Deborah Harkness
What can our readers expect from your new novel Shadow of Night?
More history, more mystery, and a deepening love story between Diana and Matthew.
Where did your inspiration come from for this novel and your previous A Discovery of Witches?
I was intrigued by the current preoccupation with witches and vampires, and wondered what such a creature would do for a living. The story flowed from that question, and I drew on my own love of history in my answer.
Vampires and witches and other mythical characters are very much in vogue for writers at the moment, what sets yours apart from the rest?
You might know better than me. My last deep encounter with vampire literature was in the work of Anne Rice, and for witches I was a Harry Potter fan as well. I like to think that being a historian brings a different perspective to the characters.
How much have novels such as Twilight and others of similar ilk affected your work?
I saw lots of displays of the book, which is why I started wondering what a vampire would do for a job.
Diana and Matthew travel back to London in 1590, how did you go about researching this time period?
I’ve been researching the period since about 1982. It’s my area of research specialty, so I have lots of notes piled up in my study.
They meet significant characters along the way such as Queen Elizabeth, how much background reading did you have to do into these people?
Because I’ve been studying them so long I didn’t do much additional reading, though I did need to check my dates and facts sometimes.
What would be the one thing you would say to someone wanting to emabark upon a writing career in this genre?
If someone wants to write adult fiction (which is the genre for my book) I would encourage them to live life to the fullest, take as many opportunities to experience new places and people as they can, and to really pay attention to what’s happening around them rather than staring at their mobile. Inspiration often stems from observation.
What can you tell us about your future projects?
Right now I’m focused on the third book of the trilogy. I can’t see much beyond that!
What is your favourite thing about the constructing a novel of this genre?
My favorite thing about writing fiction is that sometimes when I don’t know the answer to a question I make it up, rather than looking it up as I do as a historian.
What would be your answer if someone said that writing fiction is much harder than fact or memiors?
I would say that all writing is difficult!
Lucy Walton Female First