An Interview With Historical Author, Hazel West
Today we are privileged to hear from historical author, Hazel West. Hazel is an interesting person with very unique tastes and a quirky sense of humor. But don't take my word for it. Read her interview below and find out for yourself. Hazel, it's a joy to have you with us today!
THE INTERVIEW
1. For starters, please tell us alittle about yourself.
Well, I’m a writer to begin with ;-)I’m also a very avid reader, a history buff, lover of good coffeeand forests (not in a tree-hugger way, but with a woodsman’srespect.) I also love Scottish and Irish folk music and I playfiddle, piano, guitar, tin whistle and bodhran though never together.I’m a bit of a strange person with an odd sense of humor, but thenI’m a writer. (I use that as the excuse anyway.) You can only be sonormal when you have people talking to you all the time in your head.
2. Have you always been a writer? Haveyou always wanted to be a writer?
Not really, in fact I didn’t likewriting much at all until I was about ten or so. I always likedmaking up stories, so I suppose in a way I did always like thethought of being a writer. I didn’t really think about it seriouslyuntil I was twelve. That was when I started thinking of how awesomeit would be to be published one day.
3. In your opinion, what are theeasiest and most difficult parts of being a writer?
Well, for me the easiest part is comingup with the ideas. Seriously, they just happen. Anything can spark anidea for me, so that’s pretty much effortless. The hardest part isdefinitely the formatting, marketing, and publishing. Writing thebook is the easy bit; I love doing research, and even editing is funfor me because I like to see how I can improve my books and I havegreat writers-in-arms who help me with that, but it’s all the postwriting stuff that gets to me. But then I do not regret my choice ofself-publishing either. And all the hard work pays off in the endwhen you hold your book in print for the first time. I never get overthat.
4. Would you tell us what your book isabout?
No, I won’t, you’ll have to readit… Just kidding ;-) Overall, it’s about brotherhood, friendshipand loyalty. I love reading war novels because of the brotherlyfriendships that form between the men, and that’s what I was tryingto portray in my novel. The hero is Sir Reeve Montgomery, an Englishknight who is left by his comrades on the field of Stirling andcaptured by the Scottish rebel, William Wallace’s army. He’streated as a slave, and turns bitter, but when he witnesses anEnglish raid on a Scottish town and sees his countrymen, knights atthat, performing horrendous acts against chivalry, he begins towonder if what he had been fighting for the whole time was really theright thing.
5. Is this your first book?
No, this is my third published book andthe seventh I have written. My other published works are “FreedomCome All Ye” which is a YA novel about William Wallace as ateenager and then “Ballad of the Highwayman” which is aswashbuckling adventure/romance set after the English Civil War abouta young man (Kilroy Allen) turned highwayman after his father isfalsely convicted of treason against Charles I. He sets out to findthe man who betrayed his father so he can return to his real life andmarry his childhood sweetheart, Sylvia Davies.
6. Your book is a historical fictionnovel. What is it about history that intrigues you?
The people, definitely. I love novelsfor the characters and I’m the same way with history. I do likecertain time periods above others, but it’s definitely the peoplewho have to do with that. William Wallace is one of my favoritehistorical characters as well as Manfred von Richthofen, GeorgeWashington, Lafayette, Robert the Bruce, Montrose, Jack Churchill,Horatio Hornblower--okay he’s not real, but you get the point ;-)It’s also the stories. Stories that need no tweaking to be betterand more exciting than most novels. What really attracted me toBritish history to begin with is that the stories are all sospectacular that it’s hard to believe. Wallace and Bruce arecharacters who could adorn the most epic novels (or movies,obviously) and don’t get me started on Irish history and storieslike Red Hugh of Donegal whose story reads like an R.L. Stevensonnovel. They just don’t make them like that anymore.
7. I understand you like to practicewith historical weaponry. Could you give us some examples and tellus how you began that hobby?
*Laughs* well, it’s my love ofhistory that made me start, and I’m the kind of author who likes totry things out before I write about them. Since I write a lot ofhistorical war/adventure novels, I knew I would have to know a littleabout swordplay and things like that, and then I moved on to archery,a bit of boxing and have even tilted against boxes on my bicycle witha pole. And for the record, no one needs to know how that particularadventure went. I usually end up choreographing all the fight scenesin my books in my back yard before I write them. Most of myexperience comes from books, accurate movies, and studying battletactics. I learned boxing from reading Louis L’Amour. Currently,I’m actually working on creating my own fighting style that thehero in my upcoming steampunk novel uses that involves two shortsticks and is a bit like singlestick.
8. What projects are you currentlyworking on?
I’m working on two novels. One is aVictorian steampunk mystery (mentioned above) that should be outsometime next spring, I’m hoping. The other novel should be out byDecember and is about Romans and Celts. I have two main characters;one a Roman centurion named Viggo and the other a Celtic chieftain’sson named Caolán who is taken by the Romans after his father iskilled in battle and sold into slavery. Viggo also lost his son inthe same battle to Caolán’s father and is bitter toward the youngCelt because of that. I’m not going to say much more than thatright now ;-) I am currently writing three short backstories to goalong with the book and the first one about Viggo (“To Save aLife”) is now published on ebook and you can find it on Smashwordsvia the link below.
9. Where can readers find you on theweb?
My Blog: http://hazelwest.blogspot.com(If you want the latest news about my books, and fun advice onwriting or the writer’s life, this is where you go!)
And I have made a Facebook page for myhero detective Anthony Maxwell who you can find here:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anthony-Maxwell/978987912241341
10. Do you have anything else you wouldlike to add?
My last remarks from the scaffold:(Told you I had a strange sense of humor)
“There is nothing better than afriend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.”
~Linda Grayson
(One of my favorite quotes)
Thank you much for interviewing me! =)
ABOUT THE BOOK
SirReeve Montgomery is an Englishman born and bred, proud of hisheritage and the right to serve his country fighting against theScottish rebels. But when the tide is turned unexpectedly during theBattle of Stirling Bridge, he is wounded by an English arrow, leftfor dead by his comrades, and taken captive by Wallace's army.Wounded, and alone on a foreign field, he knows he should expectnothing but torture and death at the hands of the Scottish rebels whoare known to be complete savages. But as he comes to know this tightbrotherhood better, and sees Wallace's utter devotion to his men andthe cause of freedom, Reeve begins to wonder whether the English areright to oppress them. Faced with these troubling thoughts, Reevemust decide whether he will stay true to his king, or join thisbrotherhood of freedom fighters, thus turning his back on everythinghe has ever known or believed in. This new novel by Hazel West is athought-provoking, heartfelt read about the true meaning of loyaltyand brotherhood.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hazel West spends a good bit of her time writing historical fiction about bravemen and women who have graced the pages of history, trying to bringmore light to their legacies so readers of all ages will enjoy them. Her favorite things to do are writing, obviously, listening to andplaying Irish and Scottish folk music, practicing with all eras andtypes of historical weaponry, drinking GOOD COFFEE, and reading goodbooks. She currently lives in Florida.
GIVEAWAY
Hazelwill be giving away an Amazon Gift Card during her tour to onerandomly drawn commenter.
Disclaimer: My participation in this book tour does not mean that Ihave read and/or agree with the work being promoted. Typically, unlessI'm doing a book review, I do not have the opportunity to read the booksbefore promoting them. The purpose of virtual tours is to help fellowauthors promote their works, and while I am very particular about whoand what I promote, I cannot guarantee that the beliefs and views statedin any specific book are my own. //d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js