Author’s interview – 2017.
Diana talks to... Robert Southworth
Hi Rob, lovely to chat with you like this. We have lots to talk about so let's get going! Hopefully I have come up with some
unusual questions!
If your latest book The Reaper’s Breath was adapted
into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?
Luke Evans
but he would have to do it with an English accent.
What made you choose this genre?
I don’t
consider myself as a specialist in a
certain genre. I am happy to move genres when I find an idea presents itself.
How do you get ideas for plots and characters?
To be honest
usually I look at history and ask myself the question “what if?” What if
Spartacus didn’t die – what if the Ripper killings didn’t stop with Mary Kelly.
Just one further point with regards to The Reaper’s Breath, I wanted to show
the victims as more than just a
statistic. I attempted to give at least one a voice and show her to be human
with the same dreams, hopes and fears that we all possess.
If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee
publication!) you could write anything
you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you
already have a budding plot line in mind?
I would love to write a fantasy book with the kind
of genius humour that Terry Pratchett blessed the world. I have a plot for a
fantasy novel but not the humour. Alas, I just don’t have that sort of talent. (Note from Diana: I think you have that sort of talent, Rob. Try it! I love your quick fire responses on social media)
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 actually made redundant. Feeling a little like
I had been thrown on the scrap heap. My wife saw my torment and just placed her
arm around me and asked what it was, that I really wanted to do. So, at the age
of 38 I became a writer.
Marmite? Love it or hate it?
Hate it...
Do you have any rituals and routines when writing?
Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??
I can only write late at night when the entire
household is asleep.
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. probably because my kids are so young. As
they get older they will be able to fend for themselves, and the writing can
take over.
Other than writing full time, what would be your
dream job?
James Bond
Coffee or tea? Red or white?
Coffee – don’t drink wine (but do like a drop of
Irish whiskey now and then)
How much of your work is planned before you start?
Do you have a full draft or let it find its way?
I believe a story should develop along with the
characters, so I begin with a very basic plot. My style is to be as fluid as
possible. (It really works. D )
If you had free choice over the font your book is
printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?
Really have no preference as long as the font isn’t
too severe.
Imagine that you could get hold of any original
source document. What would it be?
Well I’m hoping to write a novel around the life of
Athelstan – so anything relating to the man would be amazing.
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!?
Not their own adventure but one of my characters
from my Spartacus series should have died in the part of the first novel and
was still alive and kicking at the end of the last – despite me planning to
kill him a number of times! (I am not published and most likely never will be but I write for my own pleasure. I have a character, Piet, who has needed to die for at least a year, but I cannot kill him. I just cannot!! D)
How much research do you do and do you ever go on
research trips?
I tend to research as I go along. I would love to go
on research trips alas with a young family that is not too likely at the
minute.
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, I see real characters as a bond that
anchors the story. Besides, as soon as we put words in their mouth they become
part fiction.
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 may bend the truth but try not to break it...
Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction
sometimes become blurred?
I happen to believe that history provides us with
very little fact. Most of what you read is educated guess work. I’m a fiction
writer it’s my job to blur fact into fiction. If I do it well, the reader
shouldn’t be able where one ends and the other begins.
Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with
one of your characters?
Many times – they are in essence part of me.
What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?
Pretty much anything except Romance and Erotica.
What drink would you recommend drinking whilst
reading your latest book?
Well I have attempted to make it atmospheric with a
couple of shocks – so maybe nothing too hot.
Last but not least... favourite author?
Two - Terry Pratchett and James McGee
© Diana Milne January 2017 © Robert Southworth January 2017
