An Interview With Helen Hollick (and maybe a couple of pirates thrown in for good measure?)

New on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Helen has written a series of nautical Voyages based around her fictional pirate, Captain Jesamiah Acorne and his ship, Sea Witch, but her latest UK release in paperback is a non-fiction book – Pirates: Truth and Tales published by Amberley Press, which explores our fascination with the real pirates and those who are favourites in fiction. Today, Helen drops anchor for another interesting addition to her on-line two-week Voyage around the Blogs and answers a few piratical questions…

Tell us about your latest book

Hello everyone! First of all, thank you Tony for inviting me as a guest on to your blog: I’ve had a look around and you have some very interesting articles here. I’ll try to match the standard!

I’m here to talk about my latest release, a non-fiction light-hearted read: Pirates: Truth and Tales which is due for publication in in paperback by Amberley Press in July 2018 and a little later in the year in the US – but already available for pre-order, I believe.

I usually write fiction, some ‘straight’ historical fiction  – the 1066 era and a trilogy about King Arthur, and a nautical adventure series about – well, pirates. One pirate in particular, a made-up scoundrel of a loveable rogue who gets into all sorts of swashbuckling scrapes – and manages, somehow, to get out of them again. My tag line is: ‘Trouble follows Captain Jesamiah Acorne like a ship’s wake.’

The love of his life is Tiola, a healer, midwife and white witch, but he is often torn between loyalty to her and the pull of the sea and his ship, Sea Witch. I wrote the first in the series (titled Sea Witch) because I enjoyed the fun of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie and wanted to read something similar. I couldn’t find what I wanted for adults, so wrote my own. I am currently writing the sixth Voyage, Gallows Wake.

Amberley Press, however, approached me to write a non-fiction book about pirates to explore the truth and the tales of these dastardly rogues. Why is it that we adore tales of pirates, dress up like them, have pirate festivals and fun days, when in reality they were the terrorists of their age, the early eighteenth century? Although this ‘Golden Age of Piracy’ only lasted a few short years, those years almost brought the cross-Atlantic trade to its knees.

I was a little hesitant about producing a non-fiction book, having never really written one before. (I did produce a ‘tips on writing a novel’ booklet, but I don’t count that.) Then I figured I had posted quite a few interesting (I hope!) articles on my own blog and as guest posts for other blogs, so why not give it a go? My aim was to be light-hearted, maybe a little tongue-in-cheek and to explore this nautical world of cutlasses, treasure and high-sea Chases with a touch of fun, interspersed with the serious side of pirates. Many of them, despite our romantic view, were not very nice people. To break up the factual sections in the book I also delved into the fiction that we enjoy, including excerpts from some popular fiction. Fingers crossed.

What is your preferred writing routine?

I wish I could say I have one, but I don’t. I try to do the ‘admin’ type work of a morning: Facebook, Twitter, answering emails, and I run an historical novel review site called Discovering Diamonds which primarily supports indie/self-published writers but we also review traditional mainstream and the occasional non-fiction book.

I try to write of an afternoon – if the dogs don’t need walking, the garden doesn’t need weeding, the horses don’t need attending to. I live in an eighteenth century Devonshire farmhouse surrounded by thirteen acres of land, with my study windows overlooking the beautiful Taw Valley. It’s no wonder I get distracted!

What advice do you have for new writers?

Get professionals to edit your work and design your covers. Yes I know it costs money, but you have put a huge amount of effort into getting your book written, doesn’t that effort deserve the best quality when it comes to the final production stage?

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

Marketing can be time-consuming, but marketing is essential. Having a fabulous on-line ’shop window’ website, blog, Facebook or Twitter page etc., and encouraging potential readers to ‘come inside and browse’ often seems a hopeless task, but the trick is to be interesting and varied, and don’t keep on and on about your books. I generate most interest through my blog Let Us Talk of Many Things (link below) and I think I draw in the visitors because I vary my own posts and also host guests. Whether anyone actually reads any of it is another matter, *laugh*.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

One of the chapters in Pirates: Truth and Tales relates to the book A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson. It was written circa 1724 and the thing is, we do not know who Charles Johnson actually was, the name is a pseudonym. Usually, the author is assumed to be Daniel Defoe but while researching this section I came to realise that Defoe knew nothing at all about seamanship or pirates, so why would he write this book? And I came up with a very logical, and I’m convinced, correct, conclusion. Except I’m not divulging it here. You’ll have to read the book.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

The final scene in my Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy. Set in post-Roman era the trilogy is based on the earlier Welsh legends, not the Medieval tales, so there are no knights, no holy grail, no Lancelot, no Merlin, just the story of the boy who became the man, who became the king, who became the legend. Except we all know what happened to Arthur in the end. He dies. And writing his death, after being with that character for something like ten years was very hard to do.

What are you planning to write next?

More of Jesamiah, and I have recently completed a non-fiction about smugglers which is due to be published in early 2019. I’m quite excited about it!

Thank you, again Tony for being one of the hosts on my Virtual Book Tour, I haveenjoyed my visit to your blog.

© Helen Hollick

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About the Author

Helen moved from London in 2013 and now lives with her family in North Devon, in an eighteenth century farmhouse. First published in 1994, her passion now is her pirate character, Captain Jesamiah Acorne of the nautical adventure series, The Sea Witch Voyages. Helen became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (UK title A Hollow Crown) the story of Saxon Queen, Emma of Normandy. Her novel Harold the King (US title I Am The Chosen King) explores the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy, set in the fifth century, is widely praised as a more down-to-earth historical version of the Arthurian legend. She has written three non-fiction books, Pirates: Truth and Tales, Smugglers in Fact and Fiction (to be published 2019) and as a supporter of indie writers, co-wrote Discovering the Diamond with her editor, Jo Field, a short advice guide for new writers. She runs the Discovering Diamonds review blog for historical fiction assisted by a team of enthusiastic reviewers.  Helen is published in various languages. For more information visit Helen's website www.helenhollick.net and blog www.ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com and follow her on Facebook
and Twitter @HelenHollick.

Sign up for Helen’s Newsletter and be entered for an annual prize draw. 

One name ‘picked from the hat’ in December will win a £10/$10 Amazon gift voucher.
Subscribe here: http://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick

Follow Helen’s Tour:

These links will take you to the Home Page of each blog host – Helen says thank you for their interest and enthusiasm! For exact URL links to each article go to Helen’s website:  www.helenhollick.net  which will be updated every day of the tour.

30th July: Cryssa Bazos  https://cryssabazos.com/ Dropping Anchor to Talk About Pirates
31st July: Anna Belfrage  https://annabelfrage.wordpress.com/ Ships That Pass…
1st August: Carolyn Hughes https://carolynhughesauthor.com/blog/ Pirates of the Middle Ages
2nd August: Alison Morton   https://alison-morton.com/blog/ From Pirate to Emperor
3rd August: Annie Whitehead https://rwranniewhitehead.blogspot.com/ The Vikings: Raiders or Pirates?
4th August: Tony Riches http://tonyriches.blogspot.co.uk/ An Interview With Helen Hollick (and maybe a couple of pirates thrown in for good measure?)
5th August: Lucienne Boyce http://francesca-scriblerus.blogspot.com/ Anne and Mary. Pirates.
6th August: Laura Pilli http://fieldofbookishdreams.blogspot.co.uk/ Why Pirates?
7th August: Mary Tod https://awriterofhistory.com/ That Essential Element… For A Pirate.
8th August: Pauline Barclay http://paulinembarclay.blogspot.com/ Writing Non-Fiction. How Hard Can It Be? 
9th August: Nicola Smith http://shortbookandscribes.uk/ Pirates: The Tales Mixed With The Truth
10th August: Christoph Fischer https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/ In The Shadow Of The Gallows
11th August: Debdatta http://www.ddsreviews.in/ What Is It About Pirates?
12th August: Discovering Diamonds https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.co.uk/ It’s Been An Interesting Voyage…
13th August: Sarah Greenwood https://www.amberley-books.com/blog Pirates: The Truth and the Tales
14th August: Antoine Vanner https://dawlishchronicles.com/dawlish-blog/ The Man Who Knew About Pirates

Guest Interview With Catherine Meyrick, Author of Forsaking All Other

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Today I'm pleased to welcome author Catherine Meyrick:

Please tell us about your latest book

Forsaking All Other is my first published novel. It is set in England in the 1580s and follows the struggles of a young widow and waiting woman, Bess Stoughton, who discovers that her father is arranging for her to marry an elderly neighbour. Normally obedient Bess rebels and manages to convince her father to allow her a year to find a husband with whom she has some hope of happiness. Bess’s domestic concerns are set against the background of simmering Catholic plots to unseat Queen Elizabeth, and the involvement of English forces under the Earl of Leicester in the Netherlands in support of Dutch resistance to Spanish rule. 

These larger matters are of little concern to Bess until she meets Edmund Wyard, a veteran of England’s campaign in Ireland, who is preparing to join the Earl of Leicester’s army; he too is trying to avoid his family’s marriage plans for him. The major characters in the novel are fictional but the historical timeline and background are as accurate as I could make them. Forsaking All Other does not revolve around the Elizabethan Court but is essentially the story of ordinary people in a time of suspicion and war. 

By making my characters conventional, I hoped to show something of the reality of lives in the past, the lack of freedom that women. and men too, had in determining their own lives and even their choice of spouse, and the difficulties that a could arise when they stepped outside the boundaries of a far more rigidly structured society than our own.

What is your preferred writing routine?

My preferred writing routine bears no relation to my actual routine. 

Because of work and family commitments, I have to fit writing in where I can. Most weeks I manage to write six days a week, usually around three hours in the afternoon and a couple of hours in the evening. Though, when I am particularly inspired, or have a deadline, I use every spare minute and let the non-essential domestic routine go (my mother used to say housework will always be there tomorrow). I can’t afford to be fussy about my writing environment, most of the time I can sit down anywhere and write. I find that once I concentrate, extraneous noise fades away.

My preferred writing routine would be to take a brisk walk or swim every morning and sit down around 8 am with a strong cup of coffee and write for the next four hours. I find I often untangle problems while swimming or on a walk around our local lake but I only manage that about once a week.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Read, read, read. Read classics, read what is popular, read in your chosen genre and read outside it. Take a few reputable writing courses. And revise and redraft, as many times as is needed even if you end up completing a dozen drafts like I do. If you can, find a couple of readers, or other writers you can share with, who you can try your new story out on and who are willing to give you their honest opinion. Listen to any professional advice you are given and think especially seriously about those things they say that you hate the most–they are probably right. Most of all, keep faith in yourself and don’t give up. 

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

I am still learning what works best through trial and error. I started with a blog tour with Amy Bruno’s Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. Amy was incredibly supportive, helping me with things I never expected, like setting up my GoodReads page. She organized a fortnight of reviews, interviews and book spotlights with enthusiastic bloggers who have a love of historical fiction. 

The wonderful thing is that now, if a reader is not convinced by the cover and the blurb, there are a number of reviews out there that hopefully will convince her that Forsaking All Other really is worth reading. I use both Facebook and Twitter to regularly promote the book using snippets from the reviews with links to my website or to Amazon. I am now considering Amazon advertising which I have been told is quite effective – we shall see!

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

Despite my many years of reading about 16th century England, I had the idea that widows had a fair degree of freedom, especially when choosing a second husband. I suspect this came partly because we know it wasn’t unusual for a widow to manage her deceased husband business and we like to concentrate on the lives of women whose experiences were extraordinary. We tend to think of parents whose main concern was wealth and position forcing marriages on unwilling daughters but I was surprised to see that even those with their daughters’ best interest at heart did the same. Young windows with property had little say in the choice of a second spouse. 

Margaret Dakins (1571-1633), the author of the earliest known diary written by a woman in English, was the only daughter of a wealthy well-connected Yorkshire family and was educated in the household of Henry Hastings, third Earl of Huntingdon and his countess, Catherine. When Margaret’s first husband, Walter Devereaux, was killed at the siege of Rouen in 1591, her parents and the Huntingdons as her guardians hoped to protect her from fortune hunters, so they began negotiations within a fortnight of Devereaux’ death, before his body had even been returned to England for burial. Three months later Margaret married Thomas Sidney, the younger brother of Sir Philip Sidney, the hero of Zutphen. Sidney died three and a half years later in June 1595. Just two months on, Sir Thomas Posthumous Hoby was pressing his suit. Hoby was not the most prepossessing of men, described by his mother, Lady Russell, as ‘wanting in stature, learning and otherwise’ and possibly the inspiration for Malvolio in Twelfth Night. 

Margaret was encouraged to entertain him although she was initially resistant. Her marriage to Thomas Sidney appears to have been happy yet, although ‘the tender love she bare to him that was dead, made yt grevous to her to hear of any newe’ husband, negotiations went ahead and Margaret agreed to marry Hoby. This was largely due to his connection to William Cecil, Lord Burghley and the influence that could be used to settle a property dispute involving Margaret’s much loved manor at Hackness that had been part of her original marriage settlement. Even as late as July 1596 Margaret described herself as ‘she that is nothing but grefe and misery’, but, as dutiful as her later diary shows her, on 9 August 1596 she married Sir Thomas Hoby at his mother’s house in Blackfriars. 

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

Most definitely the Battle of Zutphen(1586). Even in well-written fiction, I skim through battle scenes; they are, for me, the least interesting part of any story. With the Battle of Zutphen I had a great deal of information on what happened and needed to distil that to its essentials and then place my fictional characters in the middle of it and have it all sound plausible. I had the added difficulty of describing a situation that was, fortunately, completely beyond my experience. Reading diaries and memoirs that touched on the experience of war helped me to get a sense both of battle and the anxiety of waiting beforehand.

What are you planning to write next?

I am currently revising a novel called The Bridled Tongue set in England a couple of years later than Forsaking All Other with an entirely new set of characters. Once again, it deals with the making of marriages in this period, this time an arranged marriage that the young woman goes along with it, as so many did. Alys Bradley unenthusiastically enters into such a marriage with Thomas Granville, a privateer, not only because of pressure from her father but to escape a suitor she considers a worse prospect. 

I want to explore the way a relationship could develop where the partners to it are not ‘in love’. ‘The Bridled Tongue’ touches on other issues such as sibling rivalry and jealousy, the dangers of gossip, witchcraft accusations and the way the past can reach out and affect the present. The backdrop is the threat of immanent invasion by the Spanish in 1588 – the Spanish Armada.

Catherine Meyrick

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About the Author

Catherine Meyrick is a librarian with a love of history. She has a Master of Arts in history and is also a family history obsessive. Although she grew up in regional Victoria, Catherine has lived her adult life in Melbourne, Australia. Find out more at Catherine’s website https://catherinemeyrick.com/ and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @cameyrick1.

Visiting St Margaret's Westhorpe - Parish Church of Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Sir Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk

While in Suffolk researching for my new book on Charles Brandon I tracked down their parish church in Westhorpe. At the far end of the tranquil village St Margaret's is where Mary Tudor and her husband Charles Brandon had worshipped for eighteen years, as although they had a private chapel at their nearby manor house, it was important to be seen by the people.

There is a local story that when Mary Tudor died in 1533, her internal organs were removed and buried near the altar of Westhorpe church. In the early years of the 17th century a Royal Herald named Henry Chitting visited St Margaret's and recorded in his diary that in the chancel:

 'By lyes under a little stone the bowells of the French Queen Mary, wife of Charles Brandon, D of Suffolk'. 

Perhaps the story is true, but if so, I saw no sign of the 'little stone' mentioned by Henry Chitting.

A Grade I listed building, St Margaret's church is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and has Norman stone, carved with the distinctive zigzag pattern, in the south doorway.  The south chapel has a parclose screen, dating between 1350-1400 which is one of the earliest painted screens in England, and the original decorative pattern is still visible in several places.

The pew contained within the screen is referred to as the 'royal pew' and is likely to have been used by Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon. Inside the Barrow Chapel is a simple plaque which I'd come to see, in memory of Mary:

Although the church has been extensively modified over the centuries, the original Tudor 'embattlement' still survives at the rear, and could have been paid for by Charles Brandon as Duke of Suffolk:

Here is a short extract from my book Mary - Tudor Princess, which describes one of her many visits to St Margaret's church:

- April 1519 -

A hush fell over the waiting congregation as Mary made her way to their pew, the hem of her satin gown swishing on the tiled floor. Behind her followed Anne and little Mary Brandon, carrying their prayer books, with her ladies-in-waiting, Lady Anne and Lady Elizabeth Grey, all in their best Sunday gowns.
   Mary enjoyed her role as lady of the manor and her regular attendances at the parish church were her most visible commitment. A short walk from Westhorpe Hall, these services and the summer fairs provided her main contact with real people, the merchants and farmers of her adopted county of Suffolk.
   Her royal pew was one of Brandon’s more astute investments of their limited funds. He’d ordered it to be made from local oak, finely carved with red-and-white painted Tudor roses and Mary’s gilded fleur-de-lis of France. It was good to see and be seen by the people of the village, and helped pass the weeks when Brandon was away at court and on estate business, as he was much of the time. Mary missed him but knew her duty was to raise the children as well as she could.
   The village priest, a portly man with a rich local accent, waited until they were seated then led them all in a prayer of thanks to God, his deep voice echoing from the high vaulted roof.
   ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam...’
   Mary clasped her hands together and bowed her head. She had much to give thanks for. Little Harry, now three years old, grew stronger and was learning to ride a pony, with patient tuition from his father. Frances had the red-gold hair of the Tudors and delighted visitors as she tottered around in her blue silk gown, trimmed with gold lace, like a miniature version of Mary.
   Her mind wandered as the priest continued with his sermon. She prayed for Queen Catherine, who had not been so fortunate. The nation mourned when the queen lost her infant daughter the previous November, the baby so weak she died before she could be christened.
   Brandon told her the king’s pregnant mistress had been moved to the Priory of St Lawrence near Ingatestone and Henry prayed for a son. Little her brother did surprised Mary. She’d said how unbearable the news must be for Catherine, particularly as Bessie Blount had been her maid of honour, but had been shocked at Brandon’s reply.
   ‘Queen Catherine is not getting any younger.’ He made it sound like an accusation.
   Mary found herself springing to her friend’s defence. ‘She could not have done more to provide my brother with an heir—’
   Brandon interrupted her with a knowing look. ‘There’s talk at court of an annulment.’ His words hung in the air like a threat.
   ‘Henry would never do such a thing to Catherine.’ She gave him a scornful look.
   Brandon shrugged. ‘All I can tell you is what I heard.’
   She suspected there was more he’d chosen to keep from her, for fear she would feel obliged to share it with Queen Catherine. In her heart, Mary knew her friend was doomed. It angered her but Brandon was right. Catherine was in her mid-thirties. With every passing year her chances of a healthy son were reduced, which meant her own little Henry could one day become king.

Tony Riches

See also:

Exploring Westhorpe Hall, Home of Mary Tudor (Queen of France) and Charles Brandon
Visiting the Tomb of Mary Tudor, Queen of France
Researching and Writing Mary – Tudor Princess

Book Review: Everyday Life in Tudor London, by Stephen Porter

Available from Amazon UK, Amazon US 

and direct from Amberley Publishing

Although the subtitle of this book is 'Life in the City of Thomas Cromwell, William Shakespeare and Anne Boleyn', Stephen Porter evokes the colourful Tudor London experienced by all the people who lived in this ever-changing capital city.

Tudor Londoners had to contend with what Porter describes as the 'swinging pendulum' of religious reform, risking their lives if they worshipped in the 'wrong' way. At the same time, they had to contend with the dreaded 'sweating sickness' and plagues that could kill a fifth of the population, taking young and old, rich and poor.

Criminals lurked at every street corner and Thomas Moore noted that the causes of crime included, 'bawds, queans, whores, harlots, strumpets, brothel-houses, stews, wine-taverns, ale-houses and tippling houses...' (I had to look up 'queans' and found it refers to impudent or badly behaved girls or women.)

On the plus side, the shops of prosperous foreign merchants created employment and theatres and gambling made London life more fun. The wealthy began to make provision for the poorest and infirm Londoners, and hospitals became more common than prisons.

The new wealth and the opportunities created familiar problems of sustainable growth and overcrowding, and the primitive sewage systems couldn't cope. The narrow streets stank of human and animal waste and the gutters carried disease, yet were still vibrant on market days, when you could buy anything from a bolt of silk to a live chicken.

Tudor London was a dangerous, noisy, dirty but ultimately successful capital, a place I would love to visit but not to live.

I am happy to recommend Stephen Porter's book to anyone with an interest in the Tudor period or in how the city of London developed into the capital it is today.  

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Stephen Porter is an acknowledged expert on London's history. After holding research posts in history at Oxford University and King’s College, London, he worked for seventeen years with the Survey of London, a project begun in the late nineteenth century devoted to the history of London’s built environment. After his retirement he served as Honorary Archivist of Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse. He has written widely on London’s history: his books include The Great Fire of London, The Great Plague of London, London’s Plague Years, Shakespeare’s London, Pepys’s London, The Tower of London and London: A History in Paintings and Illustrations. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society and now lives in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Book review ~ Amy Robsart: A Life and Its End, by Christine Hartweg

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

I've always been intrigued by the mystery of Amy Robsart, the unfortunate wife of Queen Elizabeth I's alleged lover, Robert Dudley, who died after apparently falling down a short flight of stairs in September 1560. Amy Dudley's death caused a scandal across half of Europe, yet although Robert Dudley was widely suspected, the truth of what happened is debated to this day.

This fascinating book by Dudley specialist Christine Hartweg explores Amy's death from every conceivable angle. Every surviving letter and document is analysed in the context of the time - and contrasted with interesting use of modern clinical and statistical evidence about on such falls. 

I was unaware that the coroner's report was wrongly filed under 1561 instead of 1560 and was only discovered by chance in 2008 by Steven Gunn, who was studying accidental Tudor deaths. The last sentence states (in Latin) that 'Lady Amy in the manner and form aforesaid by misfortune came to her death and not otherwise.'

There is also a full exploration of the many myths and stories about her over the centuries, with a discussion of the possible motives of their authors. These range from scheming foreign ambassadors to Dudley's many enemies and Sir Walter Scott's historical novel Kenilworth (published in 1821).

The Death of Amy Robsart, as imagined by
Victorian artist William Frederick Yeames

Did Amy fall and break her neck by accident? Was it suicide? or could she have been pushed or poisoned? If she was murdered, who might have been responsible? Has her death changed the course of English history? You will have to read the book and draw your own conclusion. Highly recommended.

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Christine Hartweg lives in Berlin and was born in South America in 1972. She has researched the Dudley family of Tudor England since 2008 and has advised the BBC and other TV channels. Christine runs the specialist blog www.allthingsrobertdudley.wordpress.com and you can find her on Twitter @BuffHistory 

Guest Interview with Author Varun Sayal

New from Amazon UK and Amazon US

I'm pleased to welcome author Varun Sayal to my blog today:

Please tell us about your latest book

My latest book is a sci-fi fantasy short stories book Time Crawlers. The journey of this book from conception to publishing is an interesting tale in itself. I have been writing short stories on various blogs, websites such as Medium and other such writer forums for a few years now and readers have been loving my work. But sometime around the beginning of 2018, I decided that a more concentrated organized effort on publishing was required if I wanted to reach and ‘wow’ a mass audience. Around February of 2018, I started to pen down stories with a very specific theme in mind, Science Fiction. And that’s how “Time Crawlers” was born.

Specifically speaking about the stories. I had written the story “Genie” very long back, perhaps around two years back, but rest of the stories “Time Crawlers” and “Death By Crowd” etc. were written only a few months back. All these stories were just scattered pieces of fiction and were yet to be woven into a storybook. How I came about an idea of choosing these six stories for my book, among many others I have written, was an interesting thought process. If you look at the underlying tones for these stories, they are very different. Death by Crowd has a very dark theme with a near future kind of storyline, whereas "Nark-Astra, the hell weapon" is an ancient mythology tale from a parallel universe. While Genie, is very light alternative take on Djinn folklore, "The Cave" narrates a story of a powerful planet consuming entity in crosshairs with a legendary telekinetic protector. But the underlying theme which connects all these stories is Science Fiction and the concept that they all take place in different parallel universes, which are not much different from ours.

What is your preferred writing routine?

I prefer to write in the mornings between 08:00 to 10:00 AM because that’s the time when awesome ideas flow in quickly with a fresh perspective. I can portray the picture of my writing space for you. I usually sit on a comfy chair with a proper backrest, with my legs on the table, a fresh cup of piping hot tea on my side, a pillow on my lap and a laptop comfortably resting on it while my fingers clack on the keyboard bringing universes to life.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Two thoughts I would like to share with writers who haven’t started writing as yet:
a) Just Write, but don’t stop until perfection: This is going to be a long one so please bear with me, because this is a major factor which prevents writers from writing. I would like to use the Nike Slogan here “Just Do it”. Don’t wait for a perfect idea or a eureka thought, at times a mere inkling of a situation or a gesture by someone can spark a story within you.

Mr. K.V. Vijyendra Prasad, an eminent Indian fiction writer, and father of famous South Indian movie-director Mr. S.S. Rajamouli once said in an interview that we writers are thieves, who steal inspiration from our daily lives, from real incidents. Seek those inspirations and let your ink flow. Somewhere within us, there is a writing muscle, more you write, more you exercise it and stronger and sharper it becomes. Similarly, famous psychology writer Malcolm Gladwell gave some kind of a ten thousand hours rule, which means in order to attain significant expertise in any field of prominence an expert needs around then thousand hours of practice; well that applies to writing too, so you get the hint.

While I understand that there are cases where many writers don’t write for long spans of their lives and one day they just pen down their magnum opus. But for some others such as me, the fifteenth version of my story is very different from the first one. Eminent writer Mr. Stephen King has also emphasized on revising the stories again and again. Lessons from product management, especially from celebrities such as Guy Kawasaki, also tell us that the first product made by a company can be a minimum viable product, it’s allowed a certain level of crappiness. All these examples point in just one direction: “Just Write”. Don’t worry about the crappiness of your initial story, your first draft, you can improve it later. But you know what you can never improve? A story which has not yet been written.

b) Build strong connections in the writing world: While you may be an introvert in your life, do understand that your story or your novel is like your baby. In this highly competitive world where half a million books are published every year around the world, it’s your responsibility to make sure your baby gains recognition. Slowly build a connection with readers, reviewers, folks in your friend circle and extended acquaintance-circle who are avid readers.

Quoting examples from my limited but recent experience, when I politely reached out to hundreds of reviewers, I did get back polite rejections as well as not-so-polite straight NOs. But what was very surprising and beyond my expectations was that many reviewers from India and outside responded with warm congratulations and told me that they would definitely review my book and post it on multiple locations. There is a huge reader-writer ecosystem out there of which you can become a small part of, by building these relations. Don’t just upload a book online and wait for people to organically find it. Go sell, because your hard-work deserves to be read.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

Goodreads is a very good platform for raising awareness about your book, but I believe a debut writer such as me has got a lot of honest reviews and ratings from Book Bloggers. I have reached out to hundreds of book bloggers interested in reviewing science fiction and most of them were very courteous and receptive.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

The hardest scene to write was for my story “The Cave” where I talk about a planet ridden with a dark entity which is then challenged by a powerful protecting force. I have written it mostly in a conversational format, where I challenged myself to bring out the information only via a conversation. Another challenge was to keep the technical details to a minimum and focus more on the story because I believe at times readers are put off by too much background stories focused on deep technical nuances.

What are you planning to write next?

My next book would be Science Fiction Technology Novel based on Hindu Mythology with elements from the near future and the deep past combined to pack a solid punch.

Varun Sayal

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About the Author

Varun Sayal is an engineer and MBA from I.I.T. and I.S.B. (top schools in India), who has been involved in theatre as a playwright, actor, and director, and has also been an independent movie-maker. His genre of writing is predominantly science fiction blended with mythology and a sprinkle of the gruesome actualities of life. In his own words: 'I think of each story as a surreal, fast-paced narrative that pulls in the reader right from the beginning, takes them through a voyage into an alternate dystopian realm, bequeathing to them images etched permanently on their minds. I live by the quote, 'a true art calms a disturbed mind and disturbs a calm mind.' Find out more at Varun's website http://varunsayal.in/ and find him on Facebook and Twitter @vsa2

Special Guest Interview with Author Emily Klein

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Today I'm pleased to welcome author Emily Klein:

Please tell us about your latest book

My latest published book is my first novel The Draughtsman Damsel.  It tells the story of a young,  precocious and passionate lord's daughter-Annabelle Latimer.  At the age of ten she's removed with her parents from her home at Calais,  as her father is called to serve the King of England.

  

As the Duke becomes more deranged and jealous,  her father falls out of favour with him and is obliged to find her a new match.  Prior to that they had all hopefully to match Annabelle with her friend,  the Duke's youngest son,  Thomas.  But Annabelle is a unique girl and develops interest in sketching and planning (her father is an architect), which causes her to neglect her more lady like responsibilities.  When a courtship party fails and her father is called back to the Duke's court to design his grand monument to chivalry,  Annabelle joins him and is reunited with her best friend from childhood,  the Duke's youngest son,  Thomas.  She finds herself helping her father with designing the castle and falling unwillingly and unwittingly in love but treachery  and politics come in their way of finding love and happiness.  

What is your preferred writing routine?

I have rather a unique writing routine.  I come up with a proposal/ seduction scenes in my head, in its entirety.  Then I build a story around it.  I write in coffee shops,  Longhand,  then edit as I type. 

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

My advice would be that the best way out of writers' block is simply to go in writing.  Even if it's bad.  Don't stop.  Just write whatever pops in your head and edit later.  

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

The best way to get awareness for my books is twitter and blog interviews

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

Something I found interesting is the many types of horses used in medieval times.  Like palfrey,  destrier,  rouncy,  Sumpter. All used for different purposes. 

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

The most difficult scene  to write was the scene where Thomas and Lord Larimer are trying to convince the Duke to use their more practical  idea for the castle's design and not his megalomaniac ideas.  It required research about philosophy and integrating it in conversation.  

What are you planning to write next?

I'm currently writing a regency romance titled Arrogance and Abstinence. Next I'm planning to write a sequel to The Draughtsman Damsel, titled Reynardine Redeemed, With the villainous Guillaume du Lac from The Draughtsman Damsel as the hero. I also have a sequel titled Greenwood Side featuring Robert McMillan, the gallant Scotsman from Draughtsman, to be published later. My next book to be published is another medieval romance, a standalone titled A Good Knight's Kiss.

Emily Klein

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About the Author

Emily Klein is an author of historical romance novels, set in medieval times. She is a staunch anglophile, with a keen interest in anything and everything British, including the English language and all its dialects. She also has a keen interest in history, including the medieval period. Emily enjoys antiques and vintage clothing. In short, if it's part of history, Emily Klein will find it interesting. In her novels, Emily Klein strives to delve into her characters' thoughts, feelings, and true psychological motives. She does this based on their personalities, their pasts, and the societies in which they operate. Finding motives and helping people as they strive to solve the issues in their lives is no strange matter to Emily, who is also a trained social worker. Emily lives in Israel with her husband, two young daughters, and her little dog named Tofu. You can find Emily on Facebook and Twitter @Ekleinfolktales