The Queen’s Scribe

Hello Paul! Thanks so much for welcoming me to your blog.

How did you become an author?

I was one of those kids who always had my nose in a book, and I dreamed of writing fiction one day. I studied literature in college and went on to become a writer and editor of nonfiction. When I had a stroke at age 40, I realized the time to make my dream come true was limited. So I began writing a pharmaceutical thriller in the style of Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell, which I affectionately dubbed The Sunscreen Caper. Soon after I began writing the book, my family had the opportunity to move to Europe for a year. While there, I had a “Eureka” moment about what I really wanted to write: the story of a Renaissance-era woman artist and the modern-day scholar on her trail. Four years later, I published my first novel, The Girl from Oto. I’m now launching my sixth novel, The Queen’s Scribe, which is the tale of a young Frenchwoman who navigates a dangerous game of cat and mouse at the royal court of Cyprus.

Tell us about your writing process.

I get most of my ideas from travel and research. I begin by writing a compelling book blurb that contains the story’s hook and main conflict. Then I do a bit of plotting to get a bird’s eye view of the story, knowing full well that I will end up changing things as I go. I immerse myself in research for as long as I can get away with it, and then I hunker down and begin writing scenes. Usually my first drafts are heavy on dialogue and light on world-building and depth of character. As I write the story, I get to know my characters better and I fill them and their world in with rich layers and color. Revisions are critical, and some chapters get a dozen rewrites. Others seem to flow out of me with magical ease and I barely have to revise them at all. I wish I knew how to make that happen on command! Feedback from trusted critique partners and my editor is important at various points along the way.

How would you persuade readers to buy your book (s)?

People who are fascinated by medieval/Renaissance Europe, enjoy art mysteries, or are curious about history’s hidden stories tend to enjoy my books. I write to entertain first and foremost, so my books are fairly fast-paced, with lots of twists and turns along the way to a happy ending. And there are plenty of fascinating historical details to soak up, too.

What is your all-time favourite book? What makes it special?

This is such a hard question to answer! I find that I gravitate to different books at different times in my life, re-reading certain novels several times as sources of inspiration and comfort. I also really love nonfiction. I was hugely influenced by the books of Wallace Stegner, Isabelle Allende, and Barbara Kingsolver as a young writer. I think the book that most influenced my path to historical fiction was Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, both for the tremendous world-building and the unforgettable characters. Two other books that helped propel me into historical fiction were All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.

What are you reading at the moment?

I just finished the excellent A Matter of Faith by Judith Arnopp, and I’m happily immersed in The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey, one of the best murder mysteries I’ve read in a long time.

Which author (s) (past or present) would you invite to dinner?

Let’s assume we have an enormous table! All the authors I mentioned above are invited. And Jane Austen, Vanessa Riley, Elif Shafak (I read her novel about Cyprus, The Island of Missing Trees, when I was preparing to write The Queen’s Scribe), Gerald and Lawrence Durrell, Oscar Wilde, and Dorothy Dunnett (her novel Race of Scorpions was a key part of my research for The Queen’s Scribe as well).

What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have any hobbies or passions?

I love to hike, swim in mountain lakes and ponds, travel, draw, paint, and dance, not necessarily in that order.

How important is it to have your historical facts right and are there any instances when you would bend history to fit your story?

I think it’s essential to respect the historical record and I spend a lot of time cross-referencing and verifying facts when I’m researching. But I’m also conscious of the truth about history: it’s full of holes. We’re dealing with an imperfect record. There are countless untold stories we are never taught about. Some of them were simply forgotten or overlooked; others were silenced by those in power and by those who wrote the histories. That’s why I search in unusual places for evidence of women and marginalized populations who aren’t featured in the standard historical narratives. For example, notarial records, municipal records, tax records, and wills all offer glimpses of women working at various trades, buying, selling, and bequeathing goods and property, and conducting business deals.

I generally don’t feel comfortable conflating events or moving dates around to suit my stories. That’s why The Queen’s Scribe takes place over a period of four years. There is so much juicy history packed into those four years that I couldn’t leave any of it out. It took some creative wrangling to weave my story around the history, but in the end I was thrilled with the results.

Can you give novice writers some tips? (do’s/don’ts)?

My main tip is: do what’s right for you. There’s no one size fits all approach to writing. I think reading a lot helps improve one’s writing, as does writing a lot. But how much to write and how often is an individual choice. I go through phases of churning out 2000-3000 words daily when I’m writing a novel, and the revising process is very time intensive. I don’t worry about how bad my first draft is, because, for me, the best work comes with revising. When I’m stuck on a plot point or I’ve painted a character into a corner with no way out, a long walk helps unravel the problem in my subconscious mind. Often I come up with the answer when I’m not even actively thinking about the issue. For me, the main motivation to write is twofold: first, uncovering hidden histories; and second, my enjoyment of the story and characters. My characters even inhabit my dreams when I’m close to finishing a book.

What are your future plans as an author?

I’m going to continue writing historical fiction, probably delving back into my first love, art mysteries. I’m also going to start creating short audio works about my research and possibly start a podcast.