Today, in Caithness, the sun is shining and the air is clear. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that, certain weathers and certain times of the year ignite certain music in me. And, on late winter days which are filled with sunshine, I am usually to be found singing the songs of The Spinners . Inevitably, I start humming different ones of their songs (and of course adapting them to be about Orlando and Jess) as I go around doing different things. But I remember almost all the words to them. I haven't heard a lot of them in years, but they are all there, rooted in my memory. It is truly fascinating to think about how these songs have passed through history. They are part of my own nostalgia, which is why crisp sunny mornings make me incapable of ignoring the temptation to sing them, but they are part of something much bigger. There are songs amongst them which are a newer step in the folk music movement. Songs like Silver in the Stubble are amongs...
Tomorrow (15th August), The Stealth of Caledon is released in paperback. I’m meeting this with mixed feelings – excitement and apprehension. I suppose there is nothing unusual about this, but it marks a very significant step for me, and I’m nervous about taking it. The step is that this is the first historical fiction book I’ve published since The Year We Lived… That was more than four years ago, and I’m not sure I can remember now how to do it all!
The Caledon trailer
watch it with sound and you won't be disappointed!
watch it with sound and you won't be disappointed!
But there is something else about my Caledon series which makes it particularly difficult: it’s historical fantasy. To me, historical fantasy is about the best genre there could be. I love the past and I love speculative fiction. But it’s so difficult to find readers who can connect with your own version of the past. In a moment of ambitious optimism, I agreed to publish one Caledon book every August (there are six in total), but the first book is the one of my books which receives the most mixed reception. Those who like it seem to really love it, those who don’t often struggle to find anything positive to say about it – one reviewer choosing to drop the review completely in favour of a spotlight post. At one local event, I remember a lady coming to the stall and telling me that she hated how people wrote about the Highlands as they thought it should be without any local knowledge at all. Duly reassured that, yes, not only did I live in the area, I also had a Masters in the local history, she bought one of the books. I never found out what she thought of it, but I like to imagine she was behind one of the more favourable ratings on Goodreads.
So, my confidence on rocky ground, I have worked to remind myself that historical fantasy is not the ideal genre for everyone. For those of you who are unsure whether it’s the right bracket for you, here are my rules for writing historical fantasy:
1. History is at least as much truth as fact. Perhaps the Loch Ness Monster is real, perhaps it once existed, or perhaps it is all fabrication, but the point is that people believed in it.
2. Add in, don’t take away. There is no need to stray from the real chronology. Keeping real events in place is sometimes a challenge, but it also serves to secure your reader in the right time and place. If this becomes too much of an issue, remember there are still a lot of other fabulous speculative subgenres you can explore.
3. Believe in the world you create. Unlike High Fantasy, readers can visit the locations you are talking about. If you don’t believe in your own magic, there is no hope readers will be able to share in it when they visit the sites you are discussing. I remember reading in the Afterword for The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner that he had tweaked some of the words of the spells “just in case”. That is the level of belief a historical fantasy writer should have!
Perhaps, of the readers who pick up The Stealth of Caledon, there will be a number who will be displeased with it, but I hope there will be at least as many who are eager to see the return of James Og and his clan, and follow them through the adventures and perils of the 18th Century Highlands. I have a soft spot for the bunch of them. I guarantee you there will be as many moments when you are infuriated with the characters as there are moments you love them but (hopefully!) by the end, you’ll be eager to share their adventure as it continues next year.
The Quest of
Caledon
continues
Comments
Post a Comment