthology.  How does one write a meaningful short-story that is historical fiction? So I sat and played with words and two stories emerged to creep into this anthology. So did some astonishing tales by others.

This is a journey through Time  – the kind of journey you’d take with Dr.Who in the Tardis, but without the Daleks or Cybermen. Every new story represents a moment in history across the globe.

I loved being a part of it and with a father and indeed friends who have suffered from cancer, I’m delighted that all the proceeds go to Cancer Research.

RUN, DON’T WALK PEOPLE and purchase your copy!

Hours of reading for the festive season by top selling authors like Gordon Doherty and SJA Turney…

Historical Tales – the title says it all.

Amazon.com http://amzn.to/192v6wP

Amazon.co.uk  http://amzn.to/192vc7v

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The Flying Carpet…

As the end of the first draft of Gisborne: Book of Knights rapidly approaches, space appears in the mind for new novels. I have three little rooms slowly filling and occasionally, when time permits, I hop on my flying carpet to travel from room to room to investigate the ideas.

I’ve always wanted to write a novel about Richard III’s timeframe, but not about the monarch himself. In preference, I’d rather concentrate on a tradesperson – about how what they do impacts on their life in the most stellar and harrowing way.

I’ve also wanted to write a novel where my protagonist begins in Venice at the time trade was expanding and beginning its rise to that of Mediterranean super power. I like the connection Venice had with Constantinople and the African coast: a connection made all the more powerful by reading Dorothy Dunnett’s books and thence moving to non-fiction texts to expand the interest.

And I’ve always loved books set in Turkey. Constantinople in the 14^th and 15^th centuries glows with heroic deed and misdeed and seen through the eyes of a female ingénue, could be fun. I remember trawling through my own memories of travel in exotic places when writing A Thousand Glass Flowers (set in a fantasy version of places such as Turkey, Tunisia and Northern India) and becoming inspired by the recall.

When I set up the Pinterest board early in 2012 for A Thousand Glass Flowers, I became filled with joy at the colour and depth of subsequent images. It is the perfect depiction of the fantasy world within that novel but in addition, it continues to inspire and enthrall. I often return to the board and just click through the pins. It’s like sitting on my flying carpet and being taken on a sensual ride through a bazaar filled with the scents of cumin and turmeric, of hashish and ma’sal, or jurâk. Of men in keffiyeh and bisht, and women in kameez, thawb or abbaya. Of rainbow silks and food that thrills the palate. Of simple things like plump dates, sultanas and figs.

Recently I read two novels set in Istanbul. One was by Colin Falconer – a dark narrative called Harem,  about the insidious machinations of the hourie Hurrem within the courts of Suleiman the Magnificent. I am yet to read its sequel, Seraglio,  but look forward to it as a further revelation of a timeframe that has its own fascination.

The other novel, and one I am still reeling from in terms of pace and intrigue is the cracking A Thief’s Tale by SJA Turney. Brilliant. Loved every minute of it. And so excited that it is to be a trilogy. Turney’s book is set in the fifteenth century Ottoman Empire and is filled with the basest political intrigue. But it balances the cruel outcomes with street cred of the most jaw-dropping kind. There are chases through ‘old’ Istanbul that could sit comfortably with Dorothy Dunnett’s brilliant 5 star ‘rooftops of Blois’ chase. And Dorothy Dunnett aficionados will know exactly what I mean.

So…

I’m enjoying my carpet ride at the moment.

Tell me, where is your carpet taking you?

NB: all images of paintings taken from Wikimedia Commons.

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An open book…

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.  Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. “ ~Attributed to Groucho Marx

It’s been ages since I had the time to enter an old-fashioned bookstore. I had to go to the city the other day to have repairs run on my specs and because I was in the city, I decided to visit my two favourite bookstores. One is a café/bookstore and I spent a long time sifting through the coffee-table titles. One called The Treehouse Book.

At $75.00, a present for someone for Christmas. Another on Maria Island by Tom Dunbabin.

But best of all… and not printed and bound… the café’s selection of macaroons of which I made a selection: caramel and chocolate and which I bought to take home so that they could partner a cup of tea whilst I read my kindle!

Then to my other favourite bookstore where I picked up an order: Mary Hoffman’s David. And wandered around secretly listing titles to purchase on their wonderful wine and cheese shopping night pre-Christmas. I talked to the staff… those same staff who gave my own books the centre flag position and who sold such a memorable amount of titles when they were released in print. To be frank, I look forward to seeing the print version of A Thousand Glass Flowers on their shelves.

Then I came home and switched on the Kindle and went browsing:

Autumn Duchess by Lucinda Brant. Gallia Invicta by SJA Turney, Torbrek by Lexi Revellian. Georgiana Darcy’s Diary by Anna Elliott.

Too many titles to list but all in all a bookish kind of time.

I’m not going to get into an argument about which is better: bricks and mortar or e-shops. After all, I’m an author whose novels are sold in both. Suffice to say that the other day I had fun in different sorts of bookstores. Maybe that’s the thing you see: there’s room for them all.

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The chap in a groin protector of leather straps…

Terrible introduction for a writer, isn’t it? Even if he is sitting in my Big Red Chair. But  in truth, the main protagonists of S.J.A. Turney’s novels would have worn exactly that. If they valued their future. I’m talking about soldiers of the Roman Legion as Simon is a writer of historical fiction set in Roman times. Liviu from the highly regarded Fantasy.Book.Critic said of Simon’s first book ‘Interregnum’:

“I could not put this novel down unless I *really needed* to since I was drawn into its world and wanted to find out what happens. The novel has a combination of the expected and some twists and turns I did not see, so while I could glimpse where it goes, there were quite a few surprises on the way. The characters are well drawn and believable. It is also a blood and guts novel, brutal at times with quite a lot of fighting, gore, summary killings as well as drawn out crucifixions and as it behooves such, the main characters are men…’  Not bad for a first ever review for a first ever release. Enviable.

I approached Simon and asked if he would be willing to answer my Ten Writerly Questions to which he agreed. Despite the seriousness of his subject matter, he is a quirky man and I swear there must be convicts in his family tree because such humour obviously made it across the seas to build a foundation for our Australian wit .

Please make welcome Simon James Atkinson Turney.

1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

I am the world’s most Yorkshire Yorkshireman. I was born in the ancient city of Ripon, in a maternity unit now sadly long gone and I was raised and schooled there, in one of those old fashioned Grammar Schools where children were still instilled with a sense of discipline. My grandfather, however, and great aunt, lived in a village seven miles away in the countryside, and I spent much of my free time there too, or at my grandfather’s photography shop when on summer holidays. It is no surprise, then, that despite decades during which I have lived in cities in several different counties, I ended up living back in Ripon and then afterwards in that very village, where I now live, married to a girl who came from the same place and went to the same school and whose family also live there.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

• Interesting. At 12, I think I was still drifting along in my own imagination, nerdy and obsessed with history. At 12, I think probably all I wanted to be was a Roman legionary. I know I was totally obsessed with them for a long time (read ‘still am’).
• At 18, I had sadly descended into realism. I went through three phases around that time. I wanted to be a barrister, but three months into a law A-level, I discovered that I did not have the memory for the job. I wanted to be a computer programmer, but a year into a higher education course for it, I discovered that, where mathematical statistics were concerned, I had as much aptitude for it as a blind stoat, so that one quickly passed me by too. Then I decided I wanted to be an archaeologist. The closest I have come is to write historical fiction and to have an education in classical history.
• At 30, I think that all I wanted was to be more settled and a family man. I was wallowing in a period of low ambition at the time, single and bored with a humdrum job. The job paid reasonably well, but I needed something more in my life. A year later I met Tracey and achieved my goal. From there we have snowballed into a family with pets, house and children and, somehow, along the way, my writing has taken off and my career sorted itself out.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?

At 18 I intended to live abroad. I pictured myself by the time I was 25 or 30 living in the hills of northeastern Spain in a secluded villa while working for the Archaeological division of the Patrimonio de Catalunya, possibly unearthing the Roman city of Empuries. That was my long term plan (see above for career options: archaeologist.) I am now far too tied to family and my village. While I love to travel and would like to spend much of my time abroad, I know that this is my place and where I will always come back to. Satisfied.

4. What were three big events – in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?

• That’s a tough one. My grandfather was the single most profound influence in my life until his passing in 2004. It is he who taught me to be interested in absolutely everything. It is he who gave me my love of history, on a visit to Hadrian’s Wall when I was six. Standing in a blizzard on the wall and staring out over the hills toward Scotland, I knew my life had changed.
• This is far from a ‘big event’. In fact, it is quite the opposite, but I fear it counts most for this question. I have had some of the most mind-numbingly dull jobs in my ‘career path’ for want of a better word. I have had jobs that would bore the socks off a sloth (if sloths wore socks.) There is nothing that quite spurs one to using the imagination and trying something new that suffering unbearable ennui every day from 9 to 5. It is these jobs – particularly insurance – that pushed me along.
• The books of Guy Gavriel Kay. Before GGK I had read history only really as non-fiction subject and was a staunch followed of the fantasy genre in fiction. GGK’s works had enough excellent fantasy to lure me in and enough of a grounding in real history to push me into expanding my horizons. He is still my favourite author and the writer I aspire to be.

5. Considering the innumerable electronic media avenues open to you- – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why have you chosen to write a book? Aren’t they obsolete?

Hmm. I also write a blog, as do you. In fact I was blogging before I wrote a word of fiction. I have in no way ruled out any other format. I would love to write a screenplay. In fact, I would love to turn my book ‘Interregnum’ into a movie. But no matter how many avenues open up, there will always be a need for books, even if they are becoming ever more electronic in nature. Books store the knowledge of the world. Without them, our past is so much less meaningful. How would we know about the Roman soldier at Vindolanda who sent home asking for spare socks, or the garrison commander’s wife’s birthday party, without the written word of the Vindolanda Tablets. Our main source for the history of Roman Emperors is writings of people like Cassius Dio and Suetonius. The written word should never become obsolete, for fear that the human race goes with it.

6. Please tell us about your latest book…

Ah. A choice. Dark Empress was released recently, while Marius’ Mules III is in progress. Dark Empress is the third and final book in the fantasy series ‘Tales of the Empire’ and follows Interregnum and Ironroot. It is a departure for me, being a darker tale than usual, set over much of the lifetime of three people in the form of a saga, rather than a straightforward tale. It explores new elements of the world that was formed in the first two books, such as the southern, desert-dwelling peoples, the navy and piracy, and the relationship between boys and girls as they grow into men and women. Moreover, it contains more elements of the supernatural than previous works. I wait with interest, and a little trepidation, to see how such a different work is received.

7. If your work could change one thing in this world – what would it be?

I would like to think that my work contributes to expanding the genre and drawing new fans to the subject of ancient history. If of every hundred readers of Marius’ Mules, for instance, one new reader is sufficiently taken by the setting to further delve into the world of Roman history, I will consider my work worthwhile. Despite the focus given to the ancient world in fiction, movies and documentaries, it still astounds me how such a tiny space is devoted to it in the school curriculum. Certainly in Britain, the whole Roman era is glossed over in a matter of days. A sad state of affairs, given that Britain was Roman for four centuries, their empire lasted over a thousand years (or even two thousand with Byzantium), and probably had more of an impact on the direction the western world moved for the rest of time.

8. Whom do you most admire and why?

Once again, we’re back to my grandfather. He was a man of infinite jest and astounding knowledge. He taught my father about ornithology and nature and the countryside. He taught me about photography and history. He was a pilot in the second world war, took photographs so impressive that they now form a collection held in a library, travelled extensively, brought my mother up as a single father in an era when such a thing was virtually unheard of, rode motorcycles around the wilds of Scotland, and could take an intelligent part in a conversation on almost any subject from Victorian politics, to the nesting habits of hawks, to the difference between single and dual prop aircraft, to the motives of Wile E Coyote. In fact, during the war, he suffered from Pleurisy and was moved to a ward where he was left to die, having been written off by the doctors, but where he made a full recovery on his own. Quite simply, I can’t imagine a better person, and I hope that I become even half that man to my grandchildren.

9. Many people set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

I am no longer truly ambitious. Apart from finally removing ourselves from debt (which is rapidly approaching) and having a comfortable income, I have achieved most of the goals I set: married with children, living in the country, having a pleasant and interesting career (now), and having good friends. In my heart of hearts, there is actually still one ridiculously ambitious goal that I doubt I will achieve: to visit every Roman site in the world. Slowly I am working on it, but I hope for reincarnation, since it may take several lifetimes! Probably next time I’ll come back as a blind stoat who, as I earlier intimated, would at least be more mathematically competent, but such would endanger my travel goals.

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?

I actually started by answering this one, since I was thinking about it this morning before you showed me the questions. This is the easiest, I think, and it comes in three parts:

• Read what you have written. If it is all good to read back and brings out a strong emotion in you, then it’s worth going on. If parts of it worry you, rewrite them as soon as possible. Don’t go on and hope they work in the end. They won’t and you’ll have to go back much later and do it. Get the task out of the way straight away. If you read it back and it does not elicit a strong emotion from you, it won’t from other readers and you may as well stop there.
• Don’t rush the job. Get the work proofed and then proofed again and then proofed again. When you’ve done that, go over it yourself, give it a harsh edit and then get it proofed three times again. When you’ve done that, give it to someone who’s interested in the genre and get them to read it. And then another person. They will be able to comment on anything missing or that doesn’t fit well. Only when it’s ready, go with it. I have fallen foul of this myself and now things are much more proofed, but there is still vast room for improvement.

Do not give up. If you believe in what you have and what you can do, fight to get it out there. Try every traditional method possible, but don’t be disheartened by rejection. There will be a lot of it. If traditional methods don’t work for you, be creative. Find new avenues to push the work down. Never stop. I have seen it said by even the most successful writers that the writing is the easy part. The hard part is promotion and marketing…

I’ve read all of Simon’s books except Dark Empress and it’s on the to-read list. I’ve just finished Ironroot which I have to say made me glad to go to bed every night so that I could disappear into my Kindle and read on. It’s truly my favourite Turney novel to date and I recommend it and then some! I fully expect Dark Empress to raise the stakes even higher.

Simon, thanks so much for revealing yourself through Ten Writerly Questions and may I wish you and your novels an onward and upward trajectory. (Even though I am seriously jealous of your prolific output!)

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The world of writerly advice…

I spend some little time reading writers’ blogs on the internet. The really good ones are legendary: Joe Konrath, Ray Rhamey, Amanda Hocking, Nathan Bransford, Rachelle Gardner. My all-time favourite epicentre for writers is WriterUnboxed because it is varied and FILLED to the very brim with expertise that one can’t fault. Really true-blue expertise from authors (both mainstream and independent), agents, publishers and editors. Quite plainly, people who know.

These writers offer posts on their own very personal journey to publication or their experience within the field of publication. Writers describe the way they write their pitch, how the submission journey was, the results. Their own feelings about that long and often painful experience. What they do to survive the lengthy journey and so on.  The editors, agents and publishers spell out in succinct language what they receive and what they think at their end. They are the ones who offer the technical expertise built up from years of experience. Quite frankly the only sort of experience that really matters.

My other favourite fellow writers (ie fiction authors) who post are those who post with panache and verve (like Ann Swinfen, Mark Williams, SJA Turney or Lexi Revellian), who dig beneath, who take a unique view of the wordsmith’s existence. And they are all UK writers… hmm, interesting. It must be a subliminal connection between Australia and Blighty! And not only that, they all belong to the same highly talented writers’ forum: YouwriteOn.com

Other than these clever people who provide the most unique contrasts into life in the garrett, I’ll stick with ‘the trieds and trues’… those mentioned at the very head of this post who never fail to impress with the information they impart.

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Writing? What writing?

I’ve been injured and out of action for four weeks now.  And in that time I should have almost finished The Shifu Cloth. In fact I have 30,000 words to go and another six weeks of rehab.  Finishing is a possibility if I dedicate myself.  But the silence from London over Glass Flowers/Paperweights is hardly conducive to me finishing a further novel.  I believe there is a summer holiday-break in the UK and London business has almost shut up shop, and it is a soothing thought.

I have to console myself that even though I managed 10,000 words of The Shifu Cloth, I have also managed nearly  11,000  words of The Sheriff, some Pillow Book and  editing of what I have done so far of Shifu.  So my couch-bottom and couch- potato status can be removed by said work.

In between times, my favourite bookshop has passed a proof copy of the new Jilly Cooper to me (Jump)and I can barely sleep at night as I laugh and gallop through Cotchester with her at a pace reserved for favourites at the Melbourne Cup.  This one is about the National Hunt and jump racing scene in the UK and culminates in the Grand National.  Thankfully Rupert and Taggie Campbell-Black are in it and all’s right with the world.  I even laughed at the names and the descriptions of her characters in the front pages and bless Jilly, even the animal characters had one and a half pages to themselves.  After Jilly I shall read the new Fiona Walker (The Love Hunt) and both women have the fastest wit, so I shall have had two pacy reads in a very  short time.

It’s hard to return to one’s own writing without wanting to inject the same pace, so maybe we shall see smoke coming off the pages of Shifu and Sheriff.  Who knows?

On the subject of new releases, my friend and writer, SJA Turney has just had another historical fantasy on Roman Britain published, entitled Ironroot.  For details go to  http://sjat.wordpress.com I am ordering it from Amazon today.

And for those who expected The Sheriff’s Collector again, it’s coming, and I leave you with a comparison:

Disney's Gisborne: Sir Hiss

This . . . or  . . . the one beneath?

Armitage's version of Guy.

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Needle in a haystack . . .

My embroidery bag

‘When I’m not writing or tweaking my computer, I do embroidery.’  This remarkably apt quote for my life comes from Lynn Abbey, fantasy writer.  I was googling quotes today and this is the one that popped up in respect of embroidery and I figured the Fates had conspired to entice me to write on my stitching.

Let’s assume the haystack of the title is the computer and all things technological.  The needle’s the thing that saves me at times of  frustration . . . I pick it up and thread it with wool or silk or whatever the latest stitching WIP requires and try to leave writing and the demands of a quasi-technological existence behind.

Not that they don’t follow me.  But words and what to do, have a habit of resolving themselves in some form or other as the needle shushes in and out of the hoop.  Certainly with the writing of the published books, the need to be the stitcher Adelina was made easier by picking up a needle and thread and feeling the craft.

Stumpwork wreath

At the moment I’m chafing at the bit, desperate to move to the next phase of the book-trailer. Brother is tied up filming for the national broadcaster, graphic designer still has the flu, and so I need to embroider to divert me. I’m stitching a baby rug for a fellow writer, SJA Turney and his wife who are expecting their first in Yorkshire in April.

There’s always a need to move away from your writing, to take a breath, to think, to immerse yourself in the sensations of other excercises.  When I think back on many of the things that my characters have done in various writings, I’ve usually been able to draw on an experience or two of my own.

Which brings me to another point and one I saw blogged about a week or so ago but can’t remember where . . . what do we authors go through for inspiration?

A question for another time perhaps.

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