Interview With Novelist B.N. Peacock
1. What type of books do you write? I write historical fiction with a twist. I like to present opposing views of history because I believe that no one nation or person is ever 100 percent right or wrong. It also gives the reader something to think about.
2. What is your newest book about? A Tainted Dawn is the first in a planned series set during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars through the eyes of three diverse characters: Edward Deveare, an upper class English youth drawn to the sea, Louis Saulnier, a middle class French law student turned revolutionary, and Jemmy Sweetman, a working class English boy fallen on hard times. The title is a play on Wordsworth’s famous lines:
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven.
The Prelude, xi, 1, 108.
At the start of the French Revolution, utopia seemed there for the taking. Freedom. Brotherhood. Equality. Unfortunately the old ideas and political fault lines were still very much in play, as the three discover.
3. What inspired you to write it? I have always found this time period fascinating. There were so many contradictions, such as people supposedly fighting for freedom but at the same time denying it to others. Equality? Did it ever exist except in the abstract? Then there were the wars themselves, spectacle on a grand scale with devastation in their wake, heroism and hubris. England and France fighting for power and global empire, with the newly formed United States trading with both and carving out a place for herself in between.
4. What is the writing process like for you? A love-hate affair. I love doing the background research and travel, but find writing a challenge. Once I get going, though, I’m alright. It’s just getting into the groove that’s hard.
5. What did you do before you became a writer? I wore many hats: professional student with many part-time jobs taken to help support myself, economist for USDA, wife, mother, caregiver for my mother, and so on. In a way, I was always involved in writing. I won an award in a national writing competition in middle school, was on the press staff and editor-in chief of my high school newspaper, wrote innumerable term papers as a student, wrote for a USDA periodical while there, wrote letters to the editor while being a stay-at home mom and caregiver and also began working on this book. All along the way, I remained an avid reader.
6. How does it feel to be a published writer? In a word, wonderful!
7. Any advice for struggling writers? The road to publication may be long and hard, but persevere. Never, ever, give up!
8. Where do you see book publishing heading”? EBooks seem to be taking off, giving writers more options at reduced cost, readers also. I don’t think traditional books will ever completely die out, though. There’s a certain satisfaction to holding a book in one’s hands that an e-reader can’t give. I also think small publishing firms and indies will continue to grow, giving writers a better shot at getting published. In many ways, it’s a good time to be a writer. I offer one caveat--to myself and others. Take a long term view, not only toward writing but to marketing. It helps even out the wrinkles!
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This blog is copyrighted material by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2013 ©
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