by 
Interview Sam Burnell
When did you start writing novels, what moved you to start writing?
My first book in the series was begun nearly 30 years ago. A Queen’s Spy was written partly while I was at University and mainly upon paper! I was too poor then to have a computer and everything was handwritten, there wasn’t even a photocopier in the library! I finished this as a book about ten years later and it was an enormous 200,000 words, finally I found an editor and they insisted it needed to be trimmed for the market and so it dropped to 90,000. Ouch. I have just revamped this book and with some amazing help it has been reinstated to somewhere approaching the original length and a lot of the scenes and characters that were cut have been replaced.
Writing had always been a passion, and I always had a notebook and pen in my backpack and my favourite lessons at school was English Language and English Literature.
In what genres do you write? Do you plan writing in other genres?
Historical fiction is my playground. My university degree was in law however I took a course in legal history and returned to university a few years later to study archaeology. I am currently writing some current day adventure/crime novels based in Scotland, shorter reads, and these have been fun to right. The first one of these, scheduled around the “Second Scottish Referendum” should be on sale in 2019.
Tell us about your novels. Why should everyone buy them?
If you like Bernard Cornwell, love an anti hero and have a passion for history then I think you’ll enjoy my books. They are not historical romances and my aim is to bring history and a real sense of the period to life. I want you to see, hear and smell Tudor London!
What is your all time favorite novel/book? What makes it special?
Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles spoilt reading for me. After I read these books I have never found anything that compares with them, and I return to them every few years for a re-read.
Probably next Stephen King’s The Stand. I loved this book it is a real masterpiece, wonderfully and cleverly written.
What author would you love to have dinner with?
Dorothy Dunnett every time. Lunch and perhaps a wee dram of whiskey, that would be my perfect evening.
Tell us about your hobbies and passions other than writing.
Scuba diving and watersports are my main hobbies. I’m also a keen historian and amateur archaeologist.
We have many followers who would like to start writing a book or are already writing their first novel, any advice for these brave people?
Get stuck in, be brave, and stick to a schedule.
How often do you write, daily, every other day or?
Every day, and once you get into a habit it’s pretty easy to follow and the words soon stack up.
Do you keep a notebook with ideas for your novels? If so do you carry the notebook with you so you won’t forget any ideas?
I keep little notes on my phone and I’m rarely seen without a backpack which has a notebook inside. There is nothing worse than having a great idea and not being able to record it.
How important is it to have your facts right and are there any instances when you bend history to fit your story?
I write out the historical time line and then fit the story around it, so events are fairly well recorded. I have invented fictional historical characters, some of which are related to real people, and that’s really the only instance I would say where I had bent history.
What are you reading at the moment?
A trilogy by JD Palmer, the first book in the series is The Meek, the second is The Monster and the final part The Man. I’m half way through this at the moment and loving it.
How is it to be an author in your country? Do you have a good support from the local public?
I pretty much write in a vacuum, my family are pretty disinterested in what I write and I can say that here as I know that none of them will ever read this!
So the real challenge is producing a book that people will like, as I have totally no idea if people will like it until it’s released.
A final message for our circleofbooks.com readers.
I hope you enjoy my work, and if you ever have any questions send them along to me, I love getting mail.
Thank you Sam Burnell. We at circleofbooks.com wish you much success!
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