Ask the Author: Peter C. Whitaker
Answered Questions (6)
Peter C. Whitaker
For Rapture of Ravens follows on from The War Wolf and is the second in a trilogy I call The Sorrow Song. It relates the events of 1066 in Saxons England and I was moved to write it when I discovered facts about the period that I did not know, such as the Battle of Fulford Gate, often referred to as the forgotten battle of 1066. It was a very important event but one that many know nothing about so it seemed to make a good starting point. For Rapture of Ravens recounts the second battle at Stamford Bridge, a military encounter that had very serious ramifications for the Saxons. The Norman Conquest is often presented as a de facto piece of history but when you examine it in a progressive timeline you discover just how much a role luck had, both good and bad, and that the Saxons were actually quite a vibrant, modern, and capable people instead of the illiterate peasants waiting for civilisation to invade their England of the 'Dark Ages' as I was told at shool.
Peter C. Whitaker
No idea! Honestly, the stories just come to me, often at times when I can't get them written down as notes even. I claim that my wife is my muse, and often she is because she has always encouraged me to write, but where the actual inspiration comes from is a mystery. I will say that I have a love for life and all that it contains, the good and the bad, and maybe it is my observations of life that prompt me to develop my ideas.
Peter C. Whitaker
I have two projects on the go at the moment. The first is the concluding part of my Sorrow Song Trilogy, which recounts the last of the three battles of 1066 in Saxon England. The second is an alternative history novel set in 1930's Britain and is centered on a group of young disabled people battling prejudice carried to an extreme. Being disabled myself this is a theme very close to my heart.
Peter C. Whitaker
Ask yourself, do you have a story to tell? The story is the most important thing, far more important than being able to call yourself an author or selling copies of your book or seeing your name in print. Anyone can do that, especially today, but not so many have a real story to tell that entertains and informs the reader.
Peter C. Whitaker
There are so many! I think the best thing for me is indulging my imagination. I tend to write in my head, by which I mean that I plan the whole book out mentally as well as in notes, plots and back stories. The book comes alive for me this way and inspires me to get it onto the page in words.
Peter C. Whitaker
Writer's block is annoyance and I presume it happens to most people at some time but for various reasons. I am lucky in that I have lots of other interests and when I have a problem with writing I tend to indulge myself insome thing else for a short while then come back to writing. More often than not I find this helps me return with a new perspective. Certainly I have never had a serious spell of writer's block.
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