Tell me about your new novel, Stormcrow.
Set in medieval Ireland, Stormcrow is about a young half-Irish, half-Norseman (Fin) from Linn Duachaill (Annagassan, Co Louth) whose life is forever changed by his father’s murder. Peopled with historical characters such as Sitric Silkbeard and Brian Boru, the fast-paced, action-packed novel addresses lesser known aspects of the Norse world, including attitudes to race, sexuality and gender. Prof Neil Price, one of the world’s most prominent Viking archaeologists, liked it, a fantastic result.
Finn is not your first Irish character. Tell us about Ferdia (also your son’s name).
My first real chance of writing an Irish character came with my novels about Richard the Lionheart. I used the Strongbow connection, weaving in an Irish hostage sent to Wales who then meets the Lionheart.
What is the appeal of historical fiction, and military history in particular?
Good historical fiction can bring alive the past far more vividly than museums or the ruins of buildings. I think military history fascinates and shocks, just as the criminal world can.
How do you balance research and imagination?
I could read textbooks all day, but to make a living, I must finish a novel every year. This allows two to three months of research before the writing proper begins.
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What is your favourite historical period?
Without doubt the Roman. Their civilisation formed the foundation of modern Europe. So much today has roots in ancient Rome, from language to legal systems and social customs.
You were born in Kenya but grew up near Dundalk. How influential are your Irish roots?
I have spent my writing career champing at the bit to write about Ireland.
Would writing about Ireland’s wars appeal?
Immensely, but 75 per cent of my readers are from the UK. Until now, I was concerned that the subject might not appeal. That’s less of a problem after 19 novels. Options include the Norman invasion, the Flight of the Earls, the War of Independence.
What influence does its Viking past have on Ireland today?
Norsemen intermingled with the local Irish from the start. Vikings and Hiberno-Norse fought on both sides at Clontarf in 1014. Other than some words in Irish, placenames like Carlingford, and archaeological sites like Viking Dublin, I am not sure that there is a great deal evident.
You trained as a vet. Has that fed into your work?
It has, comparing animals and their behaviour. When writing about combat and injuries, it also helps immensely that I know what blades do to flesh (because of the operations I performed)!
You’re a keen traveller too. How has that influenced your writing?
The biggest single effects were to broaden my mind, and to understand that no matter where people are from, we’re much the same, and have the same hopes and dreams.
How vital was going on an Arvon writing course?
For my writing, not at all. To realise that other people took writing seriously, vital.
You walked the entire length of Hadrian’s Wall for charity while wearing full Roman military kit, including hobnailed boots?
I’ve done it twice, actually! Great fun, although hard when the weather is sunny – all wool clothing is very impractical.
Which projects are you working on?
I am currently writing The Last Roman Empress, about a remarkable woman called Galla Placidia.
Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage?
In reverse, yes. I worked on New Zealand’s South Island while the first Lord of the Rings film was being shot, and visited many places that were in it and the subsequent films – but I didn’t know it at the time!
What is the best writing advice you have heard?
Write every day.
Who do you admire the most?
The staff of charities like Médecins Sans Frontières, Doctors Without Borders.
You are supreme ruler for a day. Which law do you pass or abolish?
Teaching about personal relationships, as well as meditation, would become mandatory for students aged five to 18.
Which current book, film and podcast would you recommend?
Book: Late to the party, I know, but We Don’t Know Ourselves by Fintan O’Toole is outstanding.
Film: One Life is immensely moving.
Podcast: The Ancients with Tristan Hughes is totally addictive.
Which public event affected you most?
Attending a centenary commemoration of the end of the first World War at Thiepval, France, on November 11th, 2018.
The most remarkable place you have visited?
Easy. The fortress of Masada in southern Israel.
Your most treasured possession?
A replica bronze Roman bracelet.
What is the most beautiful book that you own?
A Folio Society edition of The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff, given to me by my dad.
Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?
JRR Tolkien, Mary Renault, Guy Gavriel Kay, Christian Cameron.
The best and worst things about where you live?
Best: My friends, the stunning Mendip Hills and Somerset Levels.
Worst: The car drivers who “close pass” me on my bike.
What is your favourite quotation?
“Such is life” – Australian outlaw Ned Kelly’s final words.
Who is your favourite fictional character?
Alv, the main character in Michael Scott Rohan’s sadly little-known Winter of the World trilogy.
A book to make me laugh?
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.
A book that might move me to tears?
Lancelot by Giles Kristian.
