I’ve done a new interview for Smashwords about the latest book, Chronicles of Marsh, so I thought you’d like to see it here.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
Chronicles of Marsh is book 9 in the Princelings of the East series. I finished the first draft, and immediately continued to the first draft of book 10, which is the last in the series.
I had the idea of everything ending in revolution as far back as 2012, and even wrote the first four chapters in 2014. Not much of that draft has made it into the book, though some of the concepts survived. But I couldn’t write it then, because so much time would elapse between where I was in 2014, and the scenario for the last book, which is set in 2020-21.
Then a couple of years back I noticed I was running out of time.
That was when I realised how closely my saga of the Realms was reflecting life in post-referendum Britain. The UK has been really a horrible place to live since 2016; the lies we are told by the politicians, and the media, turn people against each other; hate crimes have risen tremendously. It was painful to write my dysfunctional story at all, just continued the stress.
Then something in me changed, and I was able to get that stress out through writing again.
I made a forecast of events through from 2017 to 2021, what ‘had’ to happen, and started writing book 9. The title had been in me for some time, and I turned it into Fred’s memoir, with some aid from his nearest and dearest. With help from my editors and beta-readers, it has now turned into something that I think stands as a book on its own pretty well. Although I apologise that I’ve nearly left it in a cliff-hanger. You just know what has gone over the cliff; it isn’t really important to the book. A bit like ‘The Italian Job’!
So, I’m all set to get on with editing the last in the series. I hope it doesn’t all end in tears.
I should tell you there’s a chapter in Chronicles that leaves me in tears, every time I read it. I’ve put it down as a possible trigger warning for people in the Princelings website entry for the book.
Oh, and I’m working on the audiobook for the first in the series, just to test the water. If you’re keen to get audiobooks, let me know.
You can buy the audiobook at the following online retailers: Audible, Amazon, Apple (iTunes)