Today I’m welcoming a great guest to my blog. It’s
another medieval writer, Steven A. McKay, author of Wolf’s Head and The Wolf
and The Raven.
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| Steven A, McKay |
The novels have a hero that everyone has heard of: Robin Hood.
Both books are having a debut at the same time: Wolf’s Head has just been
released on Audio and The Wolf and The Raven came out in April 2014. Steven is also including a Giveaway with his visit. Leave a comment at the end of this post to be in with a chance!
Welcome, Steven! Can you tell us a bit about your take on
the Robin Hood legend in your novels?
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| Wolf's Head on Audio Enter a comment- you might win! |
When I first started thinking about writing a novel with
Robin as the central character I knew I would have to do something different.
The legend these days seems to centre around certain things, like the time
period being the 1190's and the setting being Sherwood Forest. My research
suggested that the original Robin, the “real” one if you like, actually lived
around the early 14th century and was based in Barnsdale Forest in
Yorkshire. Also, most modern versions of the legend have Robin as a displaced
nobleman, but he was far more likely to have been a regular guy. So, with all
that in mind I was able to put a fresh slant on one of our most enduring folk
heroes.
What made you originally decide to pick Robin Hood as a hero?
I wanted to do something similar to what Bernard Cornwell had
done with King Arthur, but couldn't think what road to go down. I knew I wanted
to keep it within Britain, but I had no idea how. I'd just started to think
about it and was close to giving up on the idea when I drove past a house with
the name “Sherwood”. Divine Providence! Of course, when I saw that sign the
idea of using Robin Hood as my main character seemed ideal and, from an
author's point of view, it really has been. He, and his mates, are so much fun
to write!
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| (C) E.M. Powell |
Writing's great when it's fun, isn't it? But I think every writer has an area they find most difficult. For
me, plotting came easily but it took me a while to really get to grips with
characterisation. What area challenges you the most?
Starting a book is hard for me. It's a slow process because
I don't really plan things out very much. I have a basic idea of how things are
going to pan out, but, until I really get a good few thousand words down and
the characters have shown me where they want to go, I struggle. I'm just
starting the next book in the series now and, because I work a full-time job
and have a young family, I don't have much time to write so...I'm not getting
much done. Once I get about 15,000 words things will start to move quicker, I
hope.
Now, we both write medieval and that involves hours of
research. I have traipsed my family around innumerable castles as well as hours
ploughing through written material. How do you approach research?
I was always into history, but mostly classical, so when I
decided to write about the 14th century I had to really look at the
politics, culture and people of the time. As well as the usual textbooks, I
used things like Medieval Lives by Terry Jones which is a really fun
book and gave me a real insight into some of the stranger sides of the people
of that period. Books on the Robin Hood legend were very useful in providing
plot ideas as well as an idea of the sort of weaponry the outlaws would have
had available to them.
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| Robin of Sherwood IMDb |
Books are all well and good, of course, but my favourite
piece of research was watching all the DVDs of the old 80's TV show, Robin of Sherwood. It's not very historically accurate, or realistic, but the
sense of camaraderie and brotherhood between the gang of outlaws really helped
me get a feel for how things might have been for these men, forced to live like
animals in the forests of England, with the law always trying to kill them.
Such a life would have been incredibly stressful, and, as a result, powerful
bonds of friendship and loyalty would have formed between them. I'm a huge fan
of that show now.
I always love to visit castles of course, I even worked in
the one in Dumbarton for a while which was a good experience.
And I believe you have taken delivery of your own bow.
Who’s a better shot- you or Robin?
I'm rubbish, just a beginner! In my defence, though, I
didn't start shooting a bow as a child, like Robin would have. I did manage to
hit a bullseye the first time I tried archery, but modern recurve bows are much
easier to use than the huge longbows Robin and his men would have been
shooting. An archer friend made me some period-correct arrows and I was shocked
at the size of them. Even a knight in plate armour wouldn't have been safe from
these things, they're massive. Even just holding one you get a sense of the
potential deadly energy emanating from it.
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| 13th Century Conwy- a damn fine castle! (C) E.M. Powell |
Yeah, black metal or death metal! I did a guest post for Roz Morris recently about this. I can't write to most of the music I like because
it's too distracting. Iron Maiden or Jethro Tull or something like that has too
many hooks so when I listen to them I want to play guitar or sing along and it
makes focusing on writing impossible. So, before I settle down to begin a
writing session I put on something by Behemoth, Enslaved or Bathory because
they're a lot less melodic than most rock or metal and it acts almost like a
Gregorian chant or someone meditating to the word “om”, allowing me to block
out the outside world and really lose myself in my novel.
There’s been some great reviews for both books. Do you
read your reviews? Is there anything you’d like to say to reviewers?
Yes, I read every review and, although I've probably had
more than 300 in total so far, I still get butterflies when I notice there's a
new one, wondering if it will be good or bad. I find them mostly helpful. If
someone makes a valid point about my writing, and I think they're right, I'll
try to do something about it. One guy wanted to see more variation in the
combat, so that's something I'll actively strive for in book three.
The main thing I'd say to those who've left good reviews of
my books is: “thank you so much for taking time to leave such positive
feedback.” It really gives me a good feeling when I read a new 4 or 5 star
review and the person has obviously enjoyed my work – it's amazing to know
you've been able to entertain someone for a few hours and they've liked it
enough to tell the world.
The one thing I get a bit annoyed about is when reviewers
say, “people didn't use the F-word in medieval times!” or, “The dialogue is too
modern, they didn't talk like that back then, it's not realistic!” Well, what
do you want? If I wrote the book using the language people actually spoke back
then no one nowadays would understand it, and that would make for a really crap
novel.
I'm writing for a modern
audience, I want my books to be easy to understand and that means using
language we all use today, including the
F-word. Did people not curse back then, even when a big hairy-arsed outlaw was
trying to shove a sword through their face? Of course they did and, to get the
same sense of danger or anger or whatever across to a modern audience, it is, to me, acceptable to use the swear words we use today, especially one like the F-word which probably was in use in medieval times.
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| Hmm...outlaw? Or re-enactor? (c) E.M. Powell |
You have two books in The Forest Lord series. Are there
going to be any more?
Yes, I was planning on it being a trilogy but the second
book went off in its own direction which left me with a lot of things I still
wanted to write about. So there will be four books in total now. After that,
I'm not sure where I'll go. A few of my characters seem like they could “star”
in novels of their own, particularly Sir Richard-at-Lee, the Knight
Hospitaller, so I have a few options. For now, though, I'm just aiming to have
the next book in this series out around early 2015, with, hopefully, the audiobook
version of The Wolf and the Raven ready to go before that.
June is Audiobook month. To celebrate that, you have
Audiobook/download copies of Wolf’s Head to give away to readers of this post.
What do people have to do to win a copy?
Easy, just share this post on Facebook or Twitter and leave
a comment here to say they've done so! A winner will be chosen at random by 30 June 2014.
Many thanks, Steven. And best of luck with the next stage of the saga of The Forest Lord!
Thanks for having me Elaine, it's been fun!
Steven A. McKay was born in 1977, near Glasgow in Scotland. He
lives in Old Kilpatrick with his wife and two young children.
His second book, The Wolf and the Raven was released on
April 7th 2014, at the London Book Fair where he was part of the Amazon stand. His
début novel, Wolf's Head, was also released the same day as an Audiobook.
Wolf's Head is a
Kindle top 20 best-seller and The Wolf and the Raven was the “War” chart
number 1.
He plays lead guitar and sings in a heavy metal band when they can
find the time to meet up.
Amazon Author Page:
Blog/official website:
Social media:
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