Wednesday 28 June 2017

Sharon reviews Half Sick of Shadows by Richard Abbott

 Today Sharon Bennett Connolly reviews Half Sick of Shadows by Richard Abbott, a fascinating historical fantasy. The author has kindly offered a signed paperback as a giveaway to a winner in the UK, or a Kindle copy to anywhere else in the world. To be in with a chance of winning this fabulous story, simply leave a comment below of on our Facebook Page.
The winner will be drawn on 5th July. Good luck! 


 
In ancient Britain, a Lady is living in a stone-walled house on an island in the middle of a river. So far as the people know, she has always been there. They sense her power, they hear her singing, but they never meet her.

At first her life is idyllic. She wakes, she watches, she wanders in her garden, she weaves a complex web of what she sees, and she sleeps again. But as she grows, this pattern becomes narrow and frustrating. She longs to meet those who cherish her, but she cannot. The scenes beyond the walls of her home are different every time she wakes, and everyone she encounters is lost, swallowed up by the past.

But when she finds the courage to break the cycle, there is no going back. Can she bear the cost of finding freedom? And what will her people do, when they finally come face to face with a lady of legend who is not at all what they have imagined?

A retelling – and metamorphosis – of Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott.



There is one great advantage to being a book reviewer; every now and then you get to read a gem of a book, one that you may never have discovered had you relied on Amazon's reading recommendations. Half Sick of Shadows is one such treasure. This novel, inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson's epic poem The Lady of Shalott, is unique and engrossing from the very first page.

When trying to think of a single word that could be used to describe this novel, the only one that seemed to fit was 'mesmerising'.

The reader is instantly drawn into the world of the Lady, who can watch the lives and interactions of the people in the world only through the guide of a mirror. She can see the world, but is apart from it, safe in her own keep. And the people are aware of her, can sometimes hear her singing when the veil between their two worlds sometimes allows it. However, there is no communication, at first and the Lady can only watch and learn and yearn to be in their company.

It was late spring outside, so the Mirror told her, and the air was warm. She guided the Mirror's view through the woodland glades and saw the purple flowers pushing through the last year's leaf litter. Small insects busied themselves around them, and she took the view right in to gaze at the intricacy of their bodies. Each probosics plunged deep into the bell petals, and a dust of pollen clothed them as they moved on. She considered her own mouth, her own limbs, and wondered about her origins.

The story is a pleasure to read and has a natural progression all of its own. As the Lady's form changes through the centuries, so do the people she is watching mature and evolve, from early hunter-gatherers through small village communities into the recognisable interdependent feudal system of the Arthurian world. As the Lady changes, so does the world she is watching; an overnight sleep for her can be centuries for humanity; but her attachment to the world she watches grows and her relationship with those she observes is a pleasure to explore, as, once in a while, the veil between her world and there's drops ever so slightly.

She considered the actions of her younger self. She had been foolish, clearly, in placing her trust in the villager before being able to communicate properly. That woman had seen her not as a fellow traveller through the world, but simply is a guarantor of promises. The notion of a shared action to find joint companions, loyal and true, had never occurred to her.
No matter: she had left that woman, her son, her chosen partner, and a whole way of life somewhere in the remote past. It was time to see what llife was now like outside her walls.
She moved out from her sleeping chamber to the console. It looked very much as it had done  last time. The fancy of still working at a loom pleased her. It connected her to a part of the last cycle that she remembered with delight.
"Mirror, what new things should I know?"

Richard Abbott has recreated our world from the earliest times  and the Lady is the observer of our journey through the centuries, documenting our experiences and development. And while she watches us, the author - and through him, the reader - is watching her, reading her thoughts and experiencing her reactions to our changing world and her own experiences as she learns and grows.

Half Sick of Shadows is in a genre all its own, a historical fantasy with some science fiction elements and healthy dose of mystery, it is absolutely unique and a literary sensation. Beautifully written, with an interesting storyline and wonderful imagery, it is in a realm of its own - just like the Lady of Shalott.

I feel truly privileged to have been able to read and review such an engaging, entertaining and fascinating novel.

It truly is mesmerisng.



 

About the Author: Richard Abbott lives in London, England. He works very happily in IT, including dabbling in new technologies such as Alexa. He writes science fiction about our solar system in the very near future, historical fiction set in the ancient Middle East, and has recently started exploring historical fantasy. He has lots of ideas for new material to explore in writing and just needs a bit more time…
When not writing words or computer code, he enjoys spending time with family, walking and wildlife, ideally combining all three pursuits in the English Lake District. Online, he can be found at his website www.kephrath.com or blog and also on various social media sites including Facebook and Twitter

Speculative Fiction:
 'Half Sick of Shadows'; 'Timing'; 'Far from the Spaceports'

Historical Fiction:
'The Flame Before Us'; 'Scenes from a Life'; 'In a Milk and Honeyed Land'



About the The Reviewer: 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.
Sharon has been writing a blog entitled 'History...the Interesting Bits' for a little over 2 years and has just finished her first non-fiction work, 'Heroines of the Medieval World', which looks into the lives of some of the most fascinating women from medieval history and will be published by Amberley in September 2017. It is now available for pre-order from Amazon.
Sharon can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Saturday 24 June 2017

Diana talks to C F Dunn


Hi Claire, lovely to talk to you again.
 
Hopefully this interview is an interview with a difference and I have come up with some unusual questions! Even more hopefully you will find it interesting and come up with some brilliant answers!!





If your series 'The Secret Of The Journal' was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

For  independent and self-contained Emma , Emily Blunt, Rebecca Hall, or Jessica Chasten embody her look and temperament. Matthew is more difficult. For looks, the late, lovely Paul Walker was exactly as I imagined Matthew, but the look is only one aspect of character, isn’t it? Capturing the essence of a person is so much more complex. British actor, Sam Claflin, has the range and depth of expression not often seen in young actors, so I’d choose him.

What made you choose this genre?

I like multilayered plots involving different genre, so The Secret of the Journal series is a mix of romance (nothing sappy), mystery, suspense, and a thread of history that runs through everything. My current series, however, is unadulterated history and suspense.


How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

Everywhere. Life is one big story. I have a whole load of plots waiting to be written.

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?

When I started writing Mortal Fire I hadn’t planned including quite so much history. It kept muscling in on the action until I gave in and realised that - whatever I write - history will be in there somewhere. As a result, the series I am now working on is delicious history through and through.

Was becoming a writer a conscious decision or something that you drifted into (or even something so compelling that it could not be denied?)

I had to write. Language, imagery, and story have tumbled around in my mind for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, being dyslexic meant the process of writing was never easy; but once I obtained a laptop which helps with organisation, there was no stopping me.

How old were you when you first started to write seriously.

Seriously? In my late forties, but stories had been queuing up to be written long before then.

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

Meh.

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

Not really. I’d like to claim I do a five-mile run every morning before settling down to write, but that would be pure fiction. However, coffee is a must. As for music, I listen to certain pieces when writing particular types of scene: pictorial film music such as Gladiator and The Last Samurai for action scenes, Girl With A Pearl Earring for atmosphere; and sonorous choral music by Medieval and Renaissance composers for evoking period.

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?

Family. First, last, always.

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

I’ve had my dream job. Right from the moment we met at university, my husband and I wanted to open a school. We thought it a pipe-dream, but for the last nineteen years, I’ve run our specialist dyslexia and autism school in Kent. Working with our young people ( aged 6 to 25 years) has been the greatest inspiration and privilege I could have hoped for in life.
(Total respect!)

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Coffee. Champagne. Water. Anything else gives me a headache.

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

Inspiration comes in many forms and I’m never short of a plot. I imagine the whole story first. I have the beginning, middle and end and all the major scenes along the way worked out before I start writing. However, all the little twists and turns that give the story complexity and depth develop as the characters get to know one another. I work between six and twelve hours a day, use a lap top, and am often kept company by my huge Norwegian Forest Cat, Esker.

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

I’m not fussed as long as it is easy on the eye of the reader.

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

I’m going to cheat a little here. If I had a choice, it’d be all the documents relating to Richard III’s short reign expunged by Henry VII.

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!?

I swear characters have a life of their own. In The Secret of the Journal series, Sam Weisner was supposed to be quite a different character to the one he turned out to be. No matter what I did, he kept bucking the trend. In the end, I went with it, and it made a much better story. We became friends by the end of the series.

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips?

As a Medieval historian, I relish research. There’s always more to learn and I often find new avenues to explore which in turn inspire fresh ideas. I undertake one major and several minor research trips a year. The Secret of the Journal series took me to Maine, USA for background details (the dead skunk was a stroke of luck). In contrast, Emma D’Eresby comes from Stamford - an ancient and very beautiful stone town in Lincolnshire where my own family originates - so I had generations of information tucked away ready to be used for the books. My current Wheel of Fortune series took me to such exotic locations as North Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire. I really must attempt at least one book set in the Maldives...

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?

I’d quite happily eliminate Henry VII, but that would be meddling with history, wouldn’t it? Tempting, though.

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?

I get all prickly on this subject (see my previous answer). I can’t and won’t change what is known. I have a duty towards the past and the people who populated it. It’s somehow not respectful to fiddle with the facts, and there is always a way to get around an immovable object, it just takes imagination.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

This is where I license as a novelist. I used to take my characters shopping to see how they interacted with the world and each other. Crazy? Me? Never!

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

I have a character in my latest series I should hate, but found I grew to like and respect him until the point where I mourned his loss.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I’ve just managed to find John Fenn’s Paston Letters - original C18th bindings, great condition. Inhaling that leather-bound history makes reading a complete pleasure.  (Diana turns a jealous shade of green and then swoons!)

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

Coffee. Is there another drink?
 
Last but not least... favourite author?

That’s the cruellest question of all. How on earth am I supposed to chose a single author from millennia of writers?

Author bio:

Writing as CF Dunn, Claire Dunn is a novelist writing historical and contemporary suspense fiction. Her debut novel Mortal Fire - published by Lion Fiction - won the gold medal for adult romance in the Book Of The Year Awards, 2012, and was nominated for Best Novel by CRT in the same year. 

Alongside her first loves of family, history and writing, CF Dunn is passionate about the education and welfare of children with dyslexia, autism and communication difficulties, and runs a special needs school, which she founded in Kent with her husband.

Book five of The Secret of the Journal series - Fearful Symmetry - has brought the series to a heart-stopping conclusion and is a finalist in this years Forward Book of the Year Awards. Claire is currently writing the first book in a Medieval suspense trilogy and drinking too much coffee
 
Contact/Social Links:



© Diana Milne January 2017 © C F Dunne May 2017

Saturday 17 June 2017

Diana talks to Elizabeth Chadwick





Hello Elizabeth. It is really lovely to talk to you. Thank you very much for agreeing to chat with me.
 
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!

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

I have no preconceived ideas.  As long as the actress bore some resemblance to the character and did them justice I would be happy. The best ever portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine in my opinion is by Jane Lapotaire in the BBC production from the 1970’s The Devil’s Crown.  You can find the episodes on Youtube.  Recently Jane wrote to me to say how much she had loved my novels about Eleanor, which was a wonderful surprise and a lovely reciprocation because I had admired Jane’s portrayal of her for so long.

What made you choose this genre?

I became interested in Medieval history at school when an enlightened teacher got us to act out scenes from our lessons in front of the class.  This was then compounded by falling in love with French actor Andre Lawrence playing the knight Thibaud in a BBC children’s TV programme titled Desert Crusader. I began writing a sort of fan fiction that developed a life of its own.  I wanted my medieval story to feel as real as possible and began immersing myself in the life and times of the 12th century.  The more I learned the more interested I became and the more I wanted to write historical fiction set in that period.

How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

Initially by reading primary sources.  There are so many fascinating stories to be told.  It is often said that the truth is stranger than fiction, and the truth is a brilliant hunting ground for a novelist.  I also find inspiration from music.  All of my novels have soundtracks that have helped me explore plot elements, emotional moments, landscapes, personalities. For example I am writing this and listening to the soundtrack of my recently completed novel Templar Silks and one of the tracks is the Bangles If She Knew What She Wants – about a woman who can’t make up her mind.  The lyrics perfectly sum up the personality of one of my characters. I find the patterns, resonance and lyrics in music very inspirational.

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?

Oh yes.  I’d write ghost stories.  If I said above that the truth is stranger than fiction I have plenty to go at.  My husband once had a long conversation with a ghost and regularly sees an old car drive up a lane near us that is now a cul de sac, and then disappear.   I have so much background material – like yarn to be knitted into a garment, that I’d never run out. 

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 born telling stories.  My first memory of storytelling comes from when I was three years old. I can remember lying in bed on a warm summer evening and telling myself a story about the fairies printed on the cotton handkerchief under my pillow.  I told myself stories verbally throughout my childhood and early teens.  I began writing my first full length historical novel when I was 15.  Once I’d finished it, now 16, I knew that it was what I wanted to do for a living.  So although it was a pastime it was also a serious intent to make it into a career if I could.  I went to night-school to learn to touch type for example with that career in mind. I saved my money to buy reference books and a good type-writer and then later an Amstrad Green-screen.  So for me it wasn’t a drift into thing.  It was a serious game plan from my teens. As far as I was concerned it was what I was meant to do.

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

Love it.  Toast and marmite with a poached egg provided by the free-range hens at the farm down the road is a favourite breakfast – and nutritious!

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

Nope.  I have mundane usuals such as check e-mails, Twitter and Facebook and post material such as a research book of the day, but these are daily tasks rather than rituals. I do like a nice mug, but I don’t have a special one. Just now I’m drinking from a lovely, chunky oatmeal-coloured earthenware mug that I bought as part of a pair in a charity shop because I liked them!

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?

Family is very important of course, but one has to set boundaries.  Working from home doesn’t mean that you are at their beck and call. There would soon be a ruckus if I walked into their work place and expected them to drop everything!  But within those parameters, of course family has to come first.  So, for example, lots of us had birthdays recently, so we all took a day off to go out together for the day. And if someone is poorly or needs help, then it’s a given that I’ll be there.   I do have the gift of being able to multi task and switch the writing on and off like a tap.  I have never suffered from writers’ block and that does help.

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

I’d be an archaeologist – a long-term dream.  Or a historian.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Tea, but I like coffee too.  Not keen on wine except in cooking.  But I like gin and have several on the go depending what I fancy.  We also make our own home made fruit vodkas.  The apple and cinnamon one is going down a treat at the moment!

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

It depends.  I always know the beginning and the end.  I always know the major destination points along the way. But the scenery or the roads to those points will often only emerge as I write. Another analogy would be like coming to a new house with lots of rooms. You know there’s a basement, a kitchen, an attic, but you have to see them for the first time and turn on the lights.  And the house is bare so you need to furnish it, but that will come as you look at the shape and acquire a feel and decide what kind of impression each room needs to make.  Successive drafts are like painting the walls and trying out colours.  Putting in appliances and furniture and shifting it around until you get the result you want.  I write a fairly detailed synopsis for my editor and agent (like house ground plans) and I write the first 3 chapters in good depth. After that I just follow the rough plan and I don’t look back or correct.  In the 6-9 months it takes me to write that very rough draft, my subconscious is busy at work in the background, and has had time to work on the raw material ready to spruce it up.  The rough draft is followed by as many more drafts as it needs, including a read through on paper and a read through aloud, because each process is slightly different in a neurological sense.

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

Never think about it. I leave that entirely to the publisher. I know some people are very font sensitive, but as long as it’s clear to read, I don’t care.  I do think it’s daft to have ‘Old English’ medieval fonts on a book cover though because they can be unreadable.

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

Well it would depend if it existed in the first place.  A signed confession by whoever did in the Princes in the Tower would be dynamite!  It would have been very interesting if Odo of Deuil had written a continuation of the chronicle of the second crusade continuing from Antioch – then we might have seen more of what happened between Eleanor of Aquitaine and her first husband Louis VII of France.

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!?

Yes, when I was writing The Champion.  My hero, Alexander, had a brother called Hervey who had been a major secondary character.  My plan was to kill him off somewhere around the middle of the book.  However, he refused to die.  I’m not squeamish about killing off my characters.  If they have to go, they have to go.  But Hervey was determined he was not going to shuffle off the mortal coil. In the end, he suffered a life changing injury but lived on to make a vital contribution to the novel.  So there was definitely a reason that he had to live!

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips?

I have been researching this period since I was 15, and I’m a few decades older than that now – cough.   This means that I have a good base line working knowledge of my period.  I am never not researching, although often I’ll just read a book on my period at random because that way I often pick up information and nuances that I wouldn’t otherwise do.  I have an extensive research library because while one should never, never, never dump information into one’s novel, one should always know one’s historical world intimately in detail. How else are you going to be able to move around in it?  Our family holidays are often research trips at the same time.  This year I am spending some time in Ireland researching the hero and heroine for my next novel.

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?

Not really.  Every character brings their own set of traits to a plot and the ones you don’t like can be just as fascinating as the ones you do.  King John for example.  He’s hardly hero material but he does have a certain horrifying charisma.  Sometimes I have started a novel quite liking someone, but by the time I have finished my research, my opinion has changed.  I used to be quite a fan of Henry II.  I still do feel he was a great king, but having finished my Eleanor trilogy, although I pitied him at times, I wound up thoroughly disliking him.

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?

The short answer to this is no. The slightly longer answer is that sometimes one has to question whether the known facts are correct – sometimes ‘known’ facts are actually ‘assumed facts’ or even fantasy.  I had such a headache over the appearance of Eleanor of Aquitaine for example.  Her biographers have made an astonishing variety of claims as to her appearance. I found her as a blond, a brunette, a red-head.  And all without any kind of provenance, or else provenance based on total misunderstanding of historical detail.  I stick to the facts that my gut instinct and my knowledge tells me are right. I’ve been researching the Middle Ages for 45 years, so I have a good knowledge base from which to assess those facts.  People say that you can’t let facts get in the way of a good story.  Of course you can’t. But you also can’t see facts as an insurmountable obstacle. A challenge, yes. If a fact is blocking your way, then quite simply you need to work with it, not around it.  It’s a fascinating challenge, like doing an interesting jigsaw puzzle.  If you can’t find a way to integrate the fact and the fiction for the reader then either you are writing the wrong thing or you are not a good enough writer yet. There’s always a way.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

Yes, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as the blurring is actually a blending and not a distortion. The Romans said there was truth in wine. Sometimes there is true in fiction and untruth in fact but it’s up to the writer to do that blurring with integrity and authenticity and then reveal in that author’s note where the blurring has occurred.

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

Yes. I fell in love with John Marshal, father of William Marshal when I came to write A Place Beyond Courage.  Initially I was curious – that’s how it always starts out – I want to know things about my characters, things that they have told no one else, or that are unknown about them.  John Marshal is infamous for having turned his back on his five year old hostage son – the future great William Marshal, and is supposed to have said that his captors could go ahead and hang the little lad because he the father had the anvils and hammers to get better sons than him.  I began to wonder what kind of man would have said such a thing. What I uncovered in the throes of detailed research was a very different story and it led me to a deep admiration and abiding affection for John Marshal.  I am still studying him now.  Since writing my novels about Eleanor of Aquitaine, I have to say that King Henry II, while I pity him, has become slightly persona non grata with me, again down to the research. He had many great qualities but it didn’t include people skills with his family – and no, I’m not thinking in modern mindset here either.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I don’t read medieval fiction for pleasure because after a day immersed in that world, and also researching that world, I need a break. I tend to read modern thrillers, ghost stories, tales from other countries that take me far away from my own doorstep, historical novels from other periods, some modern dramas and a judicious dose of literary fiction as long as it’s not too heavy.  Some biography too.  I’ve just read Diana Athill’s Alive Alive oh!  I’m currently reading Val McDermid’s The Skeleton Road (Scottish thriller). I like Leah Fleming’s engrossing relationship novels. I really enjoy J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith.   I like books that take me away from my own doorstep and usher me into different worlds.

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

Whatever takes your fancy. Everyone will bring a part of themselves to reading the novel and I am not going to tell them what to drink.  For me it would be tea – because I love tea. But then again, if I’m settled in for the evening it might be an ice-cold gin and tonic or some home made plum vodka.

Favourite author?

Too many to mention but Dorothy Dunnett is a genius and a classic. 

Last things last!  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!
Name 3 nice things that would not have happened to you if you hadn’t become an author
The first would be being nominated for a Betty Trask Award for my first published novel The Wild Hunt. Before that I had been filling shelves in a supermarket to help make ends meet, and it was a bit surreal to go from the cat food aisle in my local Co-op, to shaking hands with HRH Prince Charles at the Banqueting Suite in Whitehall and receiving my cheque from him.

The second, would be having a reader write to me and tell me that he was an usher at the House of Lords, and offering to take me and my agent for a private guided tour of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.  We spent a wonderful morning going around Westminster, seeing all the places that the tourists don’t get to see!  I was able to tell our usher guide the names of the men who would have been doing his job back in 1138 – how wonderful is that?  Job continuity for a thousand years!
The third is sharing my love of history via novel writing.  It has inspired many to go and delve further into the history for themselves, and to even go to university to study various aspects of medieval history for degrees.  Not having a degree myself, I enjoy their pleasure and success vicariously!


 
 
New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick has written over 20 historical novels sold in 18 languages worldwide. Her first novel, The Wild Hunt, won a Betty Trask Award, and The Scarlet Lion was nominated by Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel Society, as one of the top ten historical novels of the last decade. Elizabeth's nineteenth novel, To Defy a King, won the RNA Historical Novel Prize in 2011. THE SUMMER QUEEN, the first novel in her stunning Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy, has now been followed by THE WINTER CROWN and THE AUTUMN THRONE.
© Diana Milne January 2017 © Elizabeth Chadwick May 2017
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday 10 June 2017

Diana talks to Colin Goodwin


 
 
Hello Colin. It is lovely to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to talk to me!

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!

Q. What is the ideal length of a book?

Ans. 250 pages, with chapters kept short enough to be read on a short tube journey.

If your latest book “When In A Hole, Stop Digging” was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

 

Ans.  Richard Wilson.

What made you choose this genre?

Ans. I see the funny side to life, and there is more than enough gloom and doom.

How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

Ans. The names have been changed to protect the innocent!

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?

Ans. Cold war thriller.

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.

Ans. Word processing was invented, it made the task easier, my hand writing is illegible. I also discovered a thesaurus. I was 59.

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

Ans. Hate it, but love marmalade in large quantities.

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

Ans. No, I just write when I have something to write.

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?

Ans. Family of course

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

Ans. Being retired; I am now living the dream.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Ans. Coffee...Red.

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

Ans. Planned before I start, with post it notes around the room.

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

Ans. Times New Roman, it is stylish and neat

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

Ans. A Ferguson tractor manual. (I love that answer!!)

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!?

Ans. No I keep them in check.

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips?

Ans. No, but when I am out I always take a notebook in case something pops into my head, then I note it before it pops out again.

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?

Ans. No.

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?

Ans. No, but I do write fiction.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

Ans. No, see above.

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

Ans. No.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

Ans. M C Beaton, Tom Sharpe, Cold war thrillers and old machinery manuals.

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

Ans. Tea.

Last but not least... favourite author?

Ans. Tom Sharpe, hilarious. Colin's books are also totally hilarious and well worth reading.  All three are available here .

Colin Goodwin


 

 

© Diana Milne January 2017 © Colin Goodwin 14th April 2017






Wednesday 7 June 2017

James reviews A Traitor's Fate by Derek Birks

Today James Holdstock reviews A Traitor's Fate by Derek Birks, part of his wonderful Rebels & Brothers series, set during the Wars of the Roses. The author has kindly offered a signed paperback of his latest book, Scars From the Past for a UK winner or a Kindle copy to anywhere else in the world as a giveaway. To be in with a chance of winning this fabulous story, simply leave a comment below of on our Facebook Page. The winner will be drawn on 14th June 2017. Good luck!

Derek Birks lured me in with stunning action sequences, big characters and lavish history and then reached down and grabbed my heart. He taunted me by squeezing it hard but always giving me hope he would care for it. He only released me from emotional elation and terrible turmoil when I had finished reading A Traitor's Fate.

'Ned is my brother in arms - a brotherhood forged in the blood of battle and I'll hold this place until I die or he returns.'

A Traitor's Fate by Derek Birks focuses on the fortunes and will of Ned Elder, his family and retinue in 1464 during the Wars of the Roses. It seems to me that the events are driven by duty, love and revenge. The story that Birks has crafted for Ned and the other characters, dovetails in with real events perfectly (to the date) which adds to the already real sense of immersion in a great period of history.

Convincing a reader they are in a certain period of history when language and culture were so different from today is a tricky task. Many of Birks' characters possess an almost impatient sense of sarcasm that I think exists in real life but often doesn't make it onto pages of books.

'Promise me nothing; a promise disappears quicker than a fools fart.'

It is clear Birks has done his research. None of the real historical events feel forced into the story. It is merely happened across, even the big reveal that creates a huge plot turn. The descriptions not only of the physical landscape but of the feel of it, the environment and the sounds and smells comes naturally and through the characters perspectives.

'He disliked forests at the best of times with their dark shadowy places and cunning branches and roots that sought to ensnare the unwary'

I like action. Often even Cornwell doesn't put enough action in his books for me, but A Traitor's Fate feels almost non stop! But each time it is different enough that it is not predictable. The characters are not superheroes as they can be in some books. You really believe and know that the people are getting hurt and are in danger. There were events that made me physically wince, and after growing up watching action movies in the 80's, that's an incredible feat. 

I can't rave enough that everything in the books is driven by the characters. No hand of God here to pull the author out of a tricky situation. These events are all caused and  resolved by the strong (even if they are weak) characters that have been well crafted. I'd like to say Birks is a genius in how he has put so much into them but it actually feels like he has stumbled upon them, unleashed them and then not been able to control their strong wills. They feel that real. It is even easy to get the measure of minor characters very quickly. 

'...was unused to riding and however they sat her upon the horse, she seemed to find a way to fall off.'

Apart from the general backdrop being a real historical landscape, there are big historical events that are seamlessly woven into the story. I love learning my history this way but to differentiate fact from fiction one needs a detailed authors/historical note, which is of curse provided at the end of the book.

Ned is the main character and I quickly fell in love with his fierce fighting style and optimism, but also his flaws. There are other main characters as well and Birks uses specific dates and even times of day at the beginning of chapters so that he can invest you in many interconnected events. These events are all happening in different places to different people but at the same time. It is masterfully done. It also adds a huge amount to the dramatic irony as you watch characters you have come to love, embark on doomed actions because they haven't got the information they need. 

My only criticism is that, because there is a lot of information I did find it hard to keep track of some characters and relationships when I was first reading the book at the end of particularly draining work days. This may be helped by the addition of a dramatis personae but I understand why sometimes these are left out to try and avoid reveals and spoilers. Also, I read this book (The second in the series) as my first one, so may not know the characters as well as people that have already read the first book (which I am reading now).

What am I going to do next? I'm going to have a rest, and then read the rest of the series!
About the Author:

Derek Birks 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 later Medieval period. He aims to write action-packed fiction which is rooted in accurate history. His debut historical 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, was released on August 31st 2014.
The final book in the series, The Last Shroud, was published on 31st August 2015.The first book in a new series, Scars From the Past was released in November 2016.
Links: Amazon; Facebook; Twitter; Derek's Blog.
About the Reviewer: 
James Holdstock loves reading Historical Fiction and wants to share his passion for Medieval History with everyone, especially younger readers. He writes a blog about medieval people that are the unsung heroes of Britain and has also started a series of Historical Fiction books for younger readers. The first book, 'To Murder a King, A Squire’s Tale', features many real life medieval figures like William Marshal and King John and is set at the Tower of London. If you know any young people that are into medieval history (or even if they’d like to know more about it), please pass on the links.