Interview with J. Boyce Gleason
author of
Anvil of God
The Most Happy Reader is fortunate to welcome J. Boyce
Gleason, author of Anvil of God,
Book One of the Carolingian Chronicles, who has graciously agreed to answer
some questions for us regarding both Anvil
of God and his work as a writer. Boyce
thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us on both the Anvil of God
and your career as a writer.
Welcome to
The Most Happy Reader.
On Anvil of God:
Give us an insight into your one of your main characters from Anvil of
God. What does he/she do that is so important to the novel as a whole?
I think Trudi (Charles the Hammer’s daughter) is the most
pivotal character in the story. She is a
strong character, yet every bit as vulnerable as her 18 years would imply. Her journey to escape an arranged marriage to
find love amongst her father’s enemies flips her (and the reader’s) perspective
of her family, her religion, power and the impact they have had on her
world.
The Carolingian Empire is not a widely known period, even in many
academic circles, what brought you to this time period and place? Do you have a background in history?
I was a history major at Dartmouth College and studied the
period under a great professor named Charles Wood. I was drawn to the story of Charlemagne and
in particular an epic poem of the time (much like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey)
called the Song of Roland. I had
originally planned to write the story about Roland, but the more I researched
Charlemagne, the more I fell in love with his family’s story – in particular
how they came to power.
Most people know, or have heard, of Charlemagne. His restoration of the Holy Roman Empire
during the midst of the Dark Ages was a feat that rulers throughout Europe (like
Napoleon, for example) have tried to emulate for over a thousand years. The family’s rise to power, however, began
with his grandfather, Charles the Hammer who is best known for saving
Christianity by stopping the advance of the Muslim armies as they swept into
Europe from Northern Africa and Spain in the mid-eighth century.
It was a pivotal time in the history of Western Civilization
– for religion, for cultural identity, for military conquest and for the
centralization of power. It seemed like
a natural place to explore many of the same issues we grapple with as a society
today.
Despite that, Anvil is a story about what happens to Charles
the Hammer’s family when he dies. It’s
the story about a family; struggling with the death of their father…only this
family’s choices have consequences for an entire continent.
Your thoughtful and informative Author’s Note gives some insight into
your research, but how much research do you undertake, both primary and
secondary? I would like to add that I
enjoyed your honest plot outline and character descriptions for their clarity
in what was history and what was fiction.
I have to admit that the research was, at time, a heavy
lift. There is not a lot that has been
written about this time period and much of what I thought I knew was incorrect. Even after, I had created a timeline of all
the major events; I had to recreate a clear picture of who ruled what
territories at that moment in time (how old they were, what their histories
entailed, who they were allied with, why they supported or opposed the
Carolingians etc.). It was more than I
expected.
I also travelled to each of the locations covered in the
book trying to find some evidence of the time period. Needless to say, there is not much left
standing from the eighth century. Every
once in a while, however, I was surprised to find critical pieces to the puzzle
that helped me ground the time period in a physical location.
Having said that, once the pieces started to fall into
place, I felt like I began to know the characters as people – not unlike how we
look at major political figures in the world today. I understood their perspective and the
motivations for their actions. I like to
say that we know what happened in history, but I write historical fiction to
find out why.
Is the second installment of the Carolingian Chronicles in the works?
Yes. I’m about
halfway through it. The current title is
“Wheel of the Fates” and it picks up the family’s story about two months after
Anvil ends.
On Writing:
When did you decide to become a writer?
Although it is my second career, I always hoped that someday I would write this book. It was a “bucket list” sort of thing (before
we called them bucket lists). I don’t
think I had the courage or confidence to pursue it earlier in my life. I also had to provide for my family and
writing isn’t a very lucrative field to pursue.
That said, my first career required a great deal of writing
and I found writing (whether opinion columns for the local newspaper, poetry,
or short stories) was a creative outlet for me. As I grew older, my confidence grew as well –
both that I could write and that I had something to say.
What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?
About twelve years ago, I decided to take a stab at it. I
toyed with writing a short story that pitted a young Charlemagne against the
last of the Merovingian Kings. As the
scenes began to unfold, I gave the characters their head and let them dictate
where the story went. Somewhere along the way, the real world disappeared and
the words poured out of me. Four hours later, I stopped writing. I was dripping in sweat and the scene I had
written was so disturbing, I wouldn’t show it to anyone for weeks. Deep down, I knew then that I would be a
writer. There was something about that
purge that was both exhilarating and terrifying. (It was also the last time I let my
characters fully dictate where the story goes).
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an
idea takes you?
Since I work in historical fiction, I know where the history
takes the story. So, in that sense, I am
working against an outline. And I do
sketch out where the personal conflicts are between characters and try to
follow a storyline.
It never works out that way, however. I find myself surprised by what happens on a
regular basis. I am always revising based on where the characters take the
story. And if they take it too far
afield, somewhere that is contrary to the history, I’ll have to go back and
change the character – build in a new backstory that shifts their priorities
and motivation – otherwise he or she wouldn’t be true to character.
Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?
Some people look at this story and think the history is
going to be a heavy lift. I often hear
people say, “I didn’t study that period in history” or “I don’t know enough
about that time period.”
While this is a novel set in history, it is really just a
story about a family in crisis. I once
saw an interview with John-john Kennedy who was asked (for the gazillionth
time) what it was like to grow up in the White House with such iconic figures
as Jack Kennedy and Jackie O. John-john
rolled his eyes and said, “to you, those people were mythical figures out of
Camelot. To me, they were Mom and
Dad.” That’s the way I wanted to tell
this story – from the perspective of the sons and daughters, wives and brothers
– it’s the story of their lives more than it is a history lesson.
How can readers discover more about you and you work?
Facebook: J.
Boyce Gleason
Twitter:
@JBoyceGleason
Boyce, many thanks for an informative interview on your novel, Anvil of God, and on your career as a writer. I appreciate your again for taking the time to share your thourghts with The Most Happy Reader.
I for one anxiously await The
Wheel of the Fates, Book Two of the Carolingian Chronicles.
About the Author:
