I recently wrote a short story set in 39BC a week before Rome signed a pact with the Sicilian pirate Sextus Pompey in an attempt to free up grain supplies and curb the little rascal.
It was called ‘Pillow Talk’ and as you’d expect with a title like that there was a certain amount of naughtiness going on but with the added spice of picking up vital if dangerous information in the local brothel, as you do if you’re a crafty spy.
The story and an interview with yours truly is included in a compendium aptly titled Triumphs and Tragedies published a few days ago on the 2067th anniversary of Caesar’s fatal Ides of March moment. An honour to rub shoulders in said work with great writers including Derek Birks, Richard Foreman, Fiona Forsyth, Jacquie Rogers, Peter Tonkin and Alistair Tosh.
I had great fun writing this story and I’m enjoying the other contributions, but when my copy duly arrived there was that awful moment when you realise that it also includes a Q&A with each author, and dammit I couldn’t remember what I’d said, nor what embarrassing secrets I’d let slip.
I needn’t have worried, although it confirms I have an unconventional and ever-so-slightly wacky writer’s mind. Here are just three extracts to illustrate my point:
Q: What first attracted you to the period you write about? How do you approach researching your novels?
A: I’ve always loved ancient history. As a newspaper journalist, writing novels was ever going to be something ‘out there’ when reporting politics and crime no longer demanded all my time and energy. Right from the time the guy on the next desk at my first job sold a manuscript and became Ken Follett.
Many years later I moved to Spain with my wife Lynda. The friend who kindly drove my car down to our new home sat on the terrace, Rioja in hand, and coolly announced: ‘You do realise that you are now living on the site of Julius Caesar’s last battle a year before he was assassinated?’
‘Smartass,’ I said, ‘Show me.’ And he did. It was all there, Wikipedia, Caesar’s own account, ancient texts, the lot. The rest, as they say, is history. I wrote Libertas, the story of a First Century BC community coming to terms with those Roman rotters who ruled by the sword and sod anyone who gets in their way. And then have the gall to duke out their civil war right on your doorstep.
I thought it would be easy to knock out a 400-page novel in the style of great historical fiction writers such as Cornwell, Iggulden and Scarrow. Not so. Many hours of research have informed every page written by these respected authors and they must have scoured primary sources as well as commentators on the period in question.
What really excites me is finding little gems such as the Caesar Cipher – coded messages that feature throughout the Agents of Rome series – or a single reference in Plutarch of a Greek ship’s captain chasing down Mark Antony after the Battle of Actium. That begged the question Why? and led me to write Sea of Flames.
There will be more. I’m finding hidden gems in carefully chosen reading, and I’m lucky enough to be on the archaeological dig team finding rich layers of Iron Age, Roman and Frankish history on the island where I live. I just wish I had more time.
Don’t we all?
Q: What piece of advice would you give to other historical novelists out there, who are just starting out?
A: Standard advice in answer to this question is, write what you know. Better advice is, write what you love.
You see, if you truly love something or someone it/they are always front-of-mind. And the mind is a wonderful thing, used by everyone and understood by no one. Above all, it’s your mind so let it run riot.
At the risk of sounding spooky, I quite like the theory of ideas suggested by Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame who once said that great ideas float in the wind and pass fleetingly into that misunderstood world that is your mind. Catch it, she said, while it’s there. Examine it, probe it, ask it what it’s doing there and if it has knocked at the wrong door, politely let it go. If it feels right, make use of it. Because, she said, an idea is looking for a home and considers you a candidate so if you’re too busy to bother, it will move on to the next person.
When I look back on my history of untidy thought patterns I can see her point. For example, I have a folder of ‘great ideas’ for fiction in several genres written on scraps of paper going back years. I recently looked through them and they were just words. Made no sense. I know they were once great ideas but they’ve all moved on.
So I guess my advice is, ‘Just do it’. If the idea is right, you’ll love it. The ‘write what you know’ advice is irrelevant because a mind that can catch a unique idea is more than capable of finding the facts to make your story credible.
Q: Can you tell us a little more about your next project?
A: Can you keep a secret? Thought not. Suffice to say it will examine the many and various reasons why Julius Caesar crossed the English Channel in 55BC with a le Carré-style twist involving Celts, Romans and military chancers. It’s based on a bonkers idea that came to me recently but once entertained has expanded into potentially a three-book series. True to form, it has prompted a heck of a lot of research with inspiration at every turn. Watch this space but give me time. I need to focus on the idea!
Watch this space and catch up on my novels so far here: https://linktr.ee/alistairforrest
And finally
Exciting things are happening here on the island where I live. Firstly, we had the best ever Alderney Literary Festival a week or so ago. Truly astonishing. Summed up thus by Festival Chairman, historical fiction author Anthony Riches: “Ask any of the authors who have spoken at the Festival in the past and they would all agree to come back in a heartbeat, which is testimony to just how special an experience the Alderney Literary Trust has created.”
Grab a coffee and watch these interview clips filmed by TV journalist David Earl.
Secondly, we’ve now got dates for the next archaeological dig on Alderney, taking place over three weeks in May. The ground radar survey has given us expectations of uncovering the Iron Age and Roman settlement close to the Roman Fort at Longis. More details in future posts. I’m polishing my trowel in the hope of being called up again!
An excellent article, and an enjoyable read. Thank you.
What a wonderful occasion the Alderney Litfest sounds! I’m very envious of anyone attending this year.