a few weeks ago I read Peter’s immortal warriors tale Seven Deadly Swords and Peter was very kind enough to answer some questios on his book and his approach to writing

So how do you like to describe the book?

My 7 word pitch was: “Cursed Crusader seeks redemption across several lifetimes” and I’ve described the genre as a ‘historical fantasy thriller’. Using the ‘it’s like x crossed with y’ formula it’s like Highlander crossed with Se7en. At its heart though it asks a question – is any sin beyond forgiveness?

What drew you towards the Crusades setting?

The real seed that grew into the book was reading “The Crusades through Arab Eyes” by Amin Maalouf about a decade before writing the novel. There is a particular part in that book detailing the battle of Ma’arra that I hung the plot off in Seven Swords. I won’t say what it is because it’s a major spoiler but I’m sure you remember the scene.

Did the research reveal anything unexpected?

I read a lot about the various battles during the crusades and faithfully reported them. One thing that came up several times from beta readers was that some of the crusaders’ victories were ‘too convenient’ or unbelievable. That was a bit of a surprise and led to a bit of rewriting.

The hardening of the innocent soldier seemed a theme here – did you want to explore what constant violence can do to someone?

Very much so yes. Reymond’s descent into his own personal hell, becoming more and more besmirched, is the heart of the story

You also edit as well as write – have you found that combination of skills helpful?

Not as much as I’d like! People are generally bad self-editors and I’m no different. Also it makes me very self-critical and prone to error monitoring which is counter-effective for creation. My background is more in editing than writing – I have worked as an editor at a RPG company, a copyeditor and proofreader for a non-fiction publisher and magazine editor in the past. My own writing is a late addition to my skill set, so maybe the question should be ‘you write as well as edit’ ;-)

Who do you think writing wise was a big influence on your work?

Paul Cornell in his introduction to my award nominated short story collection – A Tiding of Magpies – very flatteringly compared me to Neil Gaiman. Although I have read Gaiman (I’m more a fan of his comics work than his prose tbh) I feel that any comparison is because we have studied with the same masters – most specifically GK Chesterton and John Fowles. I would also say that Jeff VanderMeer has been a big influence – not really on my prose or what I write but by his promotion of the New Weird and introducing me to many great writers like Brian Evenson, Michael Cisco, Karin Tidbeck and many, many more.

So what’s next in store for you?

I’m currently adding the last couple of stories to my next short story collection which is titled “The Museum for Forgetting.” I’m also revising my next novel “The Certainty of Dust” which is the story of a singer and her sister/bandmate, involved in a motorbike accident who then have to complete a challenge from a personification of Death. It’s like Jacob’s Ladder crossed with The Seventh Seal.

If there was one book (not your own) that you love to recommend to other people what would it be?

Just the one? I like to target recommendations so there isn’t just the one really. Like many writers I’m a big reader (I read over 100 books a year) and I’m a pretty eclectic reader too, although tend towards the weirder end of genre when it comes to fiction. I’m definitely a book tempter and will be enthusiastic about the books I’ve loved. Last year I told absolutely everyone to read “This is How You Lose the Time War.” This year so far I’ve been recommending “Obabakoak” by Bernardo Atxaga, which I read in January, but as I read more that will probably change. If you like genre short stories then my first recommendation would be Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck. In conversation if you say you like x and I know someone who writes x then I’ll recommend them; it’s a real pleasure to me to have a lot of friends who are brilliant writers. For example I’ll recommend “The Moon King” by Neil Williamson which I think more people should read!