AW What first got you into writing fiction and what are you working on at the moment?
GP I am and have always been primarily a story guy. Though I sometimes read non-fiction, it is the story that grips me and refuses to let go. When I retired from teaching and had the time to devote to exploring the craft of writing, I started writing a middle-grade novel along the lines of The Hardy Boys but using locations and adventures my brother and I had experienced—embellished, of course. Then I wrote short stories—mostly speculative fiction. A few dozen of these were picked up for publication, which greatly encouraged me to continue.
Regarding my WIP (Work in Progress), I have just finished the rough draft of Book #5 in my series The Atheling Chronicles. In this book Harald and Selia are granted a large holding with many tenant farmers. They try to be fair and efficient but there are forces at play that seek to run them off—and there is a murder to solve. Writing a mystery, even as a sub-plot is new ground for me. I hope to tidy it up in the revision stage. The working title is Ravens Hill.
AW You write historical fiction set in England in the 11th Century, but you live in Canada which has a wealth of history all of its own? Why the fascination with some of the early invaders and settlers of the UK?
GP Though I did not realize it at the time, I grew up at the edge of the British Empire going through its death throes, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was said that Victoria was more British than Britain. I learned to love military pageants, lieutenant governor’s mansions, English traditions, colonial architecture, and English authors (Enid Blyton was big when I was a kid). The less appealing alternative lay in American culture just over the border, which I found brash and inwardly-focused in comparison. Also, when I was a child in the 1950s, most Americans thought we lived in igloos. At least the English knew we were here.
I studied History at university, focusing mainly on Victorian England. When I travelled in Britain as a young man, hitch-hiking, I was in Wonderland—story was everywhere: in every rock and cobblestone, every church door and low ceiling. I even worked on a Roman dig for a few days. I was smitten with England and Wales, and then with Ireland.
The eleventh century has been a good fit for me, with both Anglo-Saxons and Vikings on the scene. My family roots are in Cornwall (more Celtic than Saxon, I suppose) and Norway.
And why do I not write about Canadian history? I love the history of this country, but right now we (some of us) are struggling with how the colonial governments mistreated the indigenous peoples. Our history has been quite horrendous in that regard and so much of that prejudice and mistreatment is still going on. I would find it disheartening to set fiction in Canada’s past. I will leave it to indigenous writers—and there are many good ones—to tell their own stories.
AW Historical fiction must require a lot of research as well as a good imagination. But the history of the 11th century, surviving documents, memoirs, records generally must be patchy at least and possibly quite sparse for years or decades at a time. To what extent do the facts, as you discover them, colour the story you want to tell?
GP I love researching and discovering new information. The trouble with constantly reading and learning is you realize what you got wrong in your earlier books. In researching Viking longships for The Sea’s Edge, my last book, I discovered Vikings never rowed while under sail, as so many pictures show. The sail and mast had to be taken down before the oars went out. I do not want to go back and read what I wrote about longships in the first books.
You are quite right, Angela, about sources being patchy. My protagonist, Harald Harefoot, is an historical figure, but little is known about him. The main historical source for that time, the Encomium Emmae Reginae, was commissioned by Harald’s stepmother Emma of Normandy, after his death. Emma probably loathed Harald. The blinding and death of one of her sons happened on his watch, and he assumed the throne of England when another of her sons was the named heir. So, the commissioned writer of the main source, who could have told us of Harald Harefoot, blotted out any good he might have done.
AW You write short stories. Are they all historical too or do you dabble with other genres and/or other forms of media - film/theatre/radio?
GP I have written several stories in the speculative fiction genre, a couple of post-apocalyptic tales, a few westerns, some alternative fairy tales, and a fantasy novella. Sometimes I follow a story idea (Stephen King said you must catch the story ideas as they go by), or sometimes I will answer a journal or e-magazine that puts out a call for stories on a certain theme. For a while, I was challenging myself to write six-word and 100 word stories and flash fiction. All are excellent for honing the craft.
AW Famous authors such as Roald Dahl and Dylan Thomas had a special space for writing. Do you have a writing shed of your own?
So, yes, I have a lovely, private space to write, though it probably has a few more distractions than Roald Dahl or Dylan Thomas had to deal with.
AW And finally, if you had a whole afternoon to yourself and could choose to spend it with any one individual, living or dead, or a character from a book, who would it be and what would you discuss?
GP This is such a delicious question. I have been musing about it for a day. I considered Theodore Roosevelt, whom I regard as one of the most interesting characters in life and in fiction. Then I thought of Canadian historical figures. Louis Riel perhaps? Pierre Radisson? English heroes and statesmen: Lord Nelson, Churchill? And fictional characters: Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights? Alessandro Giuliani from Mark Helprin’s A Soldier of the Great War, my favourite book? And then there are writers such as Twain, Dickens, or Tolkien. And my Norwegian grandfather who died in the 1930s—not a writer but a sailor, whaler, sailmaker, and Klondike gold miner. I would love to talk to him. But it’s impossible to pick just one person, fictional or true, so I would say give me some old man or woman who experienced life to the fullest, saw ground-rumbling events first hand, followed worthy leaders to victory or defeat but were never remembered for their own accomplishments and contributions. Let them tell me their story.
