Welcome to Part Two of Confessions of a Reviewers
interview with Duncan P Bradshaw.
In tonight’s section, Duncan kicks things off by
answering some specific questions on his new book, Hexagram and finishes off with how his wife sticks him and lets you
in on the secret of some of his influences.
It’s the middle of the week so go grab some pizza, a
beer, sit back, and mostly……enjoy!
CoaR - Moving on to Hexagram,
where did the idea for this one come from? What were you trying to get across
with it?
DPB - It started last year at conventions, the other guys
in the SHC only write novellas, and I kinda felt that I needed to get a couple
written myself this year, to have a wider range. The original idea hit me
around August time, I think: the notion that as we’re all made of stars, what
would happen if it could be extracted?
The final story in Hexagram,
about the two sisters, was going to be the entire novella. But, typically, as I
wrote it, my mind, in an attempt to fill in some of the how’s and why’s,
stumbled upon it being an Inca ritual. Then I thought, can I can trace that
ritual, from all the way back then, to modern times?
I think I wanted to get across how knowledge is passed on
from generation to generation. Without any sense of context, or facts, how the
words can be twisted and formed into something which fits someone’s own ends.
The characters in the book all use it, thinking it will do one thing, without
any comprehension of what will actually happen. I found that scary, because history
shows the same thing happening in real life.
I also wanted to show the grey area that exists within
people. Even the most altruistic person, is capable of doing great harm, even
unwittingly. I like to hold a mirror up to these characters, show what is
driving them, their reasoning, but also both their good and bad. Even the most
horrible characters in Hexagram are
viewed by some as doing good. That’s the world we live in huh?
CoaR - One thing that struck me about it was the use of
language in the different eras. Did you have to research this much?
DPB - I use some quaint turns of phrase, I think is the
politest way of saying it, so when I wrote them, particularly in the first
story, I tried to put it within the objects of the world. I thought that using
modern items, in an analogy, would be a bit off-putting, so tried to use
historic bits and pieces, to ground it more.
There are two first person stories in Hexagram, and they were probably the
most fun to write, particularly the second one, set in Victorian London. I
often speak to my wife in such a manner, so to write an entire story this way,
was really good fun. For all of the stories, I needed to do research into
things such as: American Civil War slang, layouts of settlements, poisons,
cults, weather patterns, all that sort of thing, but not too much with the
speech.
I’m keen on making sure that the dialogue is something
that people can still get, without needing to Google the crap out of
everything. I hope I found the right balance between historical elements and
accessibility for a modern audience.
CoaR - You are a fun loving kinda chap. How do you get
yourself in the frame of mind to write some of the horrific stuff like some of
the scenes featuring torture or blood and guts in Hexagram?
DPB - The way I write, is completely off the bat.
Sometimes, I have a vague idea about a particular scene, or an event which
befalls someone, as that is either integral to the story, or one of the bits
which made the idea flare in my head.
In the first story, I did a bit of research on Inca
rituals, and in the main, it’s not quite as gory as we all believe it to be.
However, that didn’t help at all with the whole purpose, which is people being
harvested, to get the stardust, so made a more atypical scene. Hence, those
scenes are intentionally OTT, including an element of the supernatural. These
priests are kinda outside the normal world, so I wanted a few things in there
which were quite full on.
I never sit down and think, ‘I have to make this scene
really gory’, it is purely the words coming out of me as I wander around the
scene in my head.
The later scene which you’re referring to, which I know
turned your stomach, was an almost afterthought. I realised that I hadn’t
really linked that part of the story back to anything I’d done earlier, so came
up with a sort of ‘after-action’ report. This section is the one I alluded to
earlier on, about design.
The character is obviously not a particularly nice one,
and although you see one side to them, I wanted to show another. Almost the
point at which the old him ended, and the new, reborn character began. He was
on a real journey, and I wanted to show that the turn he took was borne out of
vengeance, sheer brutality, desperation almost.
CoaR - What was the thinking behind the idea of almost
having six short stories making up the novel?
DPB - When I made the decision to expand the story, and
include the full history of the ritual, I wanted each part to be its own
separate narrative. The storyteller in me loved it, as I was able to find a
historic event, and then base each individual story around it. It also gave me
scope to do different things with the characters.
It’s also a case of the title informing my choice. I
don’t usually come up with a title straightaway, but Hexagram popped in my head early on. Numbers are quite significant
in a lot of rituals. There are six priests for instance, so I thought ‘six
stories’. With that, the idea of the six pointed star, fitted perfectly with
the whole stardust motif, and the cover. Each of the points on the cover of Hexagram represents one of the stories,
along with an element within them. See what I mean about what I said earlier
with the cover design? Mike McGee (the cover artist), nailed that so well.
Knowing that I had six stories, I then knew how many
links I had from the Inca, through to the modern day. With some research, I was
able to set each story in its own time frame. Not all stories link in a linear
way, and I like that.
I’ve had a few comments, on my books in general, that
things aren’t too heavily signposted, and that I should leave more breadcrumbs.
Personally, I want the reader to be so absorbed within the story, that they
find the links themselves, and in some cases, make new ones.
That is the joy of reading. Just because I have one view
of a character’s motivations, or why something went the way it did, doesn’t
mean that everyone else will. What other medium can do that? All I do is write
down my view on it, it is up to the reader to make the connection between stories,
or not. My main reason for writing, is to produce a good story, something which
can either be pored over, or enjoyed at the shallowest level.
Anyway, the feedback I got from beta readers was really
cool, in the main, each preferred different stories, and for differing reasons.
Hell, even I have my favourites, and I loved hearing from other people which
ones were their standout moments.
I think as well; this was the first non-zombie novel that
I had written. I wanted it to be epic, sprawling different times and with a
wealth of characters and motivation. It would have been easier to have stuck
with my original novella idea, but it’s not how I work.
Finally…a lot of people rail on novels for being too
long, that they don’t have time to sit down and read one, or they lose
interest. The way I structured Hexagram,
essentially gives the reader five short stories, and one novella. It breaks it
down into bitesize chunks, so you can read a whole story in one sitting, put it
away, and feel content that you’ve made progress. By the time you go back to
read the next story, your brain has been working on what’s happened, and what
could possibly happen next. Again, some might not like that approach, but I
wanted to try something a little different.
CoaR - In many ways this a good versus evil type story.
Do you have any beliefs in this area or is Hexagram
totally made up from your imagination?
DPB - Hexagram
started off purely as a notion of how could I make a story where people harvest
stardust, and make them want to read it. Most stories need conflict, it’s
probably the oldest backbone to many a tale. I also wanted that moral grey area
thrown in though. Just because you can do something, should you?
Each of the main characters is doing something, because
they feel compelled to. None of them, except for the Inca right at the
beginning, have an inkling what will happen when they manage to see it through.
Why would people go to such extreme lengths to do that? We as people have quite
defined lines of right and wrong, but in each of us, it is different.
There is another theme of Hexagram. This essence, is inside all of us, it not only links us,
as people, together, but to the entire universe. We just don’t know or
understand why. Humans are an odd bunch of flesh wrapped skeletons, we thrash
around like primitive beasts, trying to make sense of it all, and none of us,
really have a clue. We are so infinitesimally small, perhaps that is why we act
the way we do? Perhaps we really do understand why we struggle on, through
life, but are just too afraid of that truth. I don’t know, I just wanted
something that hints at something bigger, a chink of light and promise at the
end of the road of our lives.
CoaR - How does your wife, Debbie, stick you? Is she on
strong medication?
DPB - It is a question I’ve often wondered. I’m…an
interesting person to live with, put it that way. I can be bouncing around the
place like Tigger on amphetamines one minute, and then sitting quietly on the
sofa the next, not wanting to speak to anyone. I’m lucky in that I know myself
quite well, so know how to deal with my ups and downs, but appreciate that it
must be really difficult for her at times.
I think, genuinely, and it’s probably not the answer
you’re looking for, she fills my missing pieces in. We are complete opposites
on so many things, but what I lack, she provides, and vice versa. We’re a real
team, and though I can be a real cheeky sod to her, I am very lucky to be with
someone who supports what I do, and puts up with my stupidness.
CoaR - Who would be the authors you would give the credit
of being your influences and who do you just not “get”?
DPB - As a kid, it was all about Roald Dahl. I think his
writing and stories, really fed my innate silliness. Aside from that, Danny
King is a huge influence, mainly in the style of his writing, his books are
hilarious, but also tell a really solid story.
Zombie wise, it would have to be Max Brooks. Both World War Z, and the Zombie Survival Guide, were just joys to
read. Ultimately, I like to think that I write my way, not really tipping a hat
to anyone in particular. I like that. I am me, I am unique, I say and do stupid
things, so I am lucky that in my writing, I can add in my little -isms.
As for writers I don’t ‘get’, I can’t really say I have
any. For every book I read of someone that I didn’t like, chances are, I’ll
read something else by them, and find something I do enjoy. I try and read some
of the old classics, and they can be tough, but that is down to the language
and style of the time. The Prince, by
Machiavelli for example, made my brain hurt, but I’m still glad I read it.
And so we come to the end of Part Two of the interview.
I think you will all agree that this one if worthy of a
Part Three so please bring yourselves back into the Confessional tomorrow night
when Duncan will continue telling you about is writing and life, and also give
his answers to The Ten Confessions. Trust me, you don’t want to miss those!
Thanks again for visiting Confessions of a Reviewer!
CONFESSIONS REVIEWS DUNCAN P BRADSHAW
One day upon waking, as if from some frightful nightmare, I sat at my laptop and typed out letters, which formed words, slowly they created sentences. People read it and said, that's okay that is, have a biscuit. And I said yes.
I live in Wiltshire, in Southern England with my wife Debbie and our two cats, Rafa and Pepe, they just miaowed a hello at you. Between bouts of prolonged washing up and bungie cord knitting, I type out the weird and wonderful things that run around my head.
My debut novel, zom-com Class Three, was released in November 2014, the first book in the follow up trilogy, Class Four: Those Who Survive is out in July 2015. I'm then going to try and get some novellas released which are on something other than the undead.
And for more about Duncan, visit his site or find him on social media:
And for more about Duncan, visit his site or find him on social media:
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