Carol McGrath : A Conversation with Rebecca Hazell

Please welcome Carol McGrath and Rebecca Hazell to the Review! Take it away ladies!

Today I am interviewing Rebecca Hazell, who lives and works in Canada, and who is the author of a superb trilogy set in the 13th century, a story of adventure and a superb heroine as Russia is invaded by the Mongol hoards. If you enjoy big novels such as The Game of Thrones you will love her books. They are my great discovery this year. We both read Russian literature and history at university, Rebecca in the US and myself at Queens University, Belfast, so it is no surprise that I love these novels. In fact, I enjoyed the first two so much I asked Rebecca for an interview, and here it is.

What inspired your trilogy The Tiger and the Dove?

I wasn't so much inspired as gripped by the scruff of the neck by its plot when I was about 20. That was 40 plus years ago, and I finally had to give in, do the extensive research, and then write the three novels. When I began, I thought only of one book, but it would have weighed more than A Suitable Boy.

Tell us a little about it.

The three novels are three sections of a memoir written by the heroine, Sofia, a former princess of Kyiv (Kiev) in 13th century Russia. They are more or less intended for her daughter, but they are also a form of catharsis for Sofia, who has led a most unusual life that mirrors the many significant events of her era. The first novel, The Grip of God, begins with her capture and enslavement during the Mongol invasions. The second novel, Solomon's Bride, covers both the final years of the so-called Assassins, who were devoted to overthrowing both the Mongols and the Sunni Islamic establishment, and King Louis IX's first disastrous crusade. And the final novel, Consolamentum, carries her from Antioch to a ruined Constantinople, and then west into France where the Inquisition is burning Cathar heretics at the stake. All this is merely the background for a dramatic plot with many fully fleshed characters; in fact, the plot is driven as much by character as by event.  
 

Can you give us a quick snapshot of your writing day?

My writing day has been a mix of researching in libraries, and online once the Internet became available, contemplating how to say things in a manner reflecting those times, and writing, setting said writing aside, revising, and then revising some more!

Do you think that the history is more important than the storyline in an historical novel?

No, but when the history is inaccurate it spoils the story, too, at least for me. It's important to integrate the two seamlessly so that historical detail brings you into the story and embeds the characters in their times.

What is your own favourite novel?

Almost anything by Jane Austen. What a genius!

When can we expect part three of The Tiger and the Dove?

I expect Consolamentum to be released in late June or early July, important since it's already scheduled for a blog tour!

Have you a writing plan for after the whole trilogy is complete?

I'm under contract to co-write a book with a psychiatrist who wants to do a memoir about his encounter with the healing aspect of Buddhism. And I'd also like to write another historical novel about two rival queens who happen to be my ancestors. It will involve a lot less research than the trilogy, but it's still daunting. Or I might go back to writing for children again, which is where my writing career began.

Thank you, Rebecca, for coming onto The Review to tell us about your writing. I cannot wait to read the conclusion of Sophia’s story. Rebecca can be found at her blog, and her novels can be bought through Amazon UK and Amazon.Com. Do look!

Carol McGrath is the author of The Handfasted Wife, published 2013. Her new novel, The Swan-Daughter, will be published on 18^th September 2014.

Louise E. Rule Interviews Bobbie Coelho for The Review's Author Interview

Louise E. Rule interviews Bobbie Coelho for The Review's Author Interview

Bobbie Coelho has written a beautiful poetry book called Finding the Light. When you open the book the first thing that you read is her short biography:

Bobbie Coehlo

[B]obbie Coelho was  born near Norwich and now lives in Hampshire with her husband and two stepsons. She has always enjoyed poetry, but after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2002, she was particularly compelled to write as a way of putting things into perspective. Bobbie is a great fan of Forces Poetry (flowforall.org), and has had work published in two of their anthologies, Voices of the Poppies and Poems of the Poppie[s.]

"My wish is that when people read this book, it will make them think a little more and reflect on their journey."


Welcome to The Review's Author Interview Bobbie.

You say on your Amazon Author's Page that writing poetry has saved you from negative thoughts and that you feel that, in these difficult times it could be a route for others too. Would you like to tell the readers why writing poetry has saved you from negative thoughts?

I found that poetry helped me to put words to my feelings; not only that, but I could use the poems to hopefully give people a way of empathising with me. Parkinson's Disease is very misunderstood, poetry has also helped me explain what it is like.

On your Goodreads Page you say that your favourite poem from Finding the Light is The Essence of Me. It is an extremely profound poem Bobbie, If I may quote a small portion:

[M]y spirit could last evermore

But my body is not playing - you know the score

Many a person has written me off

But no one can make me sto[p]

All your poems seem to have a statement or message regarding determination of some kind. Would you agree with this?

I think a lot of them strike a chord with some people; it makes them think. Most of my poems have a story behind them, but the main message is; it is always later than you think. Don't put off doing things - do them now. Enjoy life, every day is a blessing.

You also say, Bobbie, that the poem you are most proud of is What is a Soldier to Me? Of which this is a small excerpt:

[W]e mark our loss with the poppy flower
Every November, but I still feel the power
Of the truest saying from Shakespear's pen
A Band of Brothers - the greatest of Men.

Please tell the readers why it is your favourite poem?

The poem came as a result of a competition I ran when working as an Army library assistant. The title of the competition was "What is a soldier to me?" I wrote my poem after much consideration and the Army's love of history. I thought the men today are of the same stock as those who fought at Agincourt, Flanders, and Normandy, etc.

I saw this poem as the only way I could say thank you to the forces who protect us. I am also saying that I understand their close ties of 'brotherhood' and the sacrifice they make.

Do you have a special time of day and a special place where you like to write Bobbie?

I don't have a special time of day, but I do like to compose on my computer. The words seem to flow smoothly.

You say on the back cover of your book, Finding the Light, that you have always had an interest in poetry. Would you like to tell the readers which poets have made an impact on you?

The very first poet who had an influence on me was William Blake. I always like The Tyger, when reciting it, you can hear the padding of the tiger. Similarly with The Lamb. Then followed John Masefield, because I liked Sea Fever. But my favourite was always Not Waving, but Drowning, by Stevie Smith, because that seemed to describe me in my life. 

Would you like to tell the readers a bit more about the poem, Bobbie? Why you thought it seemed to describe you in your life?

The reason for that is that I've always felt I don't fit in anywhere: maybe I connect with people through my writing rather than in a social sense. I find it difficult to make small talk, which I feel are the waves of society and against which I can't reach across. It leads to a feeling of being in too deep and being unable to cope.

I also like Gillian Clarke. When I first read Miracle on St. David's Day it made me cry - and still does.

Poetry has a long history, almost as old as time, being originally recited or sung. it can be a way of saying something that would otherwise be difficult in the telling. How difficult was it for you writing your poems?

It has never been difficult, but two poems in particular, being Freak and White Flowers would not leave me alone until I had written them. The words kept going through my brain.

I think of poetry as potted emotion and feeling. After a particularly bad incident in the town where I live, (a group of people were pointing at me and whispering). I hurried home with tears in my eyes, and two lines going through my brain; 

Tell me, 
how long does it take to realise you're a freak? 

It was the first time I realised that I was now different.

The lines of this poem are a bit shocking: I don't think I could put that in a book so shockingly and make people sit up as I have done here. 

Similarly, White Flowers: the background to this is the Beslan School Siege. This happened at roughly the same time as the Tsunami in Thailand, but strangely the school siege affected me more. I saw a picture on the news of a man rocking, crying over the coffin of his daughter. It made me think of the things he has been robbed of; seeing her grow, her wedding, etc., but most of all, he's bean robbed of hope for the future and that is the cruellest thing that could happen to a parent. I could not have expressed this in any other format with such feeling. The rhythm of the poem emphasised the bullets as the children were shot.....


Having read Finding the Light, I would like to say that it has certainly made me reflect on some of my life. I would like to thank you very much for joining me on this interview Bobbie, and thank you for your candour.


Bobbie Coehlo's book Finding the Light can be found on amazon.co.uk
Bobbie can be found on Facebook here

Louise E. Rule is author of Future Confronted
Louise can be found on Facebook here

Sunday Wrap Up: Week ending June 15, 2014

Thank you for joining us once again for the Sunday Wrap Up, a feature whereby you the reader get to catch up with what's been going on in the week that was. This week, as is typical, we've got a giveaway, so be sure to follow the link to comment on the review and get your name in the hat!

Welcome to The Review's Author Interview

Joining me today is Andrew Latham. Welcome Andrew, and thank you for taking part in The Review's Author Interview.

An excerpt from Andrew Latham's Goodreads Page by way of an introduction:

Andrew Latham

K]nox Robinson author Andrew A. Latham is an award-winning professor of International Relations who regularly teaches courses in medieval political thought, international relations, and war. Trained as a political scientist, Latham has spent the last decade-and-a-half researching political violence in the Middle Ages. He has written scholarly articles on medieval war, the crusades, jihad, and the political thought of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquina[s.]...


Welcome Andrew, and thank you for taking part in The Review's Author Interview.

Your book Quest for the Holy Lance (English Templars #1) is your first historical novel, said to be published in 2015. What was your driving force that moved you to write this book?

Well to be honest, until about three years ago I never dreamed I'd write a work of historical fiction. I'd always loved reading historical military adventures, but it simply never occurred to me that I might write one someday. Scholarly books, yes - that's what scholars do. But a novel? I have to confess that the thought never even crossed my mind.

Theorizing Medieval Geopolitics

All that changed, though, as I was nearing completion of my recently published non-fiction book Theorizing Medieval Geopolitics. In preparation for writing that book, I'd been reading pretty widely about war and political violence in later medieval Europe and had just begun to get a handle on the crusades. Then one day I encountered the Templar knights. Like most people, I thought I knew what these guys were all about: either odious religious fanatics or cynical secular thugs using religion to camouflage their all-too-worldly motives. Like most people, though, I was wrong. Turns out, there was much more to these warrior-monks than I had initially thought or than is commonly supposed. The more I read, the more I became fascinated by these "new knights", the Templars in particular - not by the caricature of them that is so prevalent in contemporary popular culture, but by the historical reality of them.

A cerebral and fascinating interview that you will definitely wish to finish reading!

*********

Carol McGrath is the author of The Handfasted Wife and the soon-to-be-published The Swan Daughter. Here as a guest on Paula's People, she chooses her five favourite ill-fated marriages in fiction and shares her love of them.

As I researched life for women during the 11^th century whilst working on The Handfasted Wife, I reflected on the many works of literature that include ill-fated marriages and relationships. Edith Swan-Neck was set aside by King Harold II when he was crowned king in 1066. In the context of The Handfasted Wife, Edith retains her love for King Harold long after his death at the Battle of Hastings. Whether a marriage was a love-match or was arranged, ill-fated matches in literature often reflect the realities of life past and present. An old adage bears the truth that the course of love is rarely smooth. Here are a few of my favourite novels that contain ill-fated relationships.  

Dorethea Brooke and Edward Casaubon from Middlemarch by George Eliot        

Middlemarch is one of my favourite classics. Although it is not a romantic novel it is a passionate one. Dorothea Brooke, idealistic, young and beautiful, orphaned and intent on making something of her life weds the idealistic, stuffy clergyman Edward Casaubon. She wants to dedicate herself to the great man who spends his time writing a Key to All Mythologies. That they are ill fated is illustrated by their honeymoon in Italy when Dorothea expected to be overcome by emotion for all she sees in Rome and is tearful. Casaubon, on the other hand, has the sense that his new wife is not a protection against his sense of inadequacy but rather a perpetual threat and reproach. This novel endures for me because the central relationship is subtly recounted with humanity as are the other pairings that its pages contain, all filled with traps like a spider’s web.

Lara and Yuri from Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

I read this novel over and over for my finals in Russian Studies and I still love it. This epic story setting spans the early decades of 20th century Russia in turmoil. Its unfortunate marriages are those between Lara and Pasha and Yuri and Tonya. However, Lara and Yuri love each other passionately from their earliest encounters. They are separated by class, by their marriages, by war. As the couple finally come together in a country retreat in the Urals, personal and political events that frame this sweeping novel overtake them. Yet it is war-torn Russia that adds to the intensity of their love.The relationship is all the more poignant because their time together is brief.  It is a beautifully written novel and well translated twice, one that brilliantly incorporates a personal story with a thrilling political background. It has influenced my interest in how love survives through war-torn situations, a story with depth on many levels and I discover more emotional truths every time I re-read it.

Feel the rest of the love right here.

*********

Rain on Your Wedding Day

by Curtis Edmonds

When I picked this book up, I was expecting a formulaic romance novel, having not read anything about it beforehand except for a brief description. I was gladly mistaken; it is a unique story. It is described somewhere as a ‘modern Southern Gothic’ novel. It is modern, and wonderfully descriptive of the South, but is certainly not a Gothic novel. That is not to say that I don’t recommend it: I wholeheartedly do.

Rain on Your Wedding Day is a well-written and presented book. The story is constructed well and flowed. I was engaged from the start and did not want to put it down.

For me, the sign of a good book is if the reader stops ‘reading the words on the page’, and just gets drawn into the story, like an invisible observer. This definitely happened to me with this book. The writer is very descriptive when it comes to setting the scene, but I did find it harder to picture what the central characters looked like. 

The story is written in the first person, from the point of view of Will Morse.  This is interspersed with occasional conversations that he has in his head with his two daughters who have died.  These were particularly effective and emotive dialogues. One daughter, Trixie, veers between resentfulness, rage and love in her dialogue with Will, giving the reader an idea of just how hard it must have been to live with her when she was alive. 

This book shows an incredible insight into living with mental illness, from the depression and grief Will is plagued with, to managing the severe bipolar episodes that Trixie suffered from when alive.  I particularly liked the truthfulness about this book – that people don’t always magically get better; it can be a long, slow painful road with lots of relapses. For some, recovery may not even be possible. This was brave. 

For me, the novel also opened a thought-provoking debate about self-harm. Just how should a parent handle it?  Cosset and suffocate their child, or allow them freedom at the risk of tragic consequences? I thought the writer had a refreshing perspective on this issue.

As time goes on, the reader discovers more about the deaths of Will’s daughters.  The truth about Trixie’s in particular is heart wrenching, when it is revealed what part Will played in this.

This review also carries with it a giveaway. If you'd like to get your name in the hat, please comment at the review itself. There also is a link to its associated FB page readers may comment at. 

For last week's Wrap Up, please click this link.

Kate Reviews: Rain on Your Wedding Day

Rain on Your Wedding Day

by Curtis Edmonds

Please see below for info on the giveaway!     

This book, the author’s first, is about Will Morse, a virtual recluse after the death of two of his daughters and the breakdown of his marriage. He is stuck in the grieving process, seemingly with no prospect of recovery. Without warning, he is visited by his surviving daughter, who announces she is getting married and wants him to give her away. As the wedding comes closer, Will is torn between his ‘safe’ retreat in his remote Atlanta cabin, or the unknown and probably painful journey to see his daughter get married. Along the way, he meets Dot, a woman with more to her than meets the eye.  Will he find redemption, or is he destined to hide for the rest of his life?

When I picked this book up, I was expecting a formulaic romance novel, having not read anything about it beforehand except for a brief description. I was gladly mistaken; it is a unique story. It is described somewhere as a ‘modern Southern Gothic’ novel. It is modern, and wonderfully descriptive of the South, but is certainly not a Gothic novel. That is not to say that I don’t recommend it: I wholeheartedly do.

Rain on Your Wedding Day is a well-written and presented book. The story is constructed well and flowed. I was engaged from the start and did not want to put it down.

For me, the sign of a good book is if the reader stops ‘reading the words on the page’, and just gets drawn into the story, like an invisible observer. This definitely happened to me with this book. The writer is very descriptive when it comes to setting the scene, but I did find it harder to picture what the central characters looked like. 

The story is written in the first person, from the point of view of Will Morse.  This is interspersed with occasional conversations that he has in his head with his two daughters who have died.  These were particularly effective and emotive dialogues. One daughter, Trixie, veers between resentfulness, rage and love in her dialogue with Will, giving the reader an idea of just how hard it must have been to live with her when she was alive. 

This book shows an incredible insight into living with mental illness, from the depression and grief Will is plagued with, to managing the severe bipolar episodes that Trixie suffered from when alive.  I particularly liked the truthfulness about this book – that people don’t always magically get better; it can be a long, slow painful road with lots of relapses. For some, recovery may not even be possible. This was brave. 

For me, the novel also opened a thought-provoking debate about self-harm. Just how should a parent handle it?  Cosset and suffocate their child, or allow them freedom at the risk of tragic consequences? I thought the writer had a refreshing perspective on this issue.

As time goes on, the reader discovers more about the deaths of Will’s daughters.  The truth about Trixie’s in particular is heart wrenching, when it is revealed what part Will played in this.

It was impossible not to empathise with the character of Will Morse. At the outset he is locked in a painful world of his own making, but towards the end there is the message of hope – hope, belief, and love, which is the beautiful central theme of this book. I did find it difficult to believe how easily Will forgives someone who has wronged him in the course of the story, considering what a breach of his privacy there was, and the deception that was committed, but maybe this showed just how needy Will Morse is?  He is obviously a deep character, and I felt this could have been explored more, along with the physical difficulties he has – more of a story behind this would have been nice. The feeling of possible redemption for Will at the end of the novel gives it a happy ending, though not of the usual kind.

I liked the way the writer wove a Coca Cola theme into the narrative, with references to the drink throughout the book. This was a nice quirk. The main characters seemed to eat an awful lot of fast food though!

The acknowledgements really helped paint a picture for me of what the author is like, and how very important his family is to him. This is very much reflected in Rain on Your Wedding Day.

I would love to read a sequel to this book, picking up on Will and his daughter further down the line.  From looking at his website, it seems like Curtis Edmonds is writing another book, which I would definitely read.

The author has so kindly offered a paperback copy of this book for a giveaway! If you would like to get your name in the drawing, simply comment below or at this review's associated Facebook thread.

Curtis Edmonds is an indieBRAG Medallion winner for RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY and apart from being a writer, he is an attorney living in central New Jersey. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Untoward Magazine, Liberty Island, The Big Jewel, Yankee Pot Roast, and National Review Online. His book reviews appear on the Bookreporter website.

PAULA'S PEOPLE: CAROL McGRATH TELLS US OF HER FAVOURITE LOVE STORIES

Carol McGrath is the author of The Handfasted Wife and the soon-to-be-published The Swan Daughter. Here as a guest on Paula's People, she chooses her five favourite ill-fated marriages in fiction and shares her love of them.

As I researched life for women during the 11^th century whilst working on The Handfasted Wife, I reflected on the many works of literature that include ill-fated marriages and relationships. Edith Swan-Neck was set aside by King Harold II when he was crowned king in 1066. In the context of The Handfasted Wife, Edith retains her love for King Harold long after his death at the Battle of Hastings. Whether a marriage was a love-match or was arranged, ill-fated matches in literature often reflect the realities of life past and present. An old adage bears the truth that the course of love is rarely smooth. Here are a few of my favourite novels that contain ill-fated relationships.  

 

Dorethea Brooke and Edward Casaubon from Middlemarch by George Eliot        

Middlemarch is one of my favourite classics. Although it is not a romantic novel it is a passionate one. Dorothea Brooke, idealistic, young and beautiful, orphaned and intent on making something of her life weds the idealistic, stuffy clergyman Edward Casaubon. She wants to dedicate herself to the great man who spends his time writing a Key to All Mythologies. That they are ill fated is illustrated by their honeymoon in Italy when Dorothea expected to be overcome by emotion for all she sees in Rome and is tearful. Casaubon, on the other hand, has the sense that his new wife is not a protection against his sense of inadequacy but rather a perpetual threat and reproach. This novel endures for me because the central relationship is subtly recounted with humanity as are the other pairings that its pages contain, all filled with traps like a spider’s web.

Lara and Yuri from Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

I read this novel over and over for my finals in Russian Studies and I still love it. This epic story setting spans the early decades of 20th century Russia in turmoil. Its unfortunate marriages are those between Lara and Pasha and Yuri and Tonya. However, Lara and Yuri love each other passionately from their earliest encounters. They are separated by class, by their marriages, by war. As the couple finally come together in a country retreat in the Urals, personal and political events that frame this sweeping novel overtake them. Yet it is war-torn Russia that adds to the intensity of their love.The relationship is all the more poignant because their time together is brief.  It is a beautifully written novel and well translated twice, one that brilliantly incorporates a personal story with a thrilling political background. It has influenced my interest in how love survives through war-torn situations, a story with depth on many levels and I discover more emotional truths every time I re-read it.

Henry and Claire from The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Having met first in a Chicago library, Claire and Henry finally marry but he is suddenly whisked way just before the ceremony. An older Henry falls through the years to take his place, an episode full of comedy as many guests do not recognise this is an older Henry. The author cleverly relates levels of intimacy and family life through the medium of time travel back and forward through a marriage. Niffenegger uses time travel to illustrate a sense of slippage that happens in long-term relationships. Each partner sees the life of their

marriage differently. In the story there is a sense that the protagonists’ lives are mapped out for them and that their deaths are foretold. It is an uplifting story, one in which the partners are not separated by the death of one partner in the marriage. I related to this poignant theme when writing The Handfasted Wife. The Time Traveller’s Wife is an intriguing funny, sad, happy and delicious read.

Caroline and Faraday in The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Faraday, a country doctor, is called to Hundred’s Hall, a faded 18^th century estate. He strikes up a friendship with Caroline Ayres, the unmarried daughter of the family. What a family they turn out to be. After a child is killed, mauled by Caroline’s previously gentle labrador, all is not as seems. The house has a malevolent energy that ultimately affects the emerging romance between the protagonists.They plan to marry. On the night of their wedding further disaster strikes them. The constant tension Waters develops within the book’s narrative marks out the relationship between Caroline and Faraday as doomed.  I admired the way Waters developed the ill-fated romance as one haunted by a sense of creepily impending dread.

Tristan and Isolde from Peter Ackroyd’s Death of King Arthur

Tristan and Isolde is a classic love triangle. The knight Tristan fetches Iseult from Ireland as wife to King Mark but the couple fall in love because they mistakenly drink a magic potion that was intended for King Mark on his wedding night. Many adventures occur as a result of their love for each other. Tristan, banned from Cornwall, moves to King Arthur’s court and then to Brittany.

There he meets another Isolde whom he marries but he cannot consummate the marriage because of his love for the true Isolde. He falls ill and sends for his love hoping that she can cure him. Sadly, he dies of grief before Isolde can reach him and she dies soon afterwards of a broken heart.  It is a classic story of ill-fated relationships that is often retold beautifully and with humanity. For this and its stories within stories, I love re-reading Tristan and Isolde in all of its retellings.

Carol McGrath

Follow Carol McGrath on Twitter and Daughters of Hastings on Facebook

Louise E. Rule Interviews Andrew Latham for The Review's Author Interview

Welcome to The Review's Author Interview

Joining me today is Andrew Latham. Welcome Andrew, and thank you for taking part in The Review's Author Interview.

An excerpt from Andrew Latham's Goodreads Page by way of an introduction:

Andrew Latham

[K]nox Robinson author Andrew A. Latham is an award-winning professor of International Relations who regularly teaches courses in medieval political thought, international relations, and war. Trained as a political scientist, Latham has spent the last decade-and-a-half researching political violence in the Middle Ages. He has written scholarly articles on medieval war, the crusades, jihad, and the political thought of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquina[s.]...




Welcome Andrew, and thank you for taking part in The Review's Author Interview.

Your book Quest for the Holy Lance (English Templars #1) is your first historical novel, said to be published in 2015. What was your driving force that moved you to write this book?

Well to be honest, until about three years ago I never dreamed I'd write a work of historical fiction. I'd always loved reading historical military adventures, but it simply never occurred to me that I might write one someday. Scholarly books, yes - that's what scholars do. But a novel? I have to confess that the thought never even crossed my mind.

Theorizing Medieval Geopolitics

All that changed, though, as I was nearing completion of my recently published non-fiction book Theorizing Medieval Geopolitics. In preparation for writing that book, I'd been reading pretty widely about war and political violence in later medieval Europe and had just begun to get a handle on the crusades. Then one day I encountered the Templar knights. Like most people, I thought I knew what these guys were all about: either odious religious fanatics or cynical secular thugs using religion to camouflage their all-too-worldly motives. Like most people, though, I was wrong. Turns out, there was much more to these warrior-monks than I had initially thought or than is commonly supposed. The more I read, the more I became fascinated by these "new knights", the Templars in particular - not by the caricature of them that is so prevalent in contemporary popular culture, but by the historical reality of them.

Being a scholar by both training and inclination, my first thought was to make sense of this weird phenomenon by writing a non-fiction book on the topic. The more I thought about what I wanted to achieve, however, the more it seemed that non-fiction would not be the best tool. I was interested in the Templars, not because of their supposed secrets or mysteries, or their fabulous wealth and influence, or even their marital exploits, but because of what they were: warrior-monks. Think about it for a moment. On the one hand, Templars, like all medieval knights, were warriors, bred to be brutal and merciless killers. On the other, they were pious monks, committed to a life of prayer and works of charity. How was that possible? How did they reconcile these two personas? How, as it were, did they manage to sustain the hyphen between the words "warrior" and "monk"? Answering these questions, it seemed to me, required reconstructing the imaginative world of these self-styled "knights of Christ". And the best medium for that sort of project, it seemed to me, has always been fiction.

That being said, however, The Holy Lance is not simply an academic work dressed up as fiction. I grew up reading the classics in historical military adventure: series like C.S. Forester's Hornblower, Alexander Kent's Bolitho, and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin. And in more recent years I have enjoyed the novels of Ben Kane, Conn Iggulden, Si Turney, Robyn Young, Jack Hight and, of course, Bernard Cornwell. These novels taught me what good military historical fiction looks like. My goal in writing The Holy Lance was to apply everything I learned from these great writers to provide an insightful yet entertaining account of the Templars and the Third Crusade.

Can you tell the readers about your character, Michael Fitz Alan; for example, what are his strengths and weaknesses?

Fitz Alan has been groomed from birth to be a warrior and leader of warriors; he has great skill-at-arms and is an accomplished and extraordinarily proficient killer, he is courageous, resourceful and tough. When pushed, he is capable of extraordinary savagery and ruthlessness. He lives to fight and is constitutionally incapable of turning his back on the warrior life. Fitz Alan is also, however, wracked by a profound sense of sinfulness. Caught up in the intense lay piety of his era, he increasingly sees the warrior life he has been leading as morally corrupt, spiritually empty and sure to earn him eternal damnation. Seeking to reconcile these two deeply contradictory elements of his personality, he considers "taking the cross" (i.e. going on crusade), but ultimately joins the order of the knights Templar instead. His reasoning is that as a Templar he will be able to continue fighting, but will do so for both a higher purpose and his own personal salvation.

Initially, while in England, Fitz Alan focuses on the spiritual disciplines, learning the new life of the Christian monk. After leaving England, however, the realities of war progressively transform him into a perfect synthesis of the warrior and monk: a brutal and capable fighter motivated by a proper inward disposition, faithfully fighting on behalf of what he considers to be the only truly just cause in this life (defending Christ and His Church). In other words, he is transformed from a brutal secular knight, into a quintessential exemplar of St. Bernard's "new knighthood" - a perfect knight and perfect monk, fighting a "double combat of flesh and spirit". He believes his redemption in both this life and the next depends on both killing the enemies of the Church and living an ascetic and pious religious life that sustains his proper spiritual disposition (humility before God and obedience to His Church).

Fundamentally, then, Fitz Alan is an archetypal warrior hero: courageous, clever, resourceful, idealistic, tough and, of course, a peerless fighter. Like all such heroes, however, Fitz Alan is also "wounded". Externally, this takes the form of a recurring pain in his shoulder (a rotator cuff injury, which I have to assume was common among people who spent so much time swinging a heavy sword). Internally, it takes the form of a longing for spiritual redemption that can only be fulfilled by living the Templar ideal as fully as possible. It is the effort to realize this ideal - to strike the perfect balance between the warrior and the monk - that both animates Fitz Alan and makes him interesting.

None of this is to imply that Fitz Alan's a saint - like all great military adventure heroes, he most assuredly isn't. It is, however, to place him in his proper historical context. Fitz Alan isn't simply a twenty-first century (presumably secular-humanist hero) parachuted into a story set in the twelfth century. Rather, he's my very best educated guess about what a twelfth century hero would actually look like. As such, like almost all people in medieval Christendom, Fitz Alan understands the world in terms of Christian religious categories and concepts. For the people of Medieval Latin Christendom, these beliefs were neither a symptom of mental illness nor a cynical ideological smokescreen concealing their true motives (power, wealth, glory, pleasure, what have you). Instead, rather like the laws of physics are for us, Christian religious categories and concepts provided the fundamental imaginative matrix through which medieval people made sense of - and thus acted in - the world around them. As I see it, not taking the medieval religious worldview seriously would simply be to get Fitz Alan - and his world - entirely wrong.

What or who was your inspiration for this character, or is he straight from your imagination?

I suppose Fitz Alan is partly inspired by all those great warrior heroes of both classical mythology and contemporary historical fiction - heroes like C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower, Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe and Thomas of Hookton, Si Turney's Marcus Falerius Fronto, and Simon Scarrow's Cato and Macro. But - and this is where his DNA differs from those great characters - he's also very much inspired by Bernard of Clairveaux's ideal of the "new knight". Whereas most heroes in military historical fiction are either irreligious or adherents to some form of pre-Christian religion, the Fitz Alan character was fundamentally inspired by my desire to figure out what made Saint Bernard's so-called knights of Christ really "tick". In a sense, then, what I have done with Fitz Alan is to take Saint Bernard's highly stylized vision of what a Christian holy warrior should look like and bring that vision to life by exploring the interior life - the motivations, struggles and inner conflicts - of those who belonged to a military religious order like the Templars.

Some authors have a special place and time of day when they like to write. Do you have a special place, and a particular time of day for writing?

The rhythms of my fiction-writing life are governed to a large degree by the rhythms of my scholarly life (not to mention those of my life as father of two young children). Given my responsibilities as a teacher, scholar and citizen of the college (a euphemism for "a member of far too many college committees") I'm generally free to write fiction only during January and then again over the summer break. This makes for a fairly compressed writing "season", but I can't really complain. During the months when I'm free to write I really am free to write - full time and without much in the way of distraction or diversion. As to the particular times of day that I like to write, it works out that I typically write in shifts. The first is in the morning when I spend three or four hours drafting bits and pieces of the book. I'm not terribly linear about this so the passage that I happen to be working on any given morning might be the next bit of the chapter I'm currently drafting or it could be a passage that I think I might need several chapters down the line. The second shift starts a couple of hours before retiring for the evening (i.e. after the kids have gone to bed). During this time I generally work on revisions or perhaps do a little research to get me started in the morning. I never really sat down and planned my writing schedule this way - the routine just sort of evolved organically over many years of writing scholarly non-fiction works and I carried it over into my fiction-writing career. Might not work for anyone else, but it seems to work for me.

As to where I write, well, that all depends. I typically write at home - and when I do, I do so in my (not very special, but quite utilitarian) office during the morning shift and at the kitchen table in the evenings. When necessary, however, I can also write elsewhere. For example, while visiting my parents in Toronto I wrote in my Dad's office, and while staying with my in-laws in Winnipeg, I wrote every night at their kitchen table. Basically, when I'm away from home, I write wherever I can open my notebook with a modicum of peace and quiet (or a minimum of distractions, whichever bar is lower). Can't say I'm always all that productive in these alternative settings, but I always manage to get something written.

There are some places, however, that I can't write (or at least have had neither the occasion or desire to do so). For example, I can say, honestly and without qualification, that I have never written so much as a word of fiction in a coffee shop or pub, on a beach, at a writers' retreat, on an airplane or train, in my backyard or (perish the thought) at my office at the college. I know other authors write in such places, and do so with great results. For me, though, it's just inconceivable.

Finally, Andrew, do you have any plans to write a sequel to Quest of the Holy Lance?

Yes indeed. This past January I was able to sketch out a pretty detailed outline for the next instalment of what is currently conceived as a trilogy but which may evolve into a longer series. And, as it is now officially summer break, I have begun drafting. The goal is to complete the as yet untitled sequel to The Holy Lance before September and write the third and final instalment in January/summer of 2015. Whatever happens, I promise Michael Fitz Alan will definitely see the Third Crusade through to its bitter end.

After that, and providing the punters approve, I'll continue writing historical fiction. I may keep on with the English Templars - I already have many, many more stories half-developed for this "band of brothers" ready to go - but I may also branch out a bit. The Hundred Years War appeals a very great deal, as does the First World War (I've written or taught about both in recent years). We'll just have to wait and see.

Andrew, this has been a most thoroughly interesting and enjoyable interview, and I would like to thank you for taking part in The Review's Author Interview. We will look forward to reading Quest for the Holy Lance (English Templars #1).

You can find Andrew Latham on Goodreads and on Facebook 
Andrew's website can be found here.

Louise E. Rule is author of Future Confronted

Louise can also be found on Facebook here.