Readers Place

Author Q&A

What do you think you would like to have been if you hadn’t become an author?

In my dreams I am an ice dance champion… This may surprise a lot of people – especially the ones who remember my brief skating career. I could move very slowly forwards and on good days backwards. This isn’t really enough!

Would you ever consider moving back to the West Midlands?

In many ways yes, but when I remember my mum blue with cold as she grappled with heavy clay soil, I know I have got too used to gardening in the sheltered south. Mind you, the slugs are just as bad.

How do you cope with the solitariness of writing?

I like it. Some people are well able to cope with being alone, and that suits us for writing. I do have some strategies to stop me turning into a weird recluse. For instance, I read a newspaper every day – but never have it delivered. That means I leave the house at least once a day, even in foul weather. Email has meant you can be in contact with people all over the world, from the most solitary desk.

What sort of books do you enjoy reading?

A sad thing about writing is that because it’s work, it ceases to be so much of a leisure activity. There are so many books I must read for professional reasons I have almost lost the glorious freedom to choose anything I fancy from the shelves. But I enjoy a good novel and read a lot of biographical history – all periods, not just those I write about. I have a good collection of gardening books and am keen on art, architecture and fashion too.

1. What made you decide to write books set in Ancient Rome?

I specifically chose to write in a period nobody else was using then. I enjoyed the challenge of making an unusual time seem real.

The Romans appeal to me for several reasons, not least that their woman were allowed a place in life; the colourful Mediterranean was always going to be a popular setting; I like the art and engineering; and we have a wealth of good material from their civilisation to draw upon.

2. What is it about Falco that makes him so appealing to write about?

For me, he’s a city man, and a mixture of action and brainpower. He makes jokes, he makes moral judgements – and he has a good taste in woman. Mysteries allow me to explore every aspect of Roman society, and the Empire beyond. Seeing it all through Falco’s eyes gives a focus. Since he is by definition at odds with the establishment, politically and socially, I can play with satire in a way I like (using it to make veiled comparisons with the modern world.)

3. You include a family tree in Scandal Takes a Holiday- was this hard to create and do you think it enhances your reader’s enjoyment of the novel?

Not hard. I had a family tree for my own purposes almost from the beginning. The huge Italian family was a joke – an antidote to all those ‘loner’ private eyes who never have any personal background. I had to draw up the details in order to keep track of everyone. In fact Falco’s family chart has appeared in print before; it was first published in ‘Poseidon’s Gold’, which has a plot very much orientated around his relatives and their turmoil. We have had a few deaths and births since then, so I thought an update might be welcomed.

People seem to like ‘extras’ (for instance the Maps are very popular), though I do try to limit how much we include. I am often asked for further information on Roman life, but I really feel a novel should be freestanding. I am pleased and amused when my books send people on their own to further study of the ancient world, but I don’t think it’s my job to be didactic.

4. Falco is always joined by his extended family- who is your favourite member of the family?

Helena Justina.

Then Nux (if you are counting pets)

5. Why did you decide to finally include Fulvius- the uncle no one talks about?

I dare say I was curious about why he was never mentioned.

6. How did you come up with all the character’s names? Are they historically accurate or made up?

Occasionally there are deliberate jokes (the animals in ‘Two for the Lions’ all have Latin herb names, for instance; there was a plumber called ‘Little Pipe’ in an early book, and Petro’s loathed tribune is ‘German Measles’, which would please Petro) Despite some people who complain, I can say that for a long time I have been quite particular about choosing names from primary source material, that is, real names, usually in the right context (ie right nationality for foreigners, and suitable names for slaves). Some of the people who tell me how names are supposed to work, actually seem never to have looked at inscriptions and so forth; the Romans are supposed to have had strict rules – but it is clear that they ignored the rules freely. Just as people do today when naming their children, if you think about it.

When I was writing historical novels set in other periods, I used the telephone directory, but you can’t do that with the Romans.

7. Why do you think pirates are found in so many books and why did you want to include them in Scandal Takes a Holiday?

Pirates are exciting, dashing, slightly dangerous (in fact, very dangerous in reality) and they are still a feature of the maritime world. I used them because when you read about the sea in Roman times, you always come up with that fact about Pompey clearing the seas of pirates, and I was genuinely curious about what happened to the pirates afterwards. The fact that many came from countries like Albania, which have a dodgy reputation even today, seemed partly to answer my question!

8. What research do you do when writing a novel? Do you try and stick to historical facts?

I can’t see any point in writing historical novels unless you aim to give them authenticity. We can never know exactly what it was like to live in a previous period, but my job is to persuade readers that I am telling them the truth. It’s part of the fun, anyway.

I do enormous amounts of research, some of which I may not use for years, or never. I read everything I can get my hands on, and visit sites and museums. I am looking for information that interests me, and that will give depth and colour to a story.

I hate authors who alter known facts, then proudly tell you they have done it. How feeble!

9. Will you always keep writing about Falco?

I am not planning to stop yet. Maybe I will write other things too, but I am hoping to do at least three more Falco books. I would like to reach the magic number of twenty – then I’ll decide where next.

10. Historical movies are popular at the moment- are there any plans to turn your books into a film or TV series?

A very bad film was once made, which taught me rather to shun the idea of film. Then the BBC had an option to make a series, but that has fallen through. As a radio person, I have been delighted with the recent Radio 4 drama serials (we’ve done ‘The Silver Pigs’, which is available as a CD, and ‘Shadows in Bronze’) They are good adaptations of my books, and the actors somehow make them come alive in ways that even surprise me.