Interviewing Tom Lloyd

Helloo!

Last week I reviewed and hugely enjoyed Verona in Autumn by Tom Lloyd a tale hat imagines what would happen if Rome and Juliet had not died but got older, became parents and then decided to sort their warring families out. Mature characters trying to do their best - what more does anyone need! I had the chance to ask Tom on questions on the book and even thoughts on the Bard that he has rewritten!

How do you like to booktempt Verona in Autumn?

My initial idea for the book was the hook I’ve used throughout – what if Romeo and Juliet didn’t die at the end of the play? Everything followed on from that and that’s the line that gets people to pay attention. Some don’t like the idea of messing with Shakespeare of course, but most are just immediately intrigued!

What drew you to rewriting Shakespeare?

I mean, part of me wants to say colossal stupidity… It was a weird one because I was pretty wary of doing just that. It’s hard to match up against one of the greatest writers in history! Having just done the prologue for my own amusement, the idea continued to worm it’s way into my brain and I realised I had to give it a swing. Novels are different to plays of course and most people actively don’t want to read a novel that has the dense and brilliant complexity of Shakespeare so I knew there would be a balance to strike anyway. I never really thought about a market or specific “literary merit”, I just wanted and needed the challenge of the idea. It didn’t matter if the novel didn’t work, it was something new and interesting to stretch my abilities. Actually believing it was a book that I might want others to read came later!

The novel makes more use of the political history of the time – was that something you were already aware of?

No, not at all. I made the decision at the start that I needed to ground it in a particular period/year so I went looking for one – as simple as that. Using Prince Escalus as my guide I looked to see who he was based on then read around bits of the della Scala dynasty until I had a period that fitted my requirements – namely that there was a change of ruler so the edicts of the prince regarding Romeo didn’t have to be quite so rigidly applied. Then I got fascinated with Gian Galeazzo Visconti and the political situation went from an excuse to something rather more significant. That’s one fun bit of writing; the unexpected details that elevate your story in ways you couldn’t predict but immediately feel right.

How did you decide to approach an older Rome and Juliet in terms of characters?

Simple. Juliet even as a teenager has a fairly good head on her, while Romeo was an idiot. So they both needed to grow up but I figured only one of them would really regret the person they had been. The book’s all about facing the consequences of your actions, it’s a cloud that would have hung over both of them in the following 20 years. They could hardly have ignored news of Verona and at least know of their part in worsening that situation (mostly Romeo of course, but it seemed to make sense they would share the burden as a loving couple).

Add to that the fact they’ve become parents in the intervening period, I felt they would have a very clear core set of preoccupations. That’s how I got the idea after all, watching the play as a new parent whose entire outlook had been changed by the arrival of my kids. Romeo can’t allow himself to be the selfish brat he once was. People died because of that brat and it could be his children next. And while they wouldn’t be aware of the outcome of the play, they would be clear on how close they came to dying – after which they were dead to their parents. Either you repeat the mistakes of the past or you learn from them so doing better by their children than their own parents did has to be an important motivation.  

As a writer what do you think the continuing appeal of Shakespeare is down to?

Well the fella could turn a phrase… But it’s hard to even put it into words, I think Shakespeare is so fundamental to writing and stories it’s almost like asking why trees are still so popular! The whole landscape of writing wouldn’t be the same without him. Tragedy, comedy, intrigue – he covered so much of the human experience and did it with words that can make your brain fizz and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

What else can we look forward to from you in the future and where can we find out more?

That’s a good question! I’m back to epic fantasy now with a novel called Oakfall I’m trying to find a publisher for, and a contemporary fantasy which I’m trying to work out an ending for. Either way, assuming it continues to exist I’ll probably still be on Twitter @tomlloydwrites as the easiest place to interact with me or see announcements, but there’s also the Tom Lloyd Facebook or the (very occasional) newsletter through my website www.tomlloyd.co.uk

If there was one book, not your own, that you wish you could get everyone to read what would it be and why?

Just one? What sort of a monster are you?! The question’s actually causing me pain to try and narrow it down.

Good!! good!

So – ignoring the bestsellers who don’t need a bump in sales… Nope, that’s still not helping me really so as I look over the shelves in my office… um, OSAMA by Lavie Tidhar, award-winning but not bestselling, but I thought it was a little gem of a novel.