What kind of books do you write?
I have come to realize that I tend to write books about heroes. Nerdy, lanky heroes. In old-fashioned, taking-the-long-road-’round prose. Sometimes there’s magic.
Can you describe your writing why?
Writing is something I do for me. It’s my Big Selfish Act. Not to say that I don’t think of readers (yay, readers!) but I’m generally writing for me-as-a-reader, filling my personal wish list and, perhaps foolishly, believing there are a bunch of other folks out there who’ll pick up one of my stories and feel something in it that I feel. Which basically goes back to how I thought this whole ‘books thing’ worked when I was a kid and would pop into the world’s most magical place: the library. Little-kid-me got to be a part of something massive by just reading popular fiction. Nifty!
And in all honesty, I also think I write because I need some sense of absolute control over a thing. (Of course, the characters then choose to rebel on me and things happen, haha)
Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most
I had a blast writing my Bookminder books and, in particular, the third one. It was a personal reward for me, years of a series reaching its high point. And I adore these characters so much; I love delving into what makes them tick and why, so here’s a little bit from where Nagarath finally snaps.
Excerpt from The Fatewreaker (book 3 of the Bookminder trilogy):
History was littered with the victims of mages who had gone wrong. Countless stories had been writ of wizards who had had to stop wayward apprentices. Such was the duty of any who took on that responsibility.
“Left-handed. Sinistral tendencies.” The fault was Nagarath’s own. The blood that would be on his hands with such a cold and unfair murder? He had earned it by apprenticing Liara in the first place.
But Anisthe? Could he really kill an imprisoned and near helpless man?
“You have fought with him for the better part of your life, magus. And apologized for the rest.”
He’d kill him. He would.
“He would kill me.” But Nagarath knew such reasoning made little sense. He was not Anisthe; had, in fact, prided himself on precisely their differences. “High-minded twattle, Nagarath. You pretend to distinction. When all you really are is a coward, and all you can claim is guilt.”
But then, guilt had been the gulf between them, had it not? Knowing Anisthe’s arrogance, his dangerous singleminded ambition, Nagarath could see, too, the war mage’s lack of apology for his actions and for the consequences they gave rise to. And so Nagarath had worn the guilt for both, having, through his own actions, earned the culpability.
Suffering a guilty conscience was not penance. It was, in many ways, a compounding of one’s error. Nagarath had never moved on. He had never made—or even attempted to make—amends. Not with Anisthe. Not even with Cromen. Certainly he had not with Amsalla.
Instead he had hidden himself away in Limska Draga, telling himself that, if he could keep an eye on the fallout of Anisthe’s actions, he was doing right. Keep safe the cinnabar stone and be free of his own accountability in its creation. Protect Dvigrad, protect Liara, and he was blameless for all that had come before.
Tell us about your latest project
Sherlock Holmes & the Singular Affair comes out on 7th December 2021. And I am soooo giddily excited about it. I’ve written from Holmes’ point of view, just as I have in the other Sherlock stories I’ve now penned. But, unlike my other stories, this is a pre-Baker-Street, pre-Watson tale and the goal was, frankly, to have a bit of fun with it all. To that end, I am a nerd when it comes to things like dates and events. Concerts and other social events alluded to within the text? I’ve researched and set my plot around them. I’ve calendar pages tacked up on my office wall to keep it all straight. If Holmes attends a performance of something, it happened and I can tell you what date.
Extra nerd points? There’s a scene late in the book where a song is playing in the background of a hushed conversation. I wrote and edited to a stopwatch so that, when the verses sneak into the prose here and there, those bits are fitting into actual pauses in the conversation and are accurately timed to how the scene would play out in real-time.
I’ll stop myself here. I could probably talk all day about this book.
What is your favourite cake?
For a while, I actively collected carrot cake recipes. Have I bothered to make any? … I’m actually not that great at baking unless it’s cookies. But if there’s carrot cake available, I’m all over it. Particularly if it has that cream cheese frosting. Mmmm. Oh, now I’ve a craving!!
You can connect with M.K. Wiseman here:
Website: mkwisemanauthor.com
Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook: @FaublesFables
Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Kaylee Allen.
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Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.
