Fiction Scribe

Fiction Scribe readers, it is my pleasure to introduce you to this week’s interviewee, Chris Hoare. Chris is currently on virtual tour for his book and has honored me with some of this time.

Without further ado…

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Mr. Hoare. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

Hey – call me Chris.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

When I was young I couldn’t help but notice my mother was a voracious reader, and as I grew older I became a paperboy for the newsagents where she borrowed most of her books. I found novels there of adventure and excitement and formed a desire to emulate the authors who could captivate readers with their stories.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your book The Wildcat’s Victory. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

The second novel published in the Iskander series, it’s actually fifth in the scenario chronology, although two of the early novels were scrapped and will one day be rewritten. The stories follow the strong female protagonist, Gisel Matah, who becomes a security officer for a small group of modern people stranded in a 17th century world.

What inspired you to write The Wildcat’s Victory? Where did the idea begin?

The whole series started as some historical ‘what-if’ speculation. In the series I explore the effect of having an anachronistic technological revolution in a world of sailing ships, periwigged gentlemen, minuets, and ladies in crinolines (although Gisel rarely wears such encumberances). After Gisel makes a dangerous journey to escort young Yohan to an enemy city in “Deadly Enterprise�?, I thought it time to portray her in a situation where she is more of a controlling player – until the odds mount against her.

What character do you relate to the most and why?

I suppose it must be Gisel, who I could almost imagine as my daughter, but her partner Yohan is more of the kind of man I would be in their situation.

What is your favourite part of the book?

I like irony, and readers will see the irony of the title as they read. Gisel wins two victories against her enemies, one military and one political, but all the time she knows the victories are only ephemeral because the conflicts will break out again and again until a new social order emerges.

What draws you about writing?

I must admit to spending a great deal of time exploring history and philosophy looking for the meaning reality holds – if any. When I write fiction I have scenarios under my control where I can wind up the situations and let them play out in a realistic fashion. I follow my characters in learning about the way the world works.

Are there any authors who have inspired you in your writing?

I mentioned the ‘penny libraries’ where I discovered books when I was young. Although I don’t remember the author’s name, I used to read every potboiler I could find about the private-eye Norman Conquest, his wife Pixie, and his Hispano-Suiza roadster. While I went on to read much better authors later, the fascination of those simpler stories shaped my idea of what to write.

What are you working on now?

I’ve started the sequel to The Wildcat’s Victory where Gisel, now married, is the governor of a tumultuous city, Skrona, where she has to keep rioters, spies, and enemies under control.

I also started a more serious novel – though I write it with a light tone – about a retired professor of cybernetics who is abbot of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery (and who is also a star-traveler through his mind-power).

The background is the strikingly different world-view of Buddhism and general systems theory – both different to our normal perception of reality, that is. I believe such a world-view will need to become the standard by which all our social and scientific endeavors are understood if we are ever to advance beyond the present quagmire of our making.

What are your dreams for your writing?

Although I don’t write novels that are specifically YA, I’d love to fascinate young readers with tales of fictional possibilities that shape their thirst for exploring their world – the way I was. I’d also like to have one novel, at least, that stays on the bookshelves and is recommended to readers long after I’m dead.

When you’re not writing novels, what do you do? How do you find time to write?

I’m retired now, so it’s no problem, but I also wrote while I was in the workforce. While I surveyed in oil exploration I worked to a different schedule than the five day week – projects usually ran until completed and then we had time off until the next started.

I also worked on shift in a refinery and a gas processing plant – those jobs, too, provided blocks of time off during which it was possible to write for longer stretches. I’m always amazed at the way most people are wedded to the 9 to 5 grind – that always felt to me like being back in the army.

Do you have any advice for writers?

For authorship, try to attain the balance between being a part of society while detatched enough to observe it objectively. To gain proficiency in the writing craft work diligently to master the methods others have perfected – so that you can ignore them in your own creativity. I know these are contradictions – life is always like that.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you for your patience in allowing me to blather on. I plead the usual excuse that writers are carried away by the sounds of their own words. If you’d rather see words of mine that engage you, and lead to some satisfying conclusions, you might check out The Wildcat’s Victory