As a best-selling ‘fantasy’ author, Fiona McIntosh probably requires little introduction to readers. She is also a motivational speaker and teacher and writes British-based crime novels under the pen name of Lauren Crow. Fiona has kindly agreed to share some insights into the way she creates her characters—in particular those appearing in her new release, Royal Exile (book one of the Valisar Trilogy).

AC: Fiona, some authors insist that allowing a character (or plot) to digress from the original premise is an indication that the author is out of control of the writing process. But my own experience is that when something surprises me, as when an unknown character suddenly appears, or something unplanned happens, it’s actually a very special moment in my journey. I’ve come to believe that the right side of the brain—the creator—knows what it’s doing and all will be revealed/resolved by the end of the story. Has that been your experience, too?

FM: Yes, definitely it has. Hello everyone. What you’ve described here, Astrid, is my only experience with writing in terms of plot. I write without plotting, without making notes. Now call that out of control if you want but I just see it as a writer who crafts without constraint and who enjoys complete freedom in her storytelling. I’m not suggesting for a moment it’s the right way – because there’s no such thing. But I have met a lot of aspiring writers who spend so much time plotting and planning and editing and editing and editing, that the manuscript never gets finished. It’s years in the making but more so in the tinkering. Write it! Edit afterwards. That’s my motto. And when you write in this freefalling manner you do encounter the most unlikely scenarios. It makes my stories unpredictable I will admit but that’s not such a bad thing. I’ll be honest, I can’t write any other way so analysing this method is academic for me; I’m wired to write without preconceived ideas. I think of it as scary but fun. And it keeps me interested in the story. From my perspective alone, I firmly believe that if I knew what was coming I’d bore myself awfully fast. However, I do admire writers who take some time to get a handle on what they think their story is about, point of view, plot potential, character potential and so on. So long as they don’t linger too long on the development of ideas, I think midway between being a plotter and a freefaller is probably the perfect writing position to leap from.

AC: Did it happen during the writing of Royal Exile? If so, would you care to give an example of a surprise and perhaps tell us how you reacted to this sudden arrival?

FM: Yes, the special moment did occur with a character called Freath. He was nothing more than a manservant, a bit part – at first. I don’t know why I bothered giving him a name but the dialogue called for it. Then he became useful as an oily personality who does something unforgivable. And then…good grief! He shocked me. Totally took my breath away. I have no idea why or how, but it happened and I absolutely loved that this character took me by entirely by surprise.

It’s also just happened in book 2 where a character I suspected might follow a certain path and be useful in a particular way has done just the opposite and I did not see it coming. Always unnerving, always fun and why I firmly believe back of brain takes care of business. It obviously saw this long before my fingers started hammering it out on the keyboard and it clearly takes delight in not pre-empting it or even giving me subtle warnings!

AC: In Royal Exile, you introduce us to a world in turmoil—a barbarian horde is systematically destroying The Set kingdoms and exterminating all who stand in their way—particularly the aristocracy. Numerous fascinating characters are woven into the story, some meeting a sticky end, others surviving against the odds. One of the main protagonists is ‘Gavriel De Vis’—a young nobleman thrust into great responsibility as protector/mentor and friend of the orphaned boy-king, ‘Leonel’. Gavriel is my favourite character. Fiona, was Gavriel the impetus to write this novel? If not, who (or what) was?

FM: Not at all but this is what I most LOVE about talking to readers. I am constantly surprised, delighted and always intrigued by what makes a book tick for readers; especially which characters do it for readers. Now for me, this book was always about Loethar. He was my lead. He is my favourite character. He is the person I first saw in my mind’s eye and around whom I began to imagine a huge story could begin to sprawl. But here you go picking someone I like a great deal but never envisaged as a main protagonist. You’ve given me a wonderful insight, thank you, and I’ll be interested to discover over coming weeks as more people read the book, who they’re enjoying and why. I’ve learned over the years never to assume that the character I like and who motivates the story for me, is a sentiment shared by other readers.

AC: On the FAQ page of your website, you say your characters evolve during the writing of a novel; that you do not prepare character bios or journals. How did Gavriel evolve? Or was he actually ‘fully realised’ from the first moment?

FM: Gavriel evolved through the role that was suddenly thrust upon him. I lost Corbel, his twin almost immediately in the tale and while I always hoped they’d play critical roles, I didn’t really understand how big Gavriel’s part would be and that he would help carry much of Royal Exile. Definitely not fully realised from the outset. He’s essentially a youth when we meet him, although very courtly, highly trained. What I found interesting was how he had to set aside his own sorrows and trauma, which are substantial, in order to keep his younger charge’s spirits up. I think this where Gavriel’s character really begins to develop and mature although he shows some typically youthful traits toward the end of this volume and of course it leads to …. well, we’ll let the readers find out.

AC: Readers and writers have favourite characters and sometimes it can be a secondary character who invokes the strongest reader empathy. In Royal Exile, one of my favourites is ‘Genrie’—what is a world without its feisty heroines? Loethar’s mother is a force to be reckoned with, too, while Valya is an interesting mix of conflicting traits. Fiona, in this book, do you have a favourite secondary character? And if so, why?

FM: Genrie was definitely one of those surprises as well, particularly her love interest that also came right out of the blue. She’s a character to really enjoy and she stamps her mark on the story quickly and I’m yet to find someone who has read this book and not felt an incredible empathy for Genrie. I don’t know how that happens. I can’t force it. It’s all about the character herself. Loethar’s mother definitely has impact with only vignette-style appearances, testimony I suppose to her strength. Valya, no idea where this one’s going. I can’t feel sorry for her and yet when you look at her life, she’s rather tragic and so unloved. And it’s that lack of love and support that’s shaping her don’t you think?

Loethar is my #1 and I think my #2 is either Freath – because he’s so interesting, or possibly Kilt Faris, whom I find irresistible. Vyk is fascinating too. Who or what is he?

AC: (Yes, definitely – both unloved and unwanted and considered useful merely for dynastic reasons. No wonder Valya tries to get ‘even’ with those who dismiss her!)

Fiona’s readers have come to expect some gruesome events in her books and Royal Exile is no exception. Many authors say they prefer creating ‘villains’ to ‘heroes’. The antagonist of the story is Loethar, who has a truly awful trait. The dining room scene is shocking. (It would be a spoiler, if I elaborated!) Like all villains, Loethar has his better side, occasionally glimpsed. However, he remains true to himself and his role—he is pragmatic, ruthless and convincing—a suitable foil to the protagonists.

Do you enjoy creating the villains—as much (or more) than ‘good guys’?

FM: Love villains! So much more fun. And I’ve learned they don’t have to be the kind who make the reader hiss every time they appear on the page. Loethar is incredibly charismatic and yes, pragmatic. He has qualities I truly admire, other than his dining ‘pecadilloes’. What I like most about this villain is that there are sides to him we are yet to discover. We don’t yet understand his true motivation but I know there’s a lot more going on in this guy than seems initially obvious. I have my suspicions that in future volumes we’ll begin to see more from his perspective; we’ll begin to walk in his shoes and see life from his vantage in a way that we haven’t up until now. Perhaps when we do, all his brutality might seem justified even though it’s shocking. Good guys are easy to write although there’s a danger in making them feel saccharine, which is why these days I really enjoy characters like Kilt Faris, who stand either side of the law, are capable of violence but especially ruthlessness, while you see the tender more vulnerable side that’s capable of generosity, heroism…all that stuff.

AC: The way an author creates a character, or a story, is as individual as the telling of that story. Sometimes it starts with ‘What if…?’ Sometimes an author will see (or dream) a character doing something and will weave the story around that image. Fiona, how did Royal Exile come into being? Did you start with a story idea, or did it come from a character, or a ‘what if…?’ scenario?

FM: I saw a single scene in my mind’s eye. A loutish sort of man was laughing at a distraught noblewoman who is clutching a child as he abuses the corpse of her husband. Somewhere behind someone is watching, hidden. I don’t want to say too much more because having read the book you know the scene I’m referring to that is so ghoulish. I didn’t know any of the characters at that stage or why someone was eavesdropping but within that tension I sensed the stirrings of a great tale. And it was based on this curious vision that I could imagine an epic sort of story could begin to shape. It was the same for The Quickening – a casual mention by a friend that she’d seen a clairvoyant who had told her she’d lived many lives. I needed nothing more for my imagination to run rampant.

AC: Some of the women in this book are used, abused, tortured and killed. Genrie is a wonderful ‘heroine’ and ‘Lily’ promises to be a suitable foil to the male leads of Royal Exile. ‘Elka’, too, is going to be a fascinating character to get to know and a woman who will be up to sparring with Gavriel. (Perhaps Gavriel has met his match?). Fiona, do you prefer to write male or female characters?

FM:I really like writing men — I find it easier for some reason I can’t fathom. Perhaps I fall a little in love with my leads. I’d certainly love to meet Loethar! Elka is such a mystery. I’m only just getting to her now in book 2 and wondering who she is, what she is, and what sort of role she’s going to play, or why she ever interfered in that dangerous situation to enter the story in the first place.

AC: A character becomes memorable to a reader for many reasons. Often, it is the subtle use of humour that makes a character more realistic, or enriches a story. Royal Exile contains some lighter moments and the camaraderie between Gavriel and Leo is highlighted by their bantering, as well as more subtle humour.

FM: Given what they were both being put through, who they’d both lost and their tender ages, I felt a darker humour would ultimately emerge between two male youths. There are moments when they just forget where they are and what they’re being put through and factors like food and where to take a pee become conversations of high importance. Gavriel is trying to be big brother, think like a father and be as gentle as a mother to Leo. He’s shouldering such a big burden and I think it’s his humour that surfaces now and again that gets him through. And Leo is showing some of that too intermittently and I needed that to happen I guess so that we could see the man emerging from the youngster and how quickly he was having to grow up.

AC: If you would have to choose one essential character trait for a ‘hero’, what would it be?

FM: Reluctance. I’m a really big fan of the reluctant hero.

AC: This latest work ends in a hook—readers expect this and Fiona certainly delivers. ‘What’s going to happen next…?’ and ‘How is Gavriel going to prevail…?’ are just two questions to be answered in the next book.

How aware are you of the ‘hook’ ending—does it just happen as a natural sequence of the actions of a character, or do you find you sometimes have to ‘work’ on that hook?

FM: That is an interesting question. Hooks are very important to popular fiction and a cliffhanger ending is also expected for the end of the first two volumes of a trilogy for instance but I don’t, in all honesty, consciously keep that in mind. Now subconsciously, I think it’s a prominent thought but fortunately I’m not aware of it. I said previously that I allow back of brain to take care of business and I trust it implicitly to find the resolutions to all my reckless storylines. I rely on it especially to bring each volume to a natural close that feels right but fulfils the need to leave the reader determined to know what comes next. Yes, I think for me it’s a very natural process. I don’t worry about the end or look for it until it arrives and then it just feels right. For instance at the end of Percheron I was expecting some sort of massive battle but it never happened. The end for both villains in the story was really rather quiet and even though we all want to see the bad guys get their come-uppance I do think in this story it was right that neither Salmeo nor Maliz got their chance to see themselves going down in a blaze of glory. It was a surprise but it felt right and I think that’s how I’ve approached the closes to all of my books. I tend to write to a size – I like a volume of around 150,000 words…it’s neat, not too cumbersome, fits perfectly into trade or mass market size paperback and although that sounds technical rather than creative, I’m in the book business and I respect the needs of the publisher as well as the reader. Comfortable sizing and keeping each volume roughly the same size and length is helpful. So I think at around 130,000 words a part of my brain switches on and tells whichever other part needs to know that we’re getting down to the pointy end and we need to start closing down some of the storylines, allowing the reader to enjoy some resolution and some respite from the tension and the pacy nature of the tale. This becomes even more critical for the final volume but I do leave it up to fate and I never plan an ending.

AC: Fiona, is there anything else you would like to mention about yourself, your books, or the topic?

FM: I’ve really enjoyed this story. A reader at my bulletin board mentioned that it feels fresh. I think I know what she means because I felt quite fresh and free when I wrote it. And I now firmly believe that’s because I took myself away from fantasy to write some crime, write a children’s book and then returning to fantasy felt wonderful and new again. Although it’s a return to a familiar stomping ground of a medieval style Europe, it has a zing to it that I can’t really put my finger on but I’m aware of it. Royal Exile excited me as I was crafting it and I’m already past halfway with book 2 and it’s going to places I’d never imagined. That’s a real joy and again I think the freedom comes from in between these two volumes I’ve written a second crime novel and the opening chapter of a new mainstream family saga that I’m working on that’s worlds away from fantasy. Coming back to write A Tyrant’s Blood and picking up the threads of all those storylines I’ve left hanging in the balance from Royal Exile, feels brilliant.

AC: Thank you for taking the time to share your creative processes with The Specusphere.

FM: It’s been a pleasure, Astrid, and my sincere thanks to the readers of Specusphere. Hope you enjoy the opening volume to Valisar.

AC: If readers want to know more about Fiona and her work, please visit her website: www.fionamcintosh.com

Royal Exile
Book One of the Valisar Trilogy.
HarperVoyager
ISBN 978-0-7322-8477-0
Available September 1st, 2008.

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