Diana talks to Paul Bennett, author of "Clash of Empires" - book one of The Mallory Saga.

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

 

Thanks so much Diana for inviting me to answer some very intriguing questions. It was a lot of fun.

It is my real pleasure, Paul.

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!

Is it really possible for any citizen of the US to grow up to be President?

Sure is…look at who we have now.  L

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

 

I’m going to glean from Lonesome Dove and choose Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall, younger versions mind you than the characters of Call and McRae.  Tommy for Liam and Duvall for Daniel.  For Liza again from Lonesome Dove, Diane Lane. 

(You may read Rob Bayliss's review of this excellent book here but please note the competition is now closed.)

What made you choose this genre?

Firstly my love of history.  All through my educational phases up through 3 years of college, I was far more interested in history classes or other classes that delved into our past.  At Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, I majored in Classical Civilization, basically the study of ancient cultures form the Mesopotamian Crescent through the Roman Empire.  I also minored in Physical Anthropology.  After I left college, needing a break from 18+ years of school the last 5 of which included working full time, I found myself free to read what I wanted.  Mary Renault got me hooked on historical fiction and later Colleen McCullough’s First Man in Rome series sent me searching for more.  Boy what a treasure trove of books to choose from.

How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

Surprisingly perhaps, while driving to and from work.  My commute is a lengthy one, and the Boston area traffic is always a challenge.  So I have at least an hour and a half for my Muse to do her stuff on my way to work and then again on the way home.  Mostly that is plot related ideas but sometimes specific narrative or conversations find their way to the surface.  I’ve even had to a couple times tell Wanda, that’s her name, to slow down.  Sometimes she starts giving me ideas for book 4 or 5.  Let me get done with number 2 first, please.  J 

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?

Either humor or fantasy.  I write journals of an annual golf trip I make with 3 or 4 of my buddies and they are rather humorous in content.  But I think I would do fantasy.  I have a few tales about a group of warriors that are stuck in some kind of time travel existence and are transported to various historical battles such as Gettysburg where they play prominent roles in the outcomes.  It’s fun playing with history.  In the Gettysburg story, Lee doesn’t make the mistake of trying to take the Round Tops, and the Confederates win at Gettysburg, due in some small part by my group of warriors.

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’ve dabbled with writing most of my life, doing the odd short story and trip journals/stories but I didn’t take on a full length novel until "Clash".  I am indebted to many people for encouraging me write "Clash", among them SJA Turney, the author of the excellent Marius Mules series (among others as well).  He and the others who read my first attempts saw something they liked and that reinforcement kicked me into gear, so to speak.  So much so that I’m making Clash the first story in The Mallory Saga – I will follow the family through the course of the history of the USA.  Right now I plan to finish the saga with the end of the Plains Indian Wars in the late 19^th Century.

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

First I have to Google it.  J (Laughing here.)

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

I do most of my writing in the pre-dawn hours partly because my three night/12 hour shifts at work has wreaked havoc on my sleep patterns, but also partly because I’ve always loved the early morning.  Accompanied by cups of good, strong coffee – freshly ground and as freshly roasted as possible – and with one of my playlists blaring in my headphones, I wait for Wanda and when she is ready, my fingers start dancing along the keyboard.  The playlist I am listening to as I write this includes a mixture of goth bands such as Within Temptation, Nightwish, Leaves Eyes etc and the angelic, mystical Loreena McKennitt. (NICE)

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?

Since I write mostly when everyone else is asleep I rarely have to make that choice but if I’m in the throes of Wanda’s ministrations, I’ll finish what I’m writing and then address my 4 ½ year old granddaughter’s request for food or to have her tablet recharged.  J

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

I am 65 – my dream job is to not have to need one.  J  A short jaunt down memory lane: when I was in my early 20’s I was what you might call a hippie.  A young man just discovering what the world was really like and trying to figure out my part in it.  I would often comment that all I wanted to be was a Forest Ranger assigned to some fire tower in the mountains where I could spend my time writing the great American novel.  Of course that didn’t happen and I have spent the last 40 years working as a computer professional.  (What a wonderful dream...)

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Coffee – but only really good coffee, like I get from my friends at Thanksgiving Coffee. J  Red or White – that would be better phrased Ale or Stout.  Not a wine drinker but do enjoy fine ales, stouts and porters.

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

I’m not much of a plotter, more of a seat of the pants approach.  Of course, I have a basic idea in my head for the foundation of the story.  I have a notebook in which I jot down ideas, dialogue etc, but most of the work is done when I am hovering over the keyboard.  It amazes me when I have a sudden epiphany; a thought just hits out of the blue and when I look back at what I’ve just typed I often remark I didn’t see that coming. 

I would be guilty of a heinous sin if I didn’t at this point sing the praises of my editor, Marguerite Walker II.  She takes those amazing epiphanies and coaxes even better ones out of me.

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

I did Clash in Georgia 12…the aforementioned MW found an article on good fonts for books and we went with Georgia. (My favourite serif font.)

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

The scorecard from a Detroit Tiger game on which I had gotten the autograph of my favorite ball player, Al Kaline.  It regretfully was stolen roughly 50 years ago.  (Very cross and unhappy face.)

 

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 yet…but it’s early in my writing career.  I have characters who demanded larger roles, however.  J

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

Most of my research is online or by reading books about the subject in hand.  I do love road trips though so for Clash I did visit Forts Ticonderoga and William Henry.  The next couple books in the Mallory Saga take place during the American Revolution.  I am fortunate in that I live 20 miles north of Boston so don’t have to travel too far to follow along, say, the Battle of Lexington and Concord or Bunker Hill.

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?

The one who springs to mind is George Armstrong Custer.  Since this isn’t in Clash I don’t mind this little spoiler…in my Gettysburg story, I kill off Custer.  J

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?

To the best of my knowledge, I stayed true to the historical facts in Clash.  My only deviation was changing the date of a battle by a couple days.

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

My editor would argue that I like Liam more than his siblings, Daniel and Liza.  Methinks she may be right.  As far as hating a character, there are a couple of them, but one dies early on.  The Shawnee nemesis of the Mallory’s, especially Liam, is a warrior named Huritt.  I don’t want to say too much, suffice that Huritt is a good example of his culture; one that could be brutally violent. 

There are a couple characters in Clash who end up playing a much larger role than I had originally intended, but I had so much fun with them, I couldn’t say no when they requested more face time.  Wahta is a Mohawk, his name means Maple Tree and he is built along those lines.  He becomes a good friend of Sergeant Glyn Mulhern, an Irishman serving in the British Army under a Scottish Colonel.  I loved writing the byplay between the two of them.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I read quite a bit, I’ve done close to 200 reviews in 4 years.  Most of them are historical fiction from various periods of history.  I’ve learned more about the history of Britain the last couple of years than I had in the prior 63. J  I must admit that my favourite periods are ancient Greece and Rome.

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

Ale – there’s a good bit of ale drinking in Clash of Empires.  Might as well join them for a pint or two.

Last but not least... favourite author?

A question that is difficult to answer given the number of authors who I count as friends, so, I am going to try to offend no one by choosing an author not of the historical fiction world.  Kurt Vonnegut gets my vote with Mark Twain a close second.  J

About the Author

Paul’s education was of the public variety and when he reached Junior High he discovered that his future did not include the fields of mathematics or science. This was generally the case throughout his years in school as he focused more on his interest in history; not just the rote version of names and dates but the causes.

Paul studied Classical Civilization at Wayne State University with a smattering of Physical Anthropology thrown in for good measure. Logically, of course, Paul spent the next four decades drawing upon that vast store of knowledge working in large, multi-platform data centers, and is considered in the industry as a bona fide IBM Mainframe dinosaur heading for extinction.

Paul currently resides in the quaint New England town of Salem, Massachusetts with his wife, Daryl. The three children have all grown, in the process turning Paul’s beard gray, and have now provided four grandchildren; the author is now going bald!



You can find Paul:

His Facebook page

On Twitter

Email: mallorysaga@gmail.com

© Diana Milne January 2017 © Paul Bennett 03/27/17

 

 

 

 

 

Guest blog from Jeanette Taylor Ford: The difference between writing for children and adults.

Jeanette Taylor Ford has just released her first children's book, Robin's Ring, and I was intrigued if there is a difference between writing for children and writing for adults.  After chatting with her for a while, I asked her if she would please write a short guest blog about her findings on the subject. Whilst Jeanette and I both realise that other authors may have different thoughts, this seems to me to be a very good starting place with some sound advice and wise thoughts!!

 

 

When Diana asked me to write this guest blog on the difference between writing for adults or children, I became worried, for when I started to think about it seriously, I realised there are quite a few things that both adults and children like in a book.

1.      Action

2.      Engaging Storyline

3.      Characters they can identify with/have feelings for

4.      Happy Endings

5.      Humour and other emotions

6.      Familiarity

7.      Twists in the story

 

Those of us of a ‘certain age’ spent our childhood with Enid Blyton. She has been much maligned in the intervening years but there is no doubt that she had great influence on the children of my era and since; she invited children to go on adventures with The Famous Five and The Secret Seven that we could only dream about. She did something very important – she inspired imagination.

 

If we look at other successful authors, such as Roald Dahl, they have done the same thing; they have caught children at a relatively young age and invited them to use their imagination. After all, who wouldn’t want to visit a wonderful factory full of sweets and chocolates that they could help themselves to wherever they walked? (My visit to Cadbury World was interesting but nowhere near matched Willie Wonka’s place.) Who hasn’t wished they could do something nasty to a hated teacher or made things happen at will? My children enjoyed the thrill of the Enormous Crocodile being thwarted by child-loving other jungle animals and never tired of hearing me read ‘doing the voices’. J.K.Rowling has every child – and every adult with a child within – wish they had been to Hogwarts and could do magic.

 

Writing ‘Robin’s Ring’ was my first venture into writing for children and then I adapted someone else’s true-life story about a dragon for very young children, with the person’s permission. When that same person read ‘Robin’s Ring’, he announced it was a novella. I said, no, it was a book. We argued about it; I said that it was shortish and simple-ish for children of that age. He said that we shouldn’t underestimate children’s abilities. The difference was that my work was with children and I understood that not every child is as able as his grandchildren were. I understood that many children struggle to read, do not like reading, aren’t encouraged to read by their parents and teachers seriously lack the time to give individual attention to the children in their class who find reading hard.

 

Now, we all know that children vary, their abilities vary, parents vary. (I apologise to certain authors who won’t like my repetitive word there!) As a general rule, small children start with books that are mostly pictures with few words. They progress on to books that have a few more words with the pictures but they have repetitive phrases that four/five year olds can remember and love to sing out when sharing a book with an adult. They also love tactile books; children love to handle books, put their fingers through holes, lift up tabs. Then they go on to slightly more ‘wordy’ books, still with pictures. (Don’t we all know about ‘Biff and Chip’ – stupid names for children, in my opinion but kids don’t seem to think that way at all.) The Biff and Chip stories start simple and get a bit harder with progressive ability; they are great stories, especially when they start using the magic key.

 

So, what is different about writing children’s books?

 

1.      Children get put off by large descriptive passages (as do many adults). I found that descriptions of people and places had to be kept as brief as possible. By the same token, children don’t like long paragraphs so divide them up as much as possible.

2.      Speech has to be such as a child of that age would speak; they use shortened versions of names of their mates and they actually don’t waste words, unless they happened to be like one of my grandsons who can tell a brief tale in a very long way! However, said grandson would not like to read his own way of telling something in a book. We had a discussion on The Review recently about ‘he said, she said’. When we write for adults we try to cut that sort of thing to a minimum; in children’s books it has to be clear who said what, so ‘he said or she said’ is used much more. This is an art I haven’t quite got right yet but I’m working on it.

3.      Language used in a children’s book has to be much simpler, less complex in sentence construction. We have to put ourselves in the place of the children who are likely to read the book and ask ourselves ‘would they understand that word if they were able read it in the first place?’  Many children who have English as a second language can actually read the words but, when questioned, don’t have a clue what they’ve read about. It’s easy to get the wrong idea about these children’s abilities when they read out loud perfectly. Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with using a word hard to read but actually would be understood once the child has figured it out. Children use and understand more words when speaking and listening so don’t be afraid to use them in a book; they do have to learn what those words look like in print.

4.      Children who don’t read so well are put off by large books with loads of pages. They are much more inclined to go for something thinner and more likely achievable. We know that children love the Harry Potter films but there are not many children of ages 8 to 10 who would tackle reading the books and there is no doubt that some of the later books are more suited to teenagers rather than children.

5.      With point 4 in mind, then, the story has to be told with no ‘airy-persiflage’, no long-winded speech or ‘getting around to it’, no filling pages with irrelevant stuff, just to make it look longer. Children want action; they want things to keep moving and they have to want to begin the next chapter. (No different to adults there really.)

6.      Pictures are still important, even if they only occur now and then throughout the book. Children will examine pictures thoroughly. ‘They’ say a picture paints a thousand words and this is so true and necessary for children’s books. A child can be put off reading a book that has no pictures.

7.      Children love humorous things, silly names, red pants with spots, long noses and snot! A book that is full of such things is bound to be a hit, especially with younger children.

 

Having said all of that, there are children who will read Harry Potter or Treasure Island at nine or ten and not care about pictures at all. No teacher is going to say ‘you can’t read that’, the choice is always that of the child, just as it is for adults. I have to honestly say that, when I’ve been hearing a child read at school, I’ve often thought, ‘this is boring, I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole’ but the child reading it is engaged and likes it, so who am I to judge?

 

So, as I said earlier, writing for children in many ways is similar to writing for adults but some of the ‘rules’ that we try to follow when writing adult books have to be put to one side in order to make sure the child reader understands and doesn’t get bored. Much simpler language, fast action, believable speech of the modern day; painting a picture film with as few words as possible and creating a setting whether real or imaginary that children will immediately get into. They are not going to wait until page ten for something to start happening. The golden rule is: ‘Know Your Audience’.

 

When I originally wrote ‘Robin’s Ring’, I wrote it with the idea of getting children local to my area interested in the surroundings that they take for granted and see every day. The children at ‘my’ school loved it and it really fired their imagination. To my surprise, children who didn’t live here also liked it so then I started to think about publishing. It’s taken me four years to come to this point. I hope many more children will come to be interested in Robin and his magic ring.

About Robin's Ring:

Who will help The Adventurer recover his Items of Power, thrown back by magic into time? When Robin finds a ring in his garden, he has no idea that his dreams of adventure are about to come true. With his cousin Oliver, the ten year old boys are carried away on their quests, guided by the clues that appear before their eyes on Robin’s computer screen. This is the first of Robin and Oliver’s adventures with Edric and The Items of Power.

Available from Amazon.

© Jeanette Taylor Ford May 2017