Sharon chats to ... Derek Birks

The Harrogate History Festival is a fabulous weekend in October, where you can chat about the past from morning 'til night and no one will complain ( unlike at home!). You get to meet some great authors and historians and they are more than happy to chat away, whether its at a talk, in the bookshop or in the bar. While there, I took the opportunity to chat with Derek Birks about his latest book, Scars From the Past, the start of a new series, which comes out on 24th November.

So, Derek, tell me about the new series. It begins in 1481, ten years after the end of my first series, Rebels & Brothers. It concentrates on the younger generation of Elders, who are growing up and getting involved in family duties. At 17 Ned's son, John, inherits his father's lordship. However, as he saw so many deaths as a child he sees the lordship as an unwelcome legacy. He is a ward of Earl Rivers and spends his days training and nights in the company of prostitutes. He has grown up with Lizzie Holton, daughter of his father's steward, but their relationship is damaged from the outset of the book - it's an impossible love. After getting into a fight John decides  to run away with his cousin Will.
The first part of the book sees the two sides of the family: those left at home, affected by his absence and John's adventures on the Continent.
It's different from the first series, less linear. And there's no involvement with the king, the country is at peace.
There are some completely new characters - and some old favourites.
I hope that people, who have not read the first series, can pick this up and enjoy it.

How many books do you have  planned for this series, will there be four again? I don't have an actual number planned, these books are more standalone than the first series, so I'm not restricted to a particular number. I have at least three in mind at the moment, but it could go on indefinitely. There are so many threads to explore. And I'd like to go into Henry Tudor's reign.

Does Eleanor (she's my favourite character from the first series) calm down and retire, or is she still as feisty? Eleanor is a major player in the new book. She is 10 years older and has grown up some, but is still slightly reckless and noble. She can't be as sword-wielding as previously - she's a mother now, with a son and daughter to be responsible for. I have tried to put John and Eleanor in a realistic context. Emma is also there, with Robert Radcliffe, but she will come into it more in later books.
The servants are still there and Lizzie's presence brings the lower classes more to the fore.

How is the new series different from the last? One of the hardest things is to make characters unique and individual. Especially the women. I had a problem with the new generation, with two girls close in age, both teenagers. My problem was, if they are next too each other, what is it that makes them different? So I kept them apart, and in different situations; in that way they wouldn't be compared. One off them is quite prominent and will establish herself later in the series.
The most difficult thing was how to make John different from his father: so he drinks, spends evenings with the girls, but is not so good with women. He's a reluctant fighter, whereas his father was quicker to get involved. As a mercenary he ran away from the responsibility in warfare, leadership, while still doing what he was trained to do.


Is there - or will there be - a new 'strong woman' to take over from Eleanor as she gets older? Ah... that would be revealing too much. There are other strong female characters, yes - but that's all I'm saying.

Did you feel obliged to have a strong woman in your second series? It's in the Elder family genes, so it would have to be a strong possibility.

Scars from the Past - the title - underlines the baggage they carry. John and Eleanor do carry on their strong link - forged from shared experiences in the first series - and that informs their decisions. I was reluctant to make an Eleanor mkII. The women have to have different strengths, rather than sword-fighting. They carry on the fight in their own, different ways.

How do you plan your story, are you a plotter or a non-plotter? I knew how the book was going to end, but didn't plot the beginning. Also, I didn't write the book in order. I knew where it was going, though. I tend to plot a sequence of scenes - maybe 10 - that are used as the framework and that I can change as I go along. The order of writing may depend on what is researched. I rough out 2 or 3 scenes and then fill in the gaps once I have done the research. For example, Corve Manor; I had originally used Stokesay Castle as Corve, but had to plot its location for this book, and so now it is Corvham Castle - there's nothing left of it now, but I needed a sense of place becausse of events that happen there. And the scenes at Ludlow, I had to research the locations and walk the streets to get the timings right.

Do your characters take over the story? It's like magic, an alchemy. One new character came very close to death, but grew from being a bit part to becoming very important to the story. He's a very different character to the others and becomes quite an emotional trigger.

Have you been strict with continuity, from events in the first series? With the people - yes. Such as eye colour - I had to go back and check. I started with a spreadsheet of characters of that moment - ie. 1469 - and added to it. So I have all the physical characteristics of each of them. Continuity with the places was more difficult, such as with Corve Manor, but I was keen to build on what had already been sasid and not be contradictory. I have plans for the layouts of Ludlow, Corve and Caversham. I also have a map of Ludlow, and plans of the houses and rooms where scenes take place. I did have to work out how many people could fit in each of the properties.

Do you do an extensive bibliography? in my historical notes I emphasise how something has been documented and verify whether events are true or not. So I do record where I get information from, and give credit to particular historians that have been helpful, such as Nichoolas Orme.

Do you have a family tree? I have one for personal use, but don't want to put it in the book, as it would give away too much of the story, such as who married who, when children were born - and when so-and-so died.

Scars from the Past is released on 24th November and can be pre-ordered on Amazon

I would like to express a huge 'thank you' to Derek for such a fabulous and candid interview. Please look out tomorrow for my review of Scars from the Past and a giveaway of this fabulous new novel.

Sharon Bennett Connolly has been fascinated by history for over 30 years. She has studied it at university and worked as a tour guide at several historic sites. She has been writing a blog entitled 'History...the Interesting Bits' for almost 2 years and is currently working on her first non-fiction work, 'Heroines on the Medieval World' which will be published by Amberley in 2017.

An Interview with Derek Birks

Sharon Bennett Connolly and Jayne Smith interviewed Derek Birks for The Review.

Derek Birks has kindly offered a signed copy of his book for a lucky winner.  Just leave a comment at the bottom of the blog or on our Facebook page. The winner will be drawn on 11th November.

Whilst at the Harrogate History Festival, at the end of October, Jayne Smith and I had the great fortune to interview author Derek Birks. 

Derek Birks' Rebels & Brothers series is a quartet of books following the Elder siblings - one brother and two sisters - through the turbulent times of the Wars of the Roses. Described as "edge-of-your-seat action from start to end", Derek Birks has received several BRAG Medallions for his wonderful novels, including his debut novel, Feud.
The last novel in the series, The Last Shroud, was released just a few months ago.
We asked Derek Birks about his books, writing habits and what comes next.

Derek Birks, Jayne Smith and Sharon Bennett Connolly at the Harrogate History Festival

What made you start writing? I always wanted to write. I started at about 17, writing adventure stories, but they were rubbish. Then I got caught up with other things. 40 years later I wanted to find out if I could do it. looking back, I couldn't have written the books I have when I was that age.
Why are your stories set in the Wars of the Roses? It's always been one of my favourite periods. The characters are so fascinating - you couldn't make up the characters and situations if you tried.
Who were your major writing influences? Bernard Cornwell and Alexandre Dumas. I love the Musketeers stuff. And Bernard Cornwell was a breath of fresh air - his writing was less polite than anything else around at the time.
How do you approach your writing day? I write almost entirely in the mornings, staring around 7.30. I can write for as long as I want, but usually finish about 1 o'clock and then have lunch.
If you lose track, do you give up or carry on? If I hit a snag, to clear my mind I go for a walk, or a swim and don't think about it - then the ideas pop in my head. It helps to make for a better plot, usually. The same happens if my editor - my son- says something is not working; I'll think about it and come up with something better.
How do you kill off your characters? I started my first book writing something direct and full of action, but that meant some characters would die. By the 3rd book my characters' attitude to death changed. In the first 2 there was no fear of the consequences. By the 3rd I looked at battle weariness and regret and the characters look at it differently. I changed my mind about killing a character I had always intended to kill off - and killed off someone else instead. In book 4, someone had to die, it was just a matter of deciding who.
Most books written about wars have women as peripheral characters, weak and helpless. Why did you write Eleanor as a fighter? There is an audience for a strong woman. I tried to have several different women's roles, and Eleanor was the antidote to the traditional women's roles. She's a catalyst for control. She has an edge in that men don't expect her reactions.
Do your characters talk to you? I don't think they do. I sometimes go to bed thinking of the story line. But they do have specific theme music; Eleanor's is Try by Pink and Ned's is Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits.
Who do you think is your best character and who is your favourite? I would like to think Ned is my best character - and Eleanor is definitely my favourite. I can't imagine Eleanor getting older. She was the hardest to develop through the book sand I hope she grew up.
If someone said they wanted to make a film, do you have an actor or actress in mind to play Ned and Eleanor? Ned would need to be someone with an amount of vulnerability - Sean Bean wouldn't be right for it. Eleanor would be someone like the woman in Kill Bill - Uma Thurman?
Do you know how the book is going to end when you start it? Usually, yes. I wrote the end of Feud before writing the middle. With the 2nd and 3rd books yes. With the 4th I knew there was going to be an almighty clash, but didn't know who would go - I was going to do a Butch & Sundance thing where everyone but 1 died, but decided that was less plausible. I hope the ending came across plausible.
Did you change any of  your characters halfway through? With my 3 main characters - the 3 siblings - I had a clear idea of what they would be like at the beginning and where they were going. But I did change Robert. At one point he could be viewed as an out-and-out villain, but he was more complex in book 4. Normally I don't change whether or not they are essentially good or bad.
What's Next? I wanted to do something like Dumas did with the Musketeers sequel, you know, Twenty Years After. So the next series is set 12 years after, in 1482/3. Some characters from the 1st series will be in it. I've only written 10,000 words so far, so its in the very early stages. It will be a series, but it may go on for a while. I have learnt from writing the first series, the first of the new series will be written as a stand alone, with few or no loose ends. 

About Derek Birks:
Derek was born in Hampshire in England but spent his teenage years in Auckland, New Zealand, where he still has strong family ties. For many years he taught history in a secondary school in Berkshire but took early retirement several years ago to concentrate on his writing. Apart from writing, he spends his time gardening, travelling, walking and taking part in archaeological digs at a Roman villa. Derek is interested in a wide range of historical themes but his particular favourite is the medieval period. He writes action packed fiction which is rooted in accurate history. His debut novel, Feud, is set in the period of the Wars of the Roses and is the first of a series entitled Rebels & Brothers which follows the fortunes of the fictional Elder family. The sequel to Feud, A Traitor's Fate, was published in November 2013 and Book 3, Kingdom of Rebels, in September 2014. The final book of the series, The Last Shroud, was published in the summer of 2015.

Links:  

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Sharon Bennett Connolly has been fascinated by history for over 30 years. She has studied history academically and just for the joy of it – even working as a tour guide at historical sites. She is now having great fun passing on that love of the past to her 10-year-old son. Having received a blog,  History...The Interesting Bits as a present for Christmas 2014 she is also enjoying sharing her obsession of history with her readers.