Matthew is very kindly donating an e- copy of any one of his three books to one lucky winner. To enter this competition, please leave a comment on the blog or on the Review post.
Hi Matthew, I am sorry I kept missing you at HNS16 ... whenever I glimpsed you, we were always rushing in opposite directions, so I am so happy to have caught up with you on line.
Hi Matthew, I am sorry I kept missing you at HNS16 ... whenever I glimpsed you, we were always rushing in opposite directions, so I am so happy to have caught up with you on line.
Hopefully this interview is an interview with a difference and I
have tried to come up with some unusual questions!
If your latest
book, Blood and Blade, was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like
to play the lead role?
That’s a really
difficult question. When I’m writing I don’t picture actors in any of the
roles. However, if the Bernicia Chronicles ever make their way onto the screen,
I hope they find an actor who has the intensity and physical presence to play
Beobrand convincingly. He towers over most of his enemies and is a natural
killer, but also has a reflective, tender side. I remember in the recent Rugby
World Cup thinking that Dan Biggar from the Welsh team could portray Beobrand
convincingly, at least from the physical aspect. I have no idea if he can act!
If, as a one off,
(and you could guarantee publication!) you could write anything you wanted, is
there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding
plot line in mind?
Anyone who knows
me well knows I love Westerns and I have often talked about how I would love to
write one. I don’t really have much of a plot, but I have written the first
paragraphs of a story. The opening lines are:
“A man always
remembers his first murder. Just like he always remembers his first visit to
the whore house.”
Maybe one day I’ll
finish it!
Do you have any
rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’
piece of music...??
I don’t have any
rituals. Each book seems to create its own soundtrack though. For The Serpent
Sword, I listened to a lot of classical music and film scores, particularly The
Lord of the Rings. Whilst writing The Cross and the Curse, I listened to a lot
of nature sounds, predominantly thunderstorms and rain. If you’ve read that
book you’ll see how that affected the plot. Or was it the plot that made me
choose those sounds? More recently, I have been listening to Wardruna, a Norwegian
ambient folk band. There are lots of nature sounds and indistinct chanting of
runes in the music, giving a very unique atmosphere that sits well with the
themes and ambience of the Bernicia Chronicles.
What is the worse
book you have ever read? What made it unreadable for you?
I think I would
have to say Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy. I had to read it at school
and I really couldn’t get more than a few pages in without giving up. Horrible,
dense prose with no discernible hook to interest me in the characters or the
plot. There have been many other books I have not finished. I am a slow reader,
and if I struggle with a story, I give up and move on. Life’s too short to
trudge through boring books.
Other than writing
full time, what would be your dream job?
Rock singer. I
have sung in many bands over the years and I love to perform. I would have to
be in a band though, as I really enjoy the camaraderie of being with
like-minded people. Besides, I can’t play any instruments!
Coffee or tea? Red
or white?
Coffee and white
wine. Red wine gives me migraines, which was very annoying when I lived in
Spain for many years, which produces some of the best red wines in the world.
If you had free
choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?
A readable one!
Actually, when I first self-published The Serpent Sword, I used a free font
(Tallys) that was quite close in design to Jenson, the oldest Roman style
typeface, that was created by Nicholas Jenson in the 15th century.
It is very readable and yet gives a hint of the past in its form. (A
wonderful font! If only I could get hold of an original set of it!)
Imagine that you
could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?
I would love to be
able to see the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Beowulf, and Bede. The Lindisfarne
Gospels would be nice to have a flick through too!
Historical fiction
authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are there
any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or ignore
because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?
No, though it is
sometimes hard to know what to do with certain real life characters. I find it
is often necessary to gloss over characters, as too many can lead to confusion
of the plot. For example, King Edwin had a son that was captured at the battle
of Hatfield Chase in 633. In The Serpent Sword, I chose not to mention this son
at all, as he is later murdered in captivity and it would only have made things
confusing. Now, when writing Killer of Kings, book four in the series, I wish
I’d mentioned him, as I could have used him in the plot… ((Big smile here. I *know*
that!!!))
Are you prepared
to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you
get around this?
Oh yes. I always
say story over history. My books are meant to entertain, so if I need to stray
from the accepted path of fact, I will. Having said that, I try not to, and I
always confess in the Historical Notes where I have deviated from the known
history or filled gaps. One of the great things about writing about the
so-called Dark Ages, is there are very few sources, and information is scarce,
so it is quite easy to get away with most plot twists I come up with.
Do you find that
the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?
Not really. But I
do often look at the world and think that fact is frequently stranger than
fiction!
In the Bernicia
Chronicles I am very conscious of the fact that I am not writing history. I am
writing a fictional account of a past that could have occurred. I know things
did not happen the way I portray them, but I always strive to create a
plausible world. I think immersive historical fiction is all about authenticity,
not accuracy.
Have you ever
totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?
I think I fell in
love with Sunniva, Beobrand’s love interest, a bit. If you are creating a
character you want your protagonist to fall in love with, perhaps you have to
fall in love with them a bit too.
When it comes to
hatred, well that is a bit more difficult. There are some truly despicable
characters in my books, but whilst I would hate them if I met them in real
life, I have created them, and therefore to some extent I love them too! If
they are odious, they are great characters!
What do you enjoy
reading for pleasure?
I like escapist,
fast-paced thrillers and historical fiction, for the most part, but I will try
anything. Lee Child and Bernard Cornwell are my go-to writers if I want to read
something that really grips me.
What drink would
you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?
A rich, robust
ale. Something with hints of fruit, but with a pleasant hoppy, bitterness.
Last but not
least... favourite historical author?
Well, I’ve already
mentioned Bernard Cornwell, so he’d have to be up there. However, I’d like to
give an honourable mention to Conn Iggulden, Larry McMurtry and Patrick
O’Brian.
Thanks for the
thought-provoking questions, Diana. It’s been great fun.
© Diana Milne July
2016 © Matthew Harffy November 2016
Author
info:
Matthew Harffy is
the author of the Bernicia Chronicles, a series of novels set in seventh
century Britain. The first of the series, The Serpent Sword, was
published by Aria/Head of Zeus on 1st June 2016. The sequel, The Cross and
The Curse was released on 1st August 2016. Book three, Blood and Blade,
is due for publication in December 2016.
The
Serpent Sword, The
Cross and the Curse and Blood
and Blade are available on Amazon,
Kobo, Google Play, and all
good online bookstores.
Killer of Kings
and Kin of Cain
are available for pre-order on Amazon and all good online bookstores.
