An Interview with Peter E. Fenton as he launches his second novel

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I have troubles putting into words my thoughts about my books, but my partner has a gentle way of interviewing that allows me to open up more easily. Earlier this month, Scott asked me a series of questions and we recorded the interview. Here’s the highlights as I disclose the journey to my latest novel.

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Scott: It’s been well over a year since I last interviewed you about your writing and your process around creating The Woodcarver’s Model, and now you have a new book coming out.

Pete: Yes. Mann Hunt is being released on August 29th.

Scott: So let’s talk about the new book. Does it follow the same characters as The Woodcarver’s Model, or is it something completely new?

Pete: Mann Hunt is completely new. New characters, new location and it is a murder mystery. The novel definitely has a bit of a darker edge. It’s also the first in a three part series (The Declan Hunt Mysteries).

Scott: So is there anything similar about this book to your first novel?

Pete: There are three primary similarities. As in my previous book, readers will meet an assortment of interesting characters and the book is told from multiple points of view. It means that the central character doesn’t have to be in every scene, and it allows the reader to travel more widely through the world I am creating.

The second similarity is that this book is set in Canada. Mann Hunt takes place in Calgary, Alberta and for those familiar with the city, there will be a lot of recognizable locales.

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Mann Hunt takes place in Calgary

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One other similarity is that the world I create for my characters is heightened. In The Woodcarver’s Model the inhabitants of Marsh Island were a community of varied individuals, but they all had strong and sometimes over-the-top personalities. In Mann Hunt the central character Declan Hunt is a troubled soul with a lot of life experience, and his new assistant Charlie Watts is young and somewhat naive. They have moments of great seriousness, and moments of silliness. They are not one-dimensional characters. The other characters that populate the story range from good-natured to downright evil, but among all of this there are also gangsters that pause their business to enjoy a good piece of pastry, and other secondary characters that are only in a few scenes that make a huge impact. My books are about taking readers on a journey to a place that isn’t ordinary … one that is richly populated with interesting people, and people who have troubled pasts. First and foremost, these books are meant to entertain.

Scott: How has your process changed in terms of your writing since your first book?

Pete: I would like to think that I’m improving my craft. My editor Anna Olson really pushes me to try and make my story-telling clearer. She is excellent at identifying sections where I need to be a bit more prosaic … likely due to my history as a playwright who was primarily focused on dialogue as opposed to visual description. Anna also supports me developing my own voice. I rarely get content editing notes, but she provides a lot of more technical notes about ways to avoid pitfalls that might distance my readers. I greatly admire her patience and skill.

And as a writer I am still relatively new to writing novels, and with each book I am still finding my way in terms of my process. For instance, Mann Hunt is a mystery and plotting a murder mystery is very complex. I start with an outline, and focus on my characters. I know how the book is going to begin and end, but the path to getting to that ending, the clues that are dropped along the way and the order those clues are given in … that shifted right up until final revisions of the book with the editor.

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Writing a three part series, also means having a long vision for the piece. In Mann Hunt I am trying to set up characters that will continue onward through the second and third book. It also means having a long-range vision of the romantic journey for the main characters. And the biggest challenge of all is that because this book is a slow burn, in the first book, the romance is more of a sub-plot that will take on greater importance as the second and third novel is released. The mystery in the book is a stand-alone, but the relationship piece between Charlie and Declan is an arc that will unfold over the three books. There are still steamy scenes, but they happen in surprising ways.

Scott: I’m intrigued. I’d like to talk more about those steamy scenes. You recently wrote an essay for The Globe and Mail where you talked about coming to terms with writing sex scenes in your novels. Can you talk more about that?

Peter: Different readers want different levels of steam in a book. No matter what I write, it will appeal to some, and not to others. I always write my books from the place of being a gay male and so the types of scenes I write focus on the way men interact with men in my experience. I am also, more importantly, writing from the wants and desires of the characters. In Mann Hunt the sex scenes are not just used to spice up a moment in the book, but they are used to identify status and power of the characters. Sex can be used to express love, but it can also be used purely for physical release or it can be used in a way that may be manipulative. The sex scenes (and there aren’t a lot of them) are integral to either character development or plot. The Woodcarver’s Model had more romance, with some sex. Mann Hunt has less direct romance (as the focus is on a murder mystery) but that will evolve much more in the second book.

Scott: In that same Globe and Mail article you talked about “romantiphobia”. What is that?

Peter: A fear of being associated with romance … or in this case being labelled as a romance writer. Romance novels have long been perceived as pulp writing. Prior to starting on my first novel, I hadn’t read much romance, and certainly never read much gay romance. In my mind’s eye, all I saw were the book racks in the airports showing Harlequin covers of partially dressed people and my assumption was that the books were light stories that didn’t have deeper meaning. I thought of them as reading for pure entertainment and therefore somewhat disposable. And I see nothing wrong with that, but I had never fully explored what level of craft the books did or didn’t contain.

So for me to say I was a romance writer to others … and a gay romance writer at that, it felt like people might perceive that the writing was somehow lesser, or easier to create. I can tell you that since I began this journey, I have read many other romance writers. It may be true that there are varying qualities of writing, but the best of them are very well written. Many of the top grossing films have a romance at the core. And they are often based on well written books. So the Globe and Mail article was a way of breaking my “romantiphobia” … my fear of saying I am a romance novelist, and wearing that badge with pride. My goal when I write is over time to become know as one of the writers whose work has romance and sex and relationship, but also strong characters, interesting stories and perhaps even explores deeper themes in the process. The response to the Globe and Mail article was incredibly positive. If anyone wants to read the piece, they can do so by clicking here.

Scott: So what sorts of themes are you exploring in Mann Hunt?

Peter: There are two central themes. One is about how people experience homophobia. There are characters who are struggling with internalized homophobia and staying closeted. There are characters who openly express their distaste for gay relationships, and there are characters who are navigating familial tensions surrounding their sexuality. It was important to me that this element was touched on in a way that served the plot and not just used to create conflict. Each of the characters has a very different relationship to their sexuality.

The other theme is about fathers and sons and as the series goes on, about how we create family in our lives.

I don’t want to make it sound like the books are going to be heavy dramatic reading. Mann Hunt is a fast paced mystery filled with clues for the reader to follow, and it has many moments of lightness. But threaded throughout the stories are characters that are conflicted and dealing with their personal issues, and it is those things that give the book a little more depth.

Scott: So Mann Hunt comes out in August. I’ll put a link to the pre-order at the bottom of this interview. But what comes next after that?

Peter: I am thrilled to announce that I have a youth gay romance coming out in 2024. An acquisitions editor from Lorimer Publishing in Canada approached me after The Woodcarver’s Model came out and asked if I would be interested in trying my hand at a youth novel. I spent the early part of 2023 writing Not Not Normal, and it is now in revisions with the publisher. This book is entirely different from the other books and has a gentler edge to it. It is filled with heart and charm. I’m really proud of it.

And since Mann Hunt is a three part series, I am writing on the second book in the series, which will come out in the summer of 2024. It is called Hoodoo House.

Scott: That sounds like your plate is very full. Thanks for taking time to talk to me today and I wish you all the very best with the release of Mann Hunt and your upcoming books in 2024. Perhaps we’ll check in early in the year around the time of the release of the youth novel.

Pete: I would like that very much. Thanks so much for your time.

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The Woodcarver’s Model is published by Pride Publishing and is available for purchase by clicking here.

Mann Hunt will be released by Pride Publishing on August 29th of 2023 and can be pre-ordered by clicking here.