Diana talks to Prue Batten, author of fantasy books

Author’s interview – 2017. Diana talks to...

Prue Batten

 

Hello Prue. How lovely to talk to you.

I am sure that you are tired of being asked the usual questions that would-be interviewers ask authors, so hopefully this interview is an interview with a difference and I have come up with some unusual questions!

First things first, I am sure there is a question that you have always longed to be asked. Now is the chance. Ask your own question and answer it!

How would life be easier as a 65 year old if you weren’t a writer?

Heavens! Where do I start? I could spend more time gardening, stitching, boating, kayaking, being with family, with my dog, meeting friends…

Writing is such a solitary thing and one has to withdraw from life to accomplish it. It’s a contradiction in terms because being a part of life with its roller-coaster emotions can provide a foundation from which any writer can work.

What I do find is that I now use up every hour of every day to give me the kind of life I want. If I didn’t write, I doubt I would be so energetic in making sure I use my time actively and wisely.

If your latest book was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

As we are talking about fantasy novels in this instance, I will name The Shifu Cloth as my ‘latest’ novel. It’s the final novel in the quartet, The Chronicles of Eirie. It’s leading me gently by the hand into my next fantasy novel called The Cabinet of Curiosities and which contains many of the characters from the quartet.

I always thought Jessica Brown Findlay might be the female protagonist, Isabella. Ioan Gruffud would play a suitably moody Nicholas. Chow Yun Fat (with spectacles) would be perfect as Ming Xao and Gung Li as the Lady Chi Nü.

 

 

What made you choose this genre?

I love writing fantasy. I love world-building. I love reading myth and legend and adapting folkloric characters to fit my novels. I would say that fantasy (hist.fantasy perhaps) picked me, rather than the other way round; perhaps my imagination is over-active. But whatever the case, I am transported and challenged, all in one.

How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

Each novel in the quartet has been inspired by an inanimate object which becomes a vehicle for the plot. Books One and Two were inspired by raised silk embroidery, Book Three by a millefiore paperweight and Book Four, The Shifu Cloth, by cloth(shifu) that is woven from paper. Shifu was used in Japan as a method of delivering secret messages in the time of the samurai.

In fact, if there is a common denominator between the four novels, it is the word ‘secret’, or as one of the characters calls it – ‘segreta’.

The characters are inspired by the stories and as they develop into actual personages, I find it handy to have a visual image, so I trawl the net for likely candidates. For example, for obvious reasons, my Gisborne was inspired by Richard Armitage. Tobias was inspired by Peter Dinklage, Guillaume was inspired by Eion Macken’s face. And so on.

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?

I would love to write another illustrated childrens’ story. I’ve written one, Nugget, the Black Wombat, in collaboration with brilliant UK illustrator, Dave Slaney, and it was such fun and Nugget sooooo cute, that I’m sure he has another adventure to relate.

Was becoming a writer a conscious decision or something that you drifted into (or even something so compelling that it could not be denied?) How old were you when you first started to write seriously.

I was in Grade 3 when I felt that writing a ‘composition’ was indeed compelling. It gave me a sense of completeness, even at that age. The feeling increased as I grew older and I was known to spend two hours of a three hour English exam completing the creative writing component. I won awards for creative writing through high school and in matriculation, but then all creative work was put on hold through university and well into motherhood. Whilst ‘enceinte’, and restricted with a bad back, I did take time to pen bits and pieces and the feeling began to grow again. When the kids were almost teenage, I wrote a fantasy trilogy and that was to become my rite of passage – the story one writes that begins one’s journey, the one that will never ever see the light of day.

After that, The Stumpwork Robe was written and the rest as they say…

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

Marmite? It’s okay but I much prefer Vegemite…

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

None. I write when I can squeeze it into a pretty frantic life, so a ritual would be pointless. That said, my dog, a Jack Russell terrier with a large personality and little patience, is always with me. He’s my muse.

I promise I won’t tell them the answer to this, but when you are writing, who is more important, your family or your characters?

When I’m writing, I’m completely lost in my world – so my characters are indeed more important. Those are the days when the house is quiet and I’m solitary. However… if my adult family need me, I’ll listen with all my attention. I suspect most mums, dads and partners have perfected that art.

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?

Gosh, I haven’t thought about that for ages. In the past, I’ve always thought it would be the bees’ knees to work for Pixar as an animator. But as I fall more in love with my gardens, I suspect it’s actually to be a gardener and have the time and someone else’s extensive budget to create with plants.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Tea – camomile and the occasional green tea with a chocolate and berry brownie. White wine – a crisp, cool Tasmanian chardonnay with a wafer, vintage cheddar and slices of pickled walnut.

How much of your work is planned before you start? Do you have a full draft or let it find its way?

I have a very basic plan – an A4 page. But it is totally open to change and alteration. I am putty in my plot’s hands…

If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?

Times New Roman. It’s the one font my mother could read as she lost her sight through macular degeneration.

Have any of your characters ever shocked you and gone off on their own adventure leaving you scratching your head??? If so how did you cope with that!?

Goodness yes! It’s the thing I absolutely love the most about writing. It’s a wild ride! I always feel that those writers who stick to their carefully delineated plan are missing something truly spontaneous, and the thing about spontaneity is freshness. It’s worth remembering…

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?

This is an interesting thought in respect of the kind of fantasy that I write. Because I like using myth, folklore and legend – the known facts are those that come from an oral tradition and are very open to mutation as time passes. I think readers of myth-based fantasy accept this and in fact quite enjoy reading the various interpretations.

Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?

Oh yes! But I’ve especially loved my supporting characters in the fantasies. I have a deep relationship with an Other called Gallivant – he is what’s known as a Goodfellow or a hob. He is fastidious, devoted and funny and I adore him.

In The Gisborne Saga (a hist.fict trilogy), Tobias became my best friend and ultimately had his own book in a further trilogy.

But there have plenty of antagonists of course and honestly, how can one like them? They are despicable…

And then there are the characters one loves but is not sure one can trust. There has been one especially.

But that might just be another story…

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

Myth-based fantasy , historical fiction that is character driven and preferably about the ordinary man. Contemporary womens’ fiction, especially by Jan Ruth. Biographies of people that interest me. Gardening books of all sorts and books about words – like Robert Macfarlane’s Landmarks.

What drink would you recommend whilst reading your latest book?

Oh gosh – have a hot chocolate with marshmallows and maybe a bit of Toblerone in the bottom. Why not go all out? Or if you want to really live dangerously, have a glass of chardonnay, no matter the time of day!

Last but not least... favourite author?

Dorothy Dunnett. Without doubt my Number One most iconic author.

 

http://www.pruebatten.com

http://www.facebook.com/Prue.Batten.writer

http://pinterest.com/pruebatten

 

Author.to/pruebatten

 

About the Shifu Cloth:
 
In a world where Others play with mortal lives, in a hidden province that survives on the backs of abducted slaves, Isabella, one of those stolen folk, sends a message woven into rare cloth made of paper and silk, in the vain hope that her cousin will find it, decipher it and rescue her.
For cousin Nicholas, with whose life the Fates have been playing, only time will tell if he will find her and whether what makes a curse does indeed break a curse.

'Consistently ranked in the Amazon Best Seller Lists for Asian mythology, this is Book Four and the conclusion to the highly regarded and unique historical fantasy series, THE CHRONICLES OF EIRIE.
A replete and satisfying conclusion to a series that has unrolled like a bolt of silk.'

"Prue Batten weaves her story in such a way that I could not stop turning the pages. It is perhaps the way the story slowly unfolds that makes this book very interesting...The pictures that Prue Batten paints are as vivid as the brush stroke in a canvas. With an eye for detail, she gives us a glimpse of the magnificent imperial house of Han as well as of the rest of her world and its colorful characters. Above all, this is a tale of enduring love that balances on the fine line that separates reality and fantasy." Maria Beltran, Readers Favorite USA.

A wonderful picture of Prue

 

© Diana Milne January 2017 Prue Batten May 2017 ©

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Louise Interviews Prue Batten About Her New Book, Tobias

Tobias by Prue Batten

Byzantium stretches a weakening grip across Eastern Europe, trying in vain to hold onto all that has made it an empire. Tyrian purple, the unique die that denotes its power, is held under close guard by the imperial house.
However a Jewish merchant from Venice has sourced an illegal supply and Tobias the dwarf minstrel and his twin brother, Tomas, begin a dangerous journey to retrieve the purple and deliver it into the merchant's eager hands.
But is this supply as secret as they had hoped?
Trade is cut throat, men are expendable, money is power and Constantinople provides the exotic backdrop during a time of scimitars and shadows.
This is Tobias - the story of a minstrel and a broken life...
 

 

Prue Batten

Welcome, Prue, thank you so much for joining me here today to chat about your new book, Tobias. 

I have really been looking forward to interviewing you about your new book, especially so, as you have left some very intriguing, 'end of the writing day', snippets from Tobias, from time to time, on Facebook.

For me, choosing an eponymous title is brave, because it gives nothing away to prospective readers. With that in mind, where did you first get the idea to write Tobias’ story?

Tobias was an endearing character in my previous trilogy, The Gisborne Saga where he first appeared in Book of Knights. In those books, he was a funny minstrel as capable of wielding a sword as a song, and he had a way of creeping under one’s skin. But of course, he had a condition that could have made or broken him during the Middle Ages, so I always knew there must be dark juxtaposed to light within. One day, my editor, John Hudspith, said, ‘You know, Tobias has a story! Why don’t you tell it?’It was a matter then, of finding the plot that would reveal his life. And find it, I did. Or to be more correct, and as is often the case – IT found me!

Tobias has a twin, Tomas. Tobias has dwarfism, (achondroplasia), does Tomas suffer from the same disease?

Rather than a disease, it should be considered a genetic condition and yes, Tomas is also a little person. There may be recorded instances of one twin being born normally and the other with achondroplasia, but for my purpose, Tomas and Toby were identical twins in every way, except for a widow’s peak on their hairline.

Having a character(s) with achondroplasia must have presented quite a few problems. I know that when you write, you are particular about collecting as much information as you can before you start, and carry on with the research as you go. Researching this condition, must have raised more questions than it answered, initially. For example, the way that the torso is compressed because of the curvature of the spine; this must create breathing problems, I would have thought. Also, the shortening of the limbs, legs particularly, must have been a more debilitating condition to endure in the time in which you have set Tobias. How did this affect your character?

Initially, I knew nothing. My first instinct was to google it and in so doing I found a wonderful blog, www.dwarfaware.wordpress.com. It’s owner, Jenovesia Porteo, has a wonderful son, Jax, with the genetic condition. Jenovesia generously answered every single question I have had through the writing process, including the seriously relevant ones of how Tobias and Tomas would cope with the rigours of the Middle Ages. There are certain acts that could kill outright and she would stop me in mid-flow and say, ‘No, that’s not possible.’

Little people can suffer claudication (compression) of the spine with certain hard physical activity, also their elbows and wrists are often fused and they can have bowlegs so bone pain is a given. As a horse-rider myself, I know how uncomfortable a hard day in the saddle can be. Imagine for a little person…

But Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones) once said, ‘I am not defined by my size.’ And ultimately that’s EXACTLY how I wanted Tobias (and Tommaso) to be seen.

I know that you have a love of embroidery. Therefore, you will have an ardent love of colour. Tyrian purple, a gloriously heady colour, of which I know little, other than it comes from sea snails. It’s understandable, therefore, that it would, by definition, be rare, and expensive. What gave you the idea of using this colour as a theme for your novel?

Hagia

There are two dyes which were highly sought after in the Middle Ages. One was purple, made from the Murex sea snails across the Adriatic, as you mentioned, and the other was red, made from kermes, the insect scale often found on oaks in the Mediterranean. For my purpose, with the Byzantines completely controlling the purple, I was enticed into a civilisation that gave so much to the modern world. I was sold on Tyrian Purple the moment I read the word ‘Byzantine’…

When you were in the early stages of writing Tobias, you posted on Facebook, on several occasions, that Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones, was the image that you held for Tobias. How important was that for you, to have Peter Dinklage’s image as a guide for Tobias?

Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones)

Very early on in my writing career, Pat Sweet, from, Bopress Miniature Books, talked to me about actors. She had been a theatre costume designer in Los Angeles in a previous life and she said to me: ‘Watch actors convey mood with their body, with their face, with their hands. Just watch.’ So I did. I found the slightest tic could be loaded, conveying the dimensions and nuances of a character. In respect of Tobias, it was doubly important because I knew no little people at all. So I watched every move Peter Dinklage made, listened to the timbre of his voice, and in the end he became Tobias for me.

I know that you have accumulated many photos on Pinterest, in relation to your research for Tobias. Many authors, including myself, like to travel to the places about which they write, within reason, of course. Do you feel that your meticulous research, which is evident in every book that you have written, would have been complimented by going to Venice, (who needs an excuse to go to Venice?) and Istanbul? And if so, why?

I have been to Venice as it happens. Quite some time ago admittedly, but I was a creature of journal-writing then, so I have a handy pile of handwritten notes from all over Europe and England. Even then, I dealt more with the sensory experience than anything, so that helped me enormously. As to Venice in the twelfth century – it was an archipelago of islets with trees and wildflowers and little flat bridges joining the place together. Saint Marks was in the process of construction, and the power of Venice as a trading centre was just on the rise, so vastly different to say, one hundred and fifty years later when things became legendary. 

Map of Constantinople

But Istanbul/Constantinople was a problem. I had never been there and so I trawled every single thing I could find on YouTube and immersed myself in the place. I read diaries from nineteenth century travellers, and then, most importantly, I relied on a friend who has lived there for many years and is still there and who had her children in the city. As I said in my Acknowledgements, she endeavoured ‘to find the unfindable’ because the reality is that twelfth century Constantinople was destroyed twice over. First in the Fourth Crusade and secondly in the Ottoman Conquest, so I faced a dilemma. But then I found http://www.byzantium1200.com/ and it became my library, my google maps, my wiki, my everything. It is a complete 3D reconstruction of everything I needed to know.

When you typed the last line of Tobias, were you sad, elated, or surprised that you had, in fact, come to the end?

Elated. It was quite a harrowing book to write and as the last words emerged, a sigh of content issued forth.

Tobias is the first in a series of three - The Triptych Chronicles – Will we see Tobias’ character carried through to the other books, or will we be treated to a completely new set of characters?

He will come and go, as will Sir Guy of Gisborne, William of Gisborne, Lady Ysabel, Mehmet al Din and others we have come to love. The next book is about Guillaume of Anjou, the Angevin archer who readers will remember from Book of Kings.

Aqueduct - Istanbul/Constantinople

I love your book covers, they are all exquisite. So, I’d love to chat with you about the cover for Tobias. I know that your daughter, Clare, designed it, and it is beautifully done, and I might add, that Tobias looks quite handsome, too. I know that you consider the cover of your books as important as the story inside. What makes you decide on the composition of your covers? What is the hook that tells you that this cover is going to work?

To be honest, I have little input in my covers. My daughter is very intuitive and we chat a little about a mood I wish to convey and we look together online for suitable portraits as we both feel close-up detail indicates that this (and the other two in the trilogy) is a very personal story. But juxtaposition and font, dark or light shading, placement, overlays of other images, I leave to her. She has won awards for her broader graphics work involving branding here in Australia, so I’m in good hands. Both she and I agree that we don’t want stock photographic images, that we want patina and a sense of a ‘Times Past’ and she manages to do that for me. She has designed eleven covers for me now. We changed covers early on when she suggested to me that a series should be bound by common threads. In The Chronicles of Eirie, you will see a border on each of the four books, on The Gisborne Saga, there is a similar mood created by a head and shoulders portrait, and this series will have the partial and very close-up portrait for each book. Each series has its own beautiful font. She also uses the faintest overlays or underlays – like a ghost whispering the story.

She also designed my website with a very talented web builder, Kim Maisch. Add to that my editor, John Hudspith, my e-formatter, Daniel Gillan, and my publisher, Darlington Press, and I’m really lucky that I have a very professional team.

Sea Wall

I know, by your posts on Facebook, that you enjoy the editing and proofreading process. For some authors this is a daunting prospect. I will count myself as one of those authors. Do you have a particular routine for editing and proofreading? What makes it enjoyable for you?

I write in long hand, so the simple act of transcribing to the computer is the first edit. Then each writing day, I read what I have transcribed the day before and edit again. That’s the process. When I have finished the novel, I print it off, do a red pen edit which takes into account historical facts. Then I send it to John Hudspith Editing Services for a definitive structural and line edit and then it comes back to me with track changes. Then I do a final read through and check that I am happy with it as a reader’s book and that’s it. 

I think the reason I enjoy it is that I like refining things, tidying, turning rough to smooth, making things work. And I’m learning all the time. And I love learning…

Finally, Prue, I know that you lead somewhat of a busy life, having a farm to run on that beautiful island of Tasmania. Do you have a special place to write, and where do you find the time to write?

Writing for me is an escape into another world entirely. I just love it. I write mostly at night and as I write in longhand, that’s invariably in bed with pad and pen. I transcribe onto a Macbook Air, so the little machine can be with me anywhere and everywhere. I don’t have a ‘space’ as such. It’s rather nice really, it means I write wherever I want, with a view out a window during the day, or tucked up on a cold night. Although, I am finding that more of the computer work must be done at a standing station because I have degeneration in some neck joints. Bah, the penalty of an ageing body! But my parting comment is that if one really loves what one is doing, one will make time to do it. Life’s too short not to!

***

Louise, I have loved these questions. Thank you so much for interviewing me, and thank you also to readers for spending the time learning about Tobias.

Thank you, Prue, it has been an absolute pleasure chatting with you, and learning about your journey with Tobias! 

You can find Prue Batten on the following links:

Prue Batten's blog - Facebook - Amazon - Goodreads - Pinterest

Louise Rule is author of Future Confronted