QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

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Will all of the books in the series be set in the ancient Roman Empire?
No. The fifth and last book in the series will tell the story of the person who appears in the Prologue to the first four books - i.e. the person who is being taken back to the life as Graecus, and we will find that there are some very interesting parallels across the centuries.

A Capital Time, the third book in the series is set in Rome itself. Was it easy or difficult to write about something which has such a rich historical record?
A bit of both, really. The timing of the book is very firmly nailed to 62AD which is given as the date of several important happenings in Nero’s reign some of which are mirrored in the lives of the book’s main characters and this makes things easy for the writer as it provides an accurate backdrop for the story of the people who don’t appear in the history books. The difficult part, though, is that because the great fire in Rome in 64 AD destroyed huge areas of the central part of the city, it is not really known what was there before Nero’s rebuilding programme so, in writing about a Rome which largely disappeared nearly 2,000 years ago, I’ve needed to be careful not to mention things which may have come into being later than 62AD.

Are you still of the view that there will be four books in the series?
No. I now think that there will be at least five books in the Chronicles of Eternity series although it is possible that there may be more.

Books in shops are always placed in categories. In which category do you place your books?
I really don’t like categories although they can be very useful for someone looking for a book to read on a beach or a long flight. If pressed, I would say that my books are histories with a mystery, that is, they’re historically factual but they arise from the mystery of someone going on a past life journey. I’m really delighted though that my work has been read and enjoyed by people as diverse as my 18 yr old stepson and a lady in her eighties – each of whom enjoyed different aspects of ‘Moments in Time’ but are now both keen to get their hands on ‘The Weight of Time’.

What is it that you would like your readers to take away from your books?
Many of my readers have said that they feel they are there with the characters when they’re reading the story and I love it that they feel in this way – what I want is that the reader should care about the characters and share their triumphs and tragedies; because the books are really about love and how it changes people I would like my readers to feel uplifted but the books are also about adventure and how good people strive to survive in a bad world so I also want my readers to be keen to know how it all ends.

‘Moments In Time’ begins with a past life regression. Do you believe in reincarnation?
I know that we, as human beings come here time and time again, experiencing many lifetimes.
A belief is something we hold in our minds – an idea that something is or is not the case. Knowledge, on the other hand is held in the heart, it is felt rather than thought.

How many books will there be in the series?
At the moment, I know that there will be at least four books but I can’t really be sure until I’ve finished. In case that sounds strange,
I should point out that the second book, Weight of Time, turned out to be much longer than I’d anticipated and it could be that there will need to be five or more books in order to tell the whole story.

When you sit down to write do you have a set idea of what it is you will be writing that day?
Not really. Mostly I have a vague idea of what’s coming next but sometimes I’m really surprised by the twists and turns of the story and, on other occasions, new characters just walk onto the page and insist that they are part of it too.

Do you write in the traditional way using pen and paper or use a computer?
I write on my laptop but the Word setting looks like a page.

Do you write a set number of words per day?
No. I wait until I feel very strongly that it’s time to write and then I tap at the keys like a mad person. Sometimes I can write 3,000 words in one day and then not write anything for a week but it is usually more like 1500-1800 words in a day.

Do you enjoy writing?
Yes, very much. When I was training to be a lawyer, I was taught to respect words and to use them with precision. Writing these books is similar in that I want to tell the story accurately and without unnecessary frills but it’s also different as I need to describe people’s feelings and what makes them tick.

Did you study Latin?
Yes, I have an A level in Latin and, knowing now how useful it’s been in my life, I wish I’d paid more attention in class and learned more than I actually did.