I first “met” author Laurence Westwood on Twitter – he’s friendly, interesting and very supportive to bloggers (even new ones like me!) So when he reached out and asked if I was interested in reading his book, The Balance of Heaven and Earth, I was definitely on board. You can read my review of that book here, but first, enjoy this interview – you’ll love the crystal ball story! 🙂
Tell us a little about yourself
I am a semi-retired corporate investigator for the software industry and information security consultant here in the U.K. I regularly lecture on IP enforcement at the University of Warwick. Apart from being a full-time carer for my elderly mother, I now read and think a lot about China and write mysteries set in modern and Song Dynasty China.
List three fun facts about yourself that we wouldn’t read in your ‘official’ bio.
As I was giving evidence in court some years ago a member of the jury fell asleep.
In my study I keep a large crystal ball (so I can see into the past and the future!). I was writing quite happily one day when I smelled something burning. It took far me longer that it should have to realise that the sun was at such an angle on the horizon that the crystal ball had caught and focused its rays and set alight a couple of books stacked behind it.
I live in Warwickshire, in the English Midlands, and from my bedroom window I can see Meon Hill which was the scene of a notorious ‘witch’ murder back in 1945. Despite a couple of very experienced detectives being invited in from Scotland Yard to investigate the case, the murder remains unsolved to this very day!! And the locals are still not talking….
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I remember confusing my parents when I was about thirteen when I asked for a dictionary as a Christmas present. I think the idea must have already been forming in my mind at that age. But it was when I was about fifteen when I read SHOGUN by James Clavell (a novel that had a very powerful effect on me) that I finally decided that, no matter how long it took, one fine day I was going to be an author.
When you’re not writing, what do you like to do for fun?
I tend to sit back and watch the cricket on TV. There are a few detective series on TV that I really like such as Morse, Lewis and Endeavour. I am also a great fan of Murdoch Mysteries, set in tropical Toronto of all places (Constable George Crabtree is my hero!), and I am really enjoying The Rookie starring Nathan Fillion (yet another Canadian!!). I was devastated when Castle, his other series, was cancelled.
In your opinion, what is the hardest part of writing or being an author?
I honestly think it’s all hard: learning the mechanics of writing, discovering your subject or theme, doing the necessary research, consistently finding the time to write, being comfortable with writing draft after draft until you get it right, learning not to worry too much on those occasional dark days when it all seems too difficult (as perspective often comes after a good night’s sleep), and then figuring out how to put yourself and the novel out into the world when you think you have done as much as you can to make it perfect. I suppose the trick is never to give up.
What/who are some of the genres/authors you read in your spare time?
When I am writing I only ever read non-fiction, mainly histories and biographies, as other people’s fiction tends to interfere with my own writing. But when I am not writing I do like historical fiction/historical crime fiction. Some of my favourite series have been set in Ancient Rome: Stephen Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa series, Lindsey Davies and her Falco series, and the much underrated Ruth Downie and her Ruso series. In recent years I have also greatly enjoyed and admired Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin sea-faring series set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars.
You have a degree in Theoretical Physics and worked in law enforcement and anti-risk consultancy – which is a far cry from ancient China. Have you always been interested in Chinese history?
No, not especially, in fact I hardly knew anything about China when I first seriously sat down with the thought of writing a novel. But I was struggling to find a subject and making very little progress when I remembered The Water Margin, a TV series from the 1970s that I had loved. It was a Japanese production based on the Chinese Song Dynasty novel Outlaws of the Marsh. Among its cast of heroes was an honest judge. I suddenly had the crazy idea that I could write a mystery set in the Song Dynasty featuring an honest judge or magistrate. The name Magistrate Zhu came to me instantly as did the names of the four constables Horse, Fast Deng, Slow Deng and Little Ox, and so The Balance of Heaven and Earth was born. Little did I realise then how much research I was going to have to do…how much history I was going to have to read…and how many academic papers I was going to have to track down before the novel was done. But it was worth it. Now it is like China has become my literary home.
You also have a book, The Willow Woman, that’s set in a more modern China. If you weren’t writing about China (ancient or modern), what do you think you would write about?
This is a difficult question to answer, as when I started writing I was really struggling to find my subject, something that really resonated with me. But I suspect I would pick a period of history that interests me – there are so many! – and search for a story to tell.
Do you have more books planned for The Magistrate Zhu Mysteries?
I am currently working on the sequel, entitled The Mournful Sword – hoping to release it in early 2020.
A young soldier, for some unknown reason a thousand miles from his post on the turbulent north-west border, douses himself with oil and sets himself alight in the market-square. And so Magistrate Zhu begins his investigation, full of foreboding, fearing that this baffling suicide is but the opening act of some violent drama that is about to unfold – a drama that could, unless he moves quickly and correctly, bring down a terrible vengeance upon the common people of Tranquil Mountain.
Are there any other projects you’d like to tell us about?
Late last year I finished the second of my Philip Ye novels set in modern China, a sequel to The Willow Woman, entitled Liberation Street. I will make one last final editing pass over the manuscript at the end of this year and then I hope to release it sometime in 2020.
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