Tell us about your latest book
King’s Warrior is the third in a series about Owerd, a decent but unsophisticated 11th century Briton who has struggled out of poverty by dint of courage and good fortune (“wyrd” if you will). The series came about by accident, initially intended as a single volume to bring Charles Kingsley’s classic novel “Hereward the Wake” into a more digestible form for the contemporary reader.
That attempt proved impossible – one cannot, I found, tinker with a classic, however challenging its rather antiquated prose. Hence a new character set in the same period of a land beset by inequity, strife and a Norman invasion. In this book Owerd, having already established his credentials as a loyal subject and “Sea Lord” returns to the role he fills best, that of warrior.
What is your preferred writing routine?
Having led a predominantly disciplined military life, I have since shrugged off the shackles of any routine in my writing endeavours. I simply write when the mood takes me and “life” doesn’t intervene. I need peace and a vacant diary but having begun a story my mind is never far from the circumstances the people in my story find themselves in and what may come next in their journey.
More often than not that leads to a need for ever more research on a particular topic and I can spend many hours reading or on the internet doing just that. When trying, as I do, to involve real people and historical events lacking detailed records, that can become very time consuming. Having written a few contemporary tales, I find the process and my own routine for writing historical fiction quite different: many hours of researching might well lead to a single sentence. In those circumstances one cannot simply put quill to parchment at a particular time of day and expect the story to flow.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
I cannot in all conscience offer reliable advice to any aspiring writer. I would venture to suggest, though, that a key ingredient of success is to focus on subjects that interest you. Without your own interest being fully engaged then it is improbable that the reader’s interest will be. Once that is established then you just need the determination to get writing. There is a “but”. Perhaps don’t attempt “War and Peace” without stopping after a single chapter and doing two things: seek another’s opinion and edit, probably in reverse order.
Editing is a time consuming and annoying but essential process: typos and awkward phrases can creep into the most erudite text and kill it off instantly for the otherwise keen reader. Another factor is deciding who that reader is. A friend who read a couple of my modern adventure stories returned the third book with the comment that he hadn’t finished it because “it contained too many long words”. Writing style perhaps needs to match the likely audience and genre of the work. I suspect readers of historical fiction tend to be more educated and linguistically demanding than the norm.
What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?
I am still experimenting with ways of raising awareness. As an “indie” writer without the benefit of a professional agent or publisher I struggle and need to balance the investment involved in the many agencies that offer promotional efforts with the likely (and not assured) return. Word of mouth has been helpful whilst I have been disappointed with Amazon advertising. I am not a wealthy person, but equally I am not starving. Enormous sales, whilst good for the ego, are not my goal: I would much rather hear that a few people had enjoyed a good read. That is far more satisfying.
Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research
Something I have come to realise but should probably have known all along. Men and women of the 11th century were little different in their way of thinking than they are today. Fear, anger, pride, shame, joy and jealousy etc are human characteristics that I detect little change in over time. The one surprising element is how universally indifferent society then seems to have been to the place of women. Basically, women were ignored, or at best tolerated simply for their necessary reproductive functions.
What was the hardest scene you remember writing?
There are two scenes – or types of scenes – that I find particularly challenging to write. These are scenes involving violent or sexual interaction. On each occasion of one such event arising I find it challenging to find the right balance between realism and undue detail. There is far too much blood and gore depicted in daily news to be over-exposed to readers again in what is intended to be a piece of escapist literature. Equally, the period of my story involved considerable violence and bloodshed so needs to be depicted. Sex is also inevitable: it is what keeps the planet populated. Again, this has become for me a matter of balance and I tend to choose somewhat restrained language rather than lurid detail.
What are you planning to write next?
I feel the urge to write a sequel to King’s Warrior to continue the Owerd Chronicles. At the same time, I would like to avoid any predictability. Historical fiction can be very demanding in that context. It is a little like writing a story about Anne Boleyn – we all know the ending. I can sometimes read the first chapter of a contemporary romance or adventure tale and confidently predict the outcome. I would like to avoid that same fate with Owerd. Time will tell!
James Gault
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About the Author
