Martin Lake's Blog, page 23

Escape. From ‘For King and Country.’ #Kindle #Nook #histfic

Mitchell had not meant to desert.  It was a June morning and he was taking a message to B Company.  He was highly regarded by his officers, an intelligent and trustworthy man, steady under fire.  He trudged along the pitted earth then stopped in surprise.  In a gash in the earth a butterfly was sipping from a tiny flower.

At that moment he started to run.

He saw a line of trees on the horizon.  He swerved and headed for them.  He was panting by the time he reached them and tumbled into the long, protective grass.  He lay there for a moment, dazed by what he had done.  The sunlight glittered through the branches.  I must go back, he thought.  If I go back now no-one will realise I’ve been missing.  Then his eyes closed.

When he awoke there was the faint smudge of dawn above the German lines.  He had slept for twenty hours.  His stomach rippled with fear.  The officers would think he had deserted.

He staggered up.  The night was fading and, as he watched, the fragile lines of the trenches came into view.  What had made him run?  He should go back.  If he went back now he could say he had got lost.  If he delayed he would be shot as a deserter.  He went fifty yards towards the lines and stopped.  He would not fool Captain Bell.  He darted back to the cover of the trees.

He had to think this out.

The sun had risen far above the horizon and the day was light and clear.  He was not thinking at all but was listening to the sounds of birds chirping in a nest above his head.  He had not heard sounds like this for years.  Even when on leave the men were driven to fill the unfamiliar silence with their own clamour.  The birds sounded sweet, and they paid no regard to the war and the killing and the waste.

He stood up and turned his back on the trenches.  He plunged into the trees, walking fast to keep himself from thinking.  He walked for hours and only gradually noticed that there was a sound  following him.  He reached a clearing and halted, feeling naked and vulnerable.  Somebody was near.  A snigger sounded close behind him.

He spun round but no-one was there.  It must be a madman hiding in the trees.  Again, the laugh came loud and clear and he spun around once again to find nothing.  Then his hand reached up and touched his mouth.

It was working furiously, jabbering a mad, crazed cackle in a voice he could not recognise as his own.  He shuddered and willed himself to stop.

He failed.  For an hour he stood rooted in the clearing, his mouth giving out great gusts and whoops of laughter, his eyes raining tears of anguish and fear.

************

Escape is the second story in my collection ‘For King and Country’.  It is available from all e-book outlets for e-readers and apps.

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Adrift #SampleSunday #Kindle #histfic #WW1 #Author #shortstories (martinlakewriting.wordpress.com)
First World War (detectingblackpool.wordpress.com)

Talking with Lynn Shepherd

Today, I’m delighted to be talking with Lynn Shepherd, author of Murder at Mansfield Park and Tom-All-Alone’s.  

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?  Was there a specific event that made you decide?

I think it was always there as a dream, but that dream only hardened into an ambition after I went freelance as a copywriter in 2000, and finally had some time to devote to serious writing of my own. Two and a half unpublished novels later Murder at Mansfield Park was accepted by a UK publisher in 2009, and then by a US one, and then by an Australian one…

Which authors have had the greatest influence upon you?

I read a lot of classic English fiction, and my love for writers like Austen and Dickens goes very deep. But I’ve also been influenced by modern writers – I admire AS Byatt very much, especially her earlier novels, and the crime writer who’s had the most impact on me is Joan Smith. I love her Loretta Lawson novels.

What made you choose to write your modern take on classic novels?  Did you have any worries about tackling characters who would be greatly loved by readers?

The initial idea for turning Jane Austen into a murder mystery just popped into my head unbidden in the summer of 2008. I had no idea or intention at that stage of doing the same thing again. But once Murder at Mansfield Park was published I started to wonder whether I was onto quite an interesting and unusual idea. After all, there are many murder mysteries set in the Victorian period (some of them very good), but no-one’s done quite the same thing as I’ve done in Tom-All-Alone’s (which is published in the US as The Solitary House). In other words, creating a new story that runs parallel with another book – in this case Bleak House. And yes, there’s always a risk if you work with a classic that people love, but I think most people who’ve read my novels can see that I love those classics just as much as they do, and have written my own books in that spirit.

Why did you choose the novels that you based your books on?  In hindsight would other choices have been more fun or useful to work with?

I chose the books primarily because I love and admire them. After all, who’d want to spend all those months working with a text you couldn’t stand! Mansfield Park has always intrigued me since it’s Austen’s ‘problem child’ – she’s trying to do something different and more serious and it doesn’t quite come off, and I found the reasons for that comparative failure extremely interesting to explore. As for Bleak House, I’ve always considered it the quintessential Dickens – a marvellous book, and marvellous material to mine.

What’s been your favourite moment in your writing career?

That call from my agent saying I had my first deal! I think many writers would probably say the same.

If you could spend time with two favourite characters, one from another writer and one from your fiction who would they be and what might you all do?

Taking my own characters first, I think it would be Charles Maddox senior, the ‘thief taker from Murder at Mansfield Park who appears again, as an old man, in Tom-All-Alone’s/The Solitary House. He’s a very sophisticated and well-educated man, but he also made a career out of solving of crime at a time when there was no police force as we know it. He dealt with crimes involving the highest in the land, and the most brutal realities of life on the streets, so he’d have wonderful stories to tell.

As for another writer’s characters, I think I would it would be Robert Lovelace, the rakish libertine in Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa. Richardson is not read much these days, but Clarissa is a masterpiece of European literature, and Lovelace is by far his most dazzling creation.

And what would we three do? I think we would explore some of the areas of 18th and 19th century London that these two characters would have known, and then end up having what would no doubt be a hugely stimulating dinner – I’m sure sparks would fly!

How do you research your novels?  Do you research before you start to write or do you do it on an ongoing process?

There was much more research for Tom-All-Alone’s/The Solitary House than for Murder at Mansfield Park. For the Austen, most of the work went into getting the language right; for the Dickens, it was a much bigger task, because I had to bring Victorian London back to life. That meant a lot of reading. Though in principle I always do the minimum of research before I start writing and fill in the gaps afterwards, because otherwise you can fall into the trap of having the research dictate the story, rather than the other way round. I hate it when I read books and stumble over huge lumps of only partially digested research which the writer’s obviously spent days looking for, and is going to get in there one way or another!

Which research tools, sources and web-sites did you find most useful?

The www.victorianlondon.org website is excellent for the later 19th century. The http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com and http://austenonly.com/ sites are also very helpful for Regency customs and background.

What would be a typical writing day for you?  Do you have set times, spaces, routines or rituals?

Because I write for my day job I’m very disciplined – at the desk by 8.30 usually, and then I write through till about 5.

If you were to give advice to someone thinking of writing a novel what would it be?

Don’t give up! Having the talent is only the start – if you’re going to get published you’ll need determination, perseverance, and a very thick skin. But it can be done!

What is your next writing project?

My third book is called A Treacherous Likeness, and is, in effect, a sequel to Tom-All-Alone’s/The Solitary House. It’s out in February from Corsair in theUK, and later in 2013 in North America from Random House.

Thanks very much for talking with me, Lynn.

Tom-All-Alone’s is published in the UK by Corsair, and in North America by Random House as The Solitary House. Murder at Mansfield Park is available as an e-book from Corsair in the UK, and is published by St Martin’s Press in the US and Canada, and Allen & Unwin in Australia.

Lynn’s website is www.lynn-shepherd.com, and this includes a video which was shot in some of the locations used in Tom-All-Alone’s/The Solitary House. Her Twitter ID is @Lynn_Shepherd.

Simple ingredients, superb lunch

We’ve just had lunch.  Since moving to the south of France we’ve adopted the French habit of eating our main meals at lunch-time.  There are several reasons for this.

Restaurant lunches are cheaper and better value for money than evening dinners so if we eat out it’s usually the plat de jour option.

It’s also really hot here and long lunches followed by a laze around, a siesta or writing a novel seems more pleasant than having a heavy meal late at night.  It gives us almost a double day.

We feel much healthier for eating this way and for buying local food in small quantities.

Today I want to celebrate the way that the simple yet intensely flavoursome and fresh foods we get here made a superb meal.  Or, to be more exact, were made into a superb meal by my wife.

The ingredients were:

The last of the roast chicken from Sunday lunch, salad onion, garlic, a small chilli, fresh tomatoes.  All from the market in front of our apartment.  A yellow pepper from the supermarket at the bottom of our apartment.  Basil from our terrace.  Arborio rice, roasted almonds, salt and pepper, paprika and a little stock.

These are simple foods yet my wife conjured up the most wonderful risotto with them.  It looked like a painting by Matisse or Derain, with all the colours of the Mediterranean world.

The Dessert: Harmony in Red, 1908, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

It tasted like a flamboyant mixture of Italian and, Spanish cuisine.  In fact it could almost have been a homage to the two finalists of Euro 2012.  Except that there were definite flavours of France and North Africa mixed in.  And a lot of English talent.

A wonderful lunch.  Thanks to everybody who produced it, the farmers, the traders and especially my wife.  And a big thanks to my taste-buds for enjoying it so much.

And now to work.

Adrift #SampleSunday #Kindle #histfic #WW1 #Author #shortstories

ADRIFT

It was an uneventful ascent.  The balloon slowed when it reached three thousand feet, climbing the last eight hundred in a more leisurely fashion.  The two men in the wicker basket peered down at the battle-field.  Without maps they could not have made sense of it.  Most of the defining marks of the landscape had been scraped away.  A few buildings stood twisted and broken.  For the most part the only things still identifiable were features of land such as the Passchendaele Ridge to the east.  And also, of course, the long snaking gashes in the earth which marked the unbroken line of trenches.

The two men worked quickly, noting down any movement of the German troops, counting the blasts from their artillery and pin-pointing areas which looked promising for their own guns to target.  They worked methodically, almost automatically.  The activity was a godsend.  It helped them hide the knowledge that they were tethered a mile above the earth and that German aircraft would be sent to try to destroy them.

They combined their notes and telephoned them back to the command post.  They had produced the vital information for the day; for the rest of their time in the balloon they needed only to watch for any signs of a sudden attack.

Dick Harris stared out across the sky.  Now that the first bustle of observation was over he became engulfed by his imagination.  He visualised himself naked, held up upon a pole like a hermit in the desert, like a reluctant Christ upon the cross, a butterfly skewered by a pin.  Senselessly degraded, senselessly endangered.

He shook his head to rid himself of such images, pulled out his watch.  ‘Ninety minutes,’ he said.  ‘That’s the essentials done.’

‘Very good, sir,’ said Sadler.  He said it with feeling.  Harris was known as the fastest observer in the squadron and that was why Sadler always manoeuvred to work alongside him.  The less time they spent in the air the better he liked it.  They were supposed to stay aloft for a minimum of four hours but for the last few months the company commander had turned a blind eye if they came back fifteen or twenty minutes early.  Both men were aware that a new commander was going to take over today and that he might have different ideas.

They fell silent.  The air was bitter cold and clear as glass.  They could hear the ponderous murmur of the guns far below.  They were subdued by the height but not extinguished.

Sadler unhooked his body harness from the parachute bag hanging from the balloon.  He bent and retrieved his vacuum flask, then re-hooked himself to the chute.

Harris watched him with some amusement.

‘I wish you would hook yourself to a chute, sir,’ Sadler said.

‘They’re a death trap,’ Harris replied.

Sadler sighed, unscrewed the flask and proffered the cup.

Harris shook his head.  Sadler passed him a hip-flask.  He gulped a mouthful of brandy.  Typical of Sadler to come so well prepared.  He gazed upon the older man, wondering as usual how the gulf of class and rank could still cling between men who the war made closer than brothers.

Sadler stared around.  He took another sip at his tea, quietly, as if fearful that too loud a noise would awaken a terrible danger.  He wiped his mouth and pondered why he was here.  He knew why, of course.  Because he had crawled over no-man’s land at theSommeand brought Lieutenant Harris back to safety.  When Harris had transferred to the Royal Flying Corps he had requested that Sadler come with him.  He smiled as he remembered how grateful he had been; how both had once believed it would be a cushy number.

‘I sometimes think I can hear my heart hammering,’ Sadler said.

Harris turned towards him.  He was troubled by Sadler’s words but was not able to mask his reaction in time.  ‘You’re not the only one,’ he said.  ‘Don’t worry.  As long as Fritz can’t hear it.’

The huge observation balloon above his head turned slowly in the freshening wind.  It contained thirty thousand cubic feet of hydrogen, a fire-storm in wait.

Sadler cried out.  He pointed.  A German fighter squadron was racing towards them.

‘Adrift’ is one of three World War 1 stories in my collection ‘For King and Country.’  Buy the collection for for $1, 77p or €0.89.  

Talking with S.J.A. Turney

Today, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to talk with SJA Turney, author of the Marius’ Mules series of Roman historical fiction and the Tales of the Empire historical fantasy series.

Martin: I’d like to start of by finding out which authors have had the greatest influence upon you?

Simon: I would have to say that from a very early age it was Goscinny and Uderzo’s Asterix books that fuelled jointly my loves of history and of literature. Later on in life I became an avid reader of Guy Gavriel Kay’s books, from his early epic fantasy trilogy to his later historical fantasy novels, which I still consider to be the best books ever written. Needless to say, I grew up with a healthy love of Tolkien, too, as well as Douglas Adams, who I still consider the pinnacle of humorous literature.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?  Was there a specific event that made you decide?

I used to write short stories as a teenager, and even poetry for a time. That waned, though, as I went to university and then left, finding myself in an unforgivingly dull and grey job market. I worked as many things over the next decade, never truly settling into anything. My writing began partially as an experiment, to see if I still had anything of the bug, and partially through the sheer ennui and boredom I suffered in my excruciating job at the time. It was only as I finished writing Marius’ Mules in my spare time that I realised just how much I enjoyed it and how much I wanted to keep doing it

You write historical fiction.  Why this genre in particular?

I write historical fiction, though I have also delved into the world of ‘historical fantasy’ with my Tales of the Empire series. In all cases, though, the Roman theme is prevalent in some form or other. I have had an unquenchable fascination with the world of Rome since the age of six, when my grandfather (the wisest person I ever knew) took me to Hadrian’s Wall and I stood on the wall of Housesteads fort, staring off into a blizzard. Since then I have travelled to every Roman site I can reach at any given opportunity, and read extensively into the history of that fascinating world.

You’ve gone down the self-published route.  What made you decide this and what advice would you give to writers contemplating this path?

A complex question. In short, the only reason I self-published was following three years of failure to secure an agent or publisher while touting around two completed books. Even then, I was never intending to make a career of it, but rather to use it as a promotional platform to sell my work to a publisher. Since then, when the divide between traditional publishing and self-published books was almost unimaginably vast, the world of publishing seems to have changed, making the gap ever narrower. Now it is often hard to tell if a good self-published novel is not a traditionally published one.

I do believe that the phenomenon has only a finite life in this form before the whole industry changes again, though when that happens, I think that self-publishing will be much more rigidly controlled and probably will come under the aegis of the big houses. There is money to be made in self-publishing and I appear to be one of the lucky ones, but figures apparently tell us that less than 10% of self-published authors can make a living. Also, there is still a stigma attached to this route when compared with traditional writers, though the effects vary depending on to whom you speak. Simply: do not go into self-publishing your work expecting to become rich. It is extremely unlikely. However, if your goal, like me, is to reach a wide audience and promote your work, it can be an invaluable tool.

Can you tell us about your Marius’ Mules series?

Marius’ Mules was the first full length novel I wrote. Some time ago, on holiday, I visited Mont Beuvray and Alesia in France– the site of the last stand of independent Gaul. That led me into studying Caesar’s own diaries of his Gallic Wars. While reading them – and they’re a fascinating and powerful insight into the times, I began to wonder what they would be like novelised, rather than as direct historical texts. Moreover, I wondered at how much of the tales told in them was pure propaganda on the part of Caesar. Thus was born the idea of retelling those stories but in a fictionalised account and seen from the eyes of a different character. Marius’ Mules and its sequels are an attempt to reproduce Caesar’s Gallic Wars in a form that everyone can enjoy, while exploring the possibilities of what might happen when you read between Caesar’s lines.

What made you decide upon Marcus Falerius Fronto as your protagonist?  In what ways has he most surprised you?

Fronto was a natural choice. I needed a protagonist who was high enough in the ranks and close enough to Caesar to be involved in the whole process, and yet who was removed enough to produce a fresh, non-sycophantic angle. Clearly, he needed to be someone fictional, and I decided to begin with him as high in the ranks as he is, as I wanted to avoid the trap of having to promote him once every book as so often happens with historical series.

Fronto has surprised me in two ways specifically. Firstly in his popularity. It seems he strikes a chord with many readers and they find him likeable and easy to identify with – a fact that pleases me immensely. Secondly, he is like an onion in terms of layers. Every time I write a Marius’ Mules book he seems to become a little more complex and more of his secrets are revealed. Marius’ Mules III was a particular joy to me, for this. Many hanging questions about Fronto’s past and what made him the man he is have begun to be answered. He is a character that will never stagnate, because that’s how he started, before the changes that have been wrought on him in the books.

If you could spend time with your favourite character where would it be and what might you do?

My favourite historical character, or literary one? Historically – and I recognise that this might sound strange with my obsession over Roman history – I would most like to spend time with Vlad Dracula. The reason being that he is a fascinating character with a mysterious past overshadowed by the damage done to his reputation by Bram Stoker. The real Vlad may have been frighteningly violent, but he was also a nationalist, a crusader, and a hero of Transylvania. I would love to discover the real Vlad.

In terms of literary characters, again there would be a surprise, I think. I would spend time with Douglas Adams’ character Dirk Gently, who is simply the most interesting character ever written. I fear that with Dirk, it wouldn’t matter where you were or what you were doing, it would still be mind-blowing. And again, if you mean one of my own characters? Well, as they say in the board game Cluedo, it would have to be Fronto… in the bar… with the amphora.

How do you research your novels?  Do you do it before you start to write or is it more of an ongoing process?

That very much varies for me. The Marius’ Mules series clearly have a set sequence of events that must play out from the records of the time. What is required then is to take all the ongoing threads in the series and use them to tie those events together in a good, tight, format. Generally, I have the Marius’ Mules books very tightly planned before writing, with spreadsheets and doc files full of details. When writing other novels, though, such as any of my Tales of the Empire ones, I have gone into it with a full plot and rough plan at chapter level, but always aware that the tale will change and grow as I write. That’s one thing I love about not being tied to history: I can let it become a truly imaginative and flowing process.

What would be a typical writing day for you?  Do you have set times, spaces, routines or rituals?

I would love to have set everything (I have OCD tendencies that push me in that direction). However, since we have a small boy and a baby girl, they very much dictate my schedule and I tend to work around them, rather than vice versa. Typically, though, I write somewhere around 4-5 hours a day in a solid session, and spend perhaps another 2-3 hours planning things, making notes, muttering ideas into my Dictaphone while walking the dogs, and so on.

Ritually, I need coffee to function while working, and I tend to play music while I write, but not while I edit. I do have a small office in a back room where I write (with a coffee machine and reference library) though my little boy also uses it as a carpark for his toys.

What is your next writing project?

This one I’ll have to be a bit coy over, I’m afraid. I am almost finished on a new project. This one is again a work of Roman historical fiction, though completely unconnected with the Marius’ Mules series. Due to a number of factors, though, I’m keeping it all very much under my hat until it is ready and I am more sure of what I am doing with it. I can say that my current plans are to begin work on Marius’ Mules 4 as soon as this is complete.

Thanks, Martin, and you’ve made me think a bit there.

You can find out more about Simon and his writing on his web-site

 www.sjaturney.co.uk

 and on his Amazon author pages:

 UK

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/S.J.A.-Turney...

 North America

http://www.amazon.com/S.J.A.-Turney/e...

Send Three and Fourpence I’m Going to A Dance.

This morning I tweeted a quote I thought I’d remembered from Goethe.  

I said: ‘Goethe was right. When you start something it has magic in it.’

This comment was alluding to the fact that I have dithered for months about which book to write next.  I have four possible choices and now, finally, have made up my mind to write the third book in my ‘The Lost King’ series.

I was happy and ploughing ahead with the book so I idly tweeted the reference to Goethe.

This afternoon I thought I’d better look up the quote and use it more accurately.

I found: “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

There you go, this is what I remembered.  It has a truth to it and is worth remembering.

But, and it’s a big but, I found the quote in an article which questions whether the words were written by Goethe at all.  

I won’t go into the detail because the article is fascinating and I put a link to it at the end of the post.

The author believes that: ‘…the quotation often attributed to Goethe is in fact by William Hutchinson Murray (1913-1996), from his 1951 book entitled The Scottish Himalayan Expedition.’

It makes me wonder what on earth you can believe.  I choose to believe this article because it appears scholarly and well-researched.  Maybe I’m wrong to do this, of course. But in the world of instant information and the internet I feel increasingly at sea and need some bearings and references and well-argued discussion provides this.

Even in everyday life I wonder; what on earth is the truth?  Who has caused the economic woes of the last few years?  Are the Greek people being persecuted or, as someone said, getting their just comeback for years of drinking ouzo on the beach.  Are there still reds under the beds or have they been replaced by Moslems in the closet or Anglo-American crusaders?

Maybe I should become a Post-Modernist and stop worrying.

I’ve surprised myself that lately, when seeking information, I turn first to Wikipedia.  It is not the farrago of nonsense that some people would have you believe.  (Although I always triple-check things for my writing research, whatever the source.)  A few years ago I would never have looked at Wikipedia to start my research ball rolling.  In fact the link to Wikipedia that I’ve highlighted says much the same as the research that I read.  Which came first, I wonder.

It’s a changing world all right.

It all reminds me of the old story:

A General sent a message saying, ‘Send reinforcements, I’m going to advance.’  By the time the message had been relayed by a string of messengers it said, ‘Send Three and Fourpence, I’m going to a dance.’

Now, at least I know this was a falsehood, purely for the purpose of entertainment.  Or was it?

In the end I’m comforted by the fact that the more information there is available, the more likely I am to find a truth acceptable enough or utilitarian enough for the purpose.

Help, stop, let me off.

Here’s the link to the article.

http://german.about.com/library/blger...

Tomorrow, I have an interview with author SJA Turney.  Honest.

 

 

 

At Sixes and Sevens

I am at sixes and sevens, and I don’t even know where the phrase came from.

The problem is that I have four ideas for novels and can’t make up my mind which to write.  I’ve started three of them then put each aside for another one.

I’m excited by the research for all of them and already have snippets of information lodged in the old grey matter.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this problem but it’s the first time I’ve experienced it.  I guess I’ll just have to get down to putting my backside on a chair and continue writing one or other of them.

Any advice will be gratefully received.  Come to that does anyone know where the phrase ‘At Sixes and Sevens’ came from?

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Meanwhile (lindastudley.com)

Hostages #SampleSunday #Bargain #Books #Kindle The Lost King: Resistance

Four days later we approached the walled town of Exeter.  To my joy I saw the flag of Wessex flying bravely from its walls.

‘A gold purse to the soldier who brings me that rag,’ William announced.  Then he sent forth a herald to parlay with the defenders while he sat at ease with Odo and Roger de Montgommery.

There was much calling to and from the walls but eventually a small sally door opened and out rode two men, both in fine robes and riding handsome horses.  One held aloft a white flag as sign of truce.

When they got close the two Englishmen dismounted and approached on foot.

William stared at them in silence while Roger spoke.

‘What foul disobedience you show to your lord and master,’ he said.  ‘Explain yourself and hope that the king has cause to show you some mercy.’

‘We do not come to plead,’ said one of the men, calmly.  ‘We come to find out the reason why this army is camping outside our city.’

‘The cause should be apparent to even the most simple of an Englishman,’ sneered Odo.  ‘But perhaps they have sent the lord of simpletons to parlay with us.’

The man turned to look at Odo.  ‘I am neither simpleton nor Bishop,’ he said.  ‘I am Athelstan, thegn of the lands you are camping on.’

‘These lands belong to King William,’ said Roger.  ‘You owe him your fealty.’

‘I owe nothing to a man whose lordship I do not recognise,’ said Athelstan quietly.  ‘Had I lands in Normandy I would bend my knee to him.  But not in England.’

The other man looked at Athelstan with queasy alarm, his hands gripping tighter on the flagstaff.

‘You impudent serf,’ cried Odo.

‘Thegn,’ said Athelstan, ‘I would be called a baron in your land.’  His grey eyes held Odo’s unwaveringly, until the Bishop cursed and looked away.

‘Your title is immaterial,’ said de Montgommery.  ‘The matter under discussion is why the citizens of Exeter have risen up against the king and why you have chosen to give sanctuary to the mother of Harold Godwinson, the usurper of the throne.’

‘Gytha Torkelsdotter is an old lady who has chosen to spend her last days in this city.  She has not sought sanctuary.’  Athelstan gave a questioning look.  ‘Is there any need for her to do such a thing?’

‘Forget the old bitch,’ cried Odo.  ‘We want to know why Exeter has risen up against the king.’

‘Ah,’ said Athelstan.  ‘That is simple.  We do not recognise him as king.  We will pay him the tribute that we used to pay to the rightful kings of England but we will not give him fealty and nor will we allow him to enter our walls.’

There was a silence which lasted for a long, long moment.

‘I will enter,’ cried William.  His voice was as quiet as snow falling on fields.  ‘I will enter when you throw your gates open.’  He smiled at Athelstan, almost like a father smiles indulgently upon his son.

‘Or,’ William continued, ‘if you persist in defying me, I will enter marching through the guts of your people.’

The quiet menace hung in the air like a stench.

‘I think that this audience is at an end,’ said Athelstan.

William stared at him for a moment, almost as though he had not understood his words.

‘By God,’ he exploded. ‘I will decide when this audience ends and no other.  Seize them.’

At this a dozen of his knights sprang at the two heralds.  Athelstan drew his sword and fought back fiercely, slaying one of the knights and wounding two.  The other herald wailed in terror and fled, leaping upon his horse and galloping like the wind back to the city.

In a moment Athelstan was overcome and lay prostrate before William who was speechless with fury.

‘Force will gain you nothing,’ said Athelstan.  ‘We do not recognise you.’

‘You do not recognise me,’ William choked out at last.  ‘Then recognise nothing more.’  His face worked fearsomely.  ‘Kill him,’ he cried.

‘Hold,’ cried Montgommery.  The knights hesitated at the word.

He turned to William.  ‘My lord, this man is a herald and a brave man at that.  I beg you, do not harm him.  I will pledge good conduct for him.’

William held Montogommery’s gaze for a moment his eyes bulging from a face as red as sunset.  Then he nodded curtly.  ‘As you wish.  But I will teach these rebels a lesson they will not forget,’ he said.  ‘Bring me one of the hostages.’

Two of the knights hurried off and ran back, half dragging the fattest of the hostages with them.

‘Blind him,’ cried William.

The hostage shrieked as he was thrown to the ground.  One of the knights held his head firm while a second raised a dagger above his head.  But he paused and then turned to look at William.  ‘Do it,’ he cried, striking one clenched fist into his palm.

The knight shuddered but plunged the blade into the right eye-socket, worked it back and forth, slashing and cutting until the shredded eye slid out.  Then he drew out the blade and did the same to the left eye.

The hostage’s screams echoed over the army and the walls of the city.

I turned away in horror, struggling not to vomit.

‘He was a hostage,’ I heard Athelstan say, coldly.

‘And so are you,’ said William curtly.  ‘Remember it.’

From the walls of the city came a vast cry of disgust at what the Normans had done.  I glanced back at the rest of the hostages who stood looking on aghast.  ‘I expect they think they will be next,’ I whispered to Godwin.

‘I don’t care about them,’ he muttered.  ‘I care about us.’

‘I think we are safe,’ I said.

Godwin turned and looked at me as if I was mad.

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 The Lost King: Resistance is available on Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader and other e-readers

An Interview with Ty Johnston

Today, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to talk with Ty Johnston, author of fantasy, horror and literary fiction.

Martin: Before we focus on your own writing would you tell us about the authors and books which have had the greatest influence upon you?

As a child and teen, I was most influenced by the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, and to a lesser extent, Terry Brooks. I wanted to write horror and fantasy, and in the 1970s and early 1980s, these were the biggest names in those respective genres, as well as being authors readily available to me. As I grew older and my reading expanded, I’ve been influenced by a much wider spectrum of authors, from Neil Gaiman to Ed McBain, Stephen Erikson and Truman Capote, I could go on. John Gardner and to some extent, Tolstoy, have affected how I come to writing from a philosophical angle, but the pulp writers have influenced more my actual style of prose. As for books that have been an influence, again, the list could be quite long, but off the top of my head there is The Stand, Paradise Lost, The Hobbit, the short stories of Robert E. Howard, just about everything Ed McBain ever wrote, etc.

You tried to get your books published by the traditional publishing market for many years before going along the self-published route.  Is self-publishing something you would recommend to new authors?

I would recommend self publishing to every new author, despite the fact a stigma against self publishing still remains in some circles. I’m not suggesting self publishing need to be an end goal in and of itself, though it can be, but that even writers who want to work within the traditional publishing industry should go ahead and self publish. Why? To build an audience. To show the traditional publishing folks what you can accomplish on your own. If you have success, the traditional publishers will come calling, including agents and editors. Instead of waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen, be proactive and move ahead.

You write across a number of genres, fantasy, horror and literary fiction.  On your post about Novel Spaces you talk of the importance of writers opening their eyes to other genres.  Do you believe that the genres you work in cross-fertilise your writing and how useful is this to you?

As for how I write, I only recognize two genres, the speculative and the non-speculative. Obviously there are other genres and sub-genres and the like, but when I’m working, I only think in one of those two modes, speculative or non-speculative. I know from starting a project whether or not it will have speculative elements and the size of the role those elements will play in the story. So, yes, there is a cross-fertilization when I work within the speculative genres, because to me horror and fantasy are just different sides of the same coin, only my approach really differentiating them in my mind; even on the rare occasion when I pen a science fiction tale, to my way of thinking, is just another form of the speculative. There is less of this cross-polination between my speculative and non-speculative works, but some is still there. It all depends upon the tone I am trying to set with a particular story. Sometimes I will use traditional fantasy or horror elements, or tropes, within a non-speculative story because I’m going for a certain mood, and most times I feel this works. On the flip side, sometimes I will approach a story with fantastical elements from a more straight-forward point of view, hopefully giving what I hope to be a fresh approach.

How do you research your novels?  Do you do it before you start to write or is it more of an ongoing process?

For me, research is an eternal, ongoing process. Everything I read or watch or hear or discover or experience is research for my writing. Getting specific, since I write a lot of fantasy, I try to know my mythology and my history, especially from a practical point of view. Those who write abouts swords and castles and horses and the like from a fantasy perspective should know something about those things in the real world. And I don’t mean just book learning. Study architecture some to learn about castles. Learn about horses if your heroes are going to ride them. Learn how to carry a sword, how to use it, how it will feel in a person’s hands, how much it weighs, it’s lengths, etc. Different swords have different benefits in particular situations. Castle were built differently during particular eras for logical reasons. Horses have to be cared for and aren’t just cars you feed instead of fill up with gas. For horror, study criminals, serial killers and hitmen and the like, and know your mythology and occult. If you don’t, some of your readers will, and they won’t hesitate to point out where you screw up.

Do you have a favourite character in any of your books?  If so, what is it about this character that is so appealing?

For some while now, my favorite character has been my Belgad the Liar character, though I’ve not used him in anything new for some time now. Belgad is the main villain in City of Rogues, the first part of my Kobalos Trilogy, and he appears in the second and third books of that series, but to call him a villain is a disservice to him. Belgad can be quite ruthless and brutal at times, but he does have his own sense of honor, or at least a sense of how things should be. One thing I enjoyed about writing City of Rogues, and something several readers have pointed out, is that the line is blurred between the protagonist and the antagonist in the story. My Kron Darkbow character is the hero, but he’s not really any less brutal than Belgad, and in some ways is probably worse. It’s difficult to describe Belgad because I don’t believe there are too many characters exactly like him in fantasy literature; he’s a barbarian who has become a mob boss, and he’s quite intelligent and sometimes a little humorous. I eventually will get around to writing a trilogy of Belgad’s early days as a barbarian and his road to becoming a mobster in a land far from his homeland. And Belgad will show up again in other fantasy novels I will get around to.

If your most evil character were to give you advice what would it be and would you take it?

Probably not. I’d have a hard time picking out which of my villains is truly the most evil, with most of them being either dangerously insane or petty. I wouldn’t want to follow advice from either type of person. I wouldn’t trust such advice.

What would be a typical writing day for you?  Do you have set times, spaces, routines or rituals?

I really don’t have a “typical” writing day. I write almost every day, but some days I’ll only get out a couple of hundred words while other days I’ll get out five thousand words. I write mostly at home on an old HP desktop computer, but often enough I write out at a mall or book store or coffee shop on my HP netbook. Sometimes I use an old Mac I’ve got at home, but that’s usually for graphic design work and not writing. I also don’t have set times to write. I write early in the morning, late at night, in the middle of the night, afternoon, eveing, you name it. As for rituals, I don’t really follow any. I just try to write every day, usually writing at some point when I start to feel guilty for not having written already that day. 

If you could spend time with your favourite character where would it be?

Since Belgad is my favorite character at the moment, I would probably want to spend time doing someting semi-intellectual with him. Maybe playing chess at his place, or tasting fine ales at a decent tavern or fair. He’s not much for frivilolity, but I think I could appeal to his thinking side to get him chatting. Unfortunately, Belgad probably wouldn’t like me very much, not unless he could find some use for me.

What is your next writing project?

I’m currently busy typing in some old short stories and trunk novels I wrote a couple of decades ago on a typewriter. Most of this stuff will never see the light of day, at least not without major editing, but I’ve been meaning to transfer it to a digital format for some time now. Once I’ve completed this major task, which I’m guessing will take me a month or so, I’m not exactly sure what will be my next project. I always have a hundred or more ideas in my head, with a half dozen or so usually vying for the front spot. Most times I don’t definitively decide on my next project until the day I start writing it, though by that point I’ve got at least a mental outline of plot and characters and more for a dozen or so novels in my head. A lot depends upon my mood on any given day, but once I start a project, I see it through to the end.

Thanks very much, Ty.

You can find out more about Ty and his writing at the following places.

Ty’s blog: http://tyjohnston.blogspot.com/

Ty’s Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Ty-Johnston/e/B002MCBQRU/

Ty’s Smashwords page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/darkbow

Ty’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/htjohnston

Next weekend I’ll be talking to SJA Turney about his historical fiction.

Young musicians at the Fête de la Musique

I like music but can barely whistle a dirge let alone a tune.  I think I’m fortunate that I like many types of music from classical to pop and rock and most shades in between.

Not everything though. Much of Jazz leaves me bemused.  And as for electronic music.  It just makes me grimace and turn right off.  Memories of Rolf Harris and his Stylophone must have been the reason for this.  Which is sad because I was a great fan of Rolf when I was younger.

Anyway, I digress.

Yesterday was 21 June and this meant the Fête de la Musique in many cities around the world including Menton.

We spent the evening going from one show to another, many of them given by young people who had tons of talent and, more importantly, the commitment to music which meant they slogged hard to give their audience entertainment.

It was a great night and a great way to start the summer.

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Just a note that tomorrow, I’ve got the second of my interviews, this time with Ty Johnston, the fantasy, horror and literary fiction author.  Next weekend I’m interviewing SJA Turney about his historical fiction.

For those of you who missed David Gaughran talking about his book ‘A Storm Hits Valparaiso’ and his earlier one about his book ‘Let’s Get Digital’ you can find them here.

David Gaughran on ‘A Storm Hits Valparaiso.’

Interview with David Gaughran about his new book on indie self-publishing: ‘Let’s Get Digital.’

Let’s Get Digital. Part 2 of my interview with David Gaughran.