Tell me about your new novel, Stormcrow. Set in medieval Ireland, Stormcrow is about a young half-Irish, half-Norseman (Fin) from Linn Duachaill (Annagassan, Co Louth) whose life is forever changed by his father’s murder. Peopled with historical characters such as Sitric Silkbeard and Brian Boru, the fast-paced, action-packed novel addresses lesser known aspects of the Norse world, including attitudes to race, sexuality and gender.
Prof Neil Price, one of the world’s most prominent Viking archaeologists, liked it, a fantastic result. Finn is not your first Irish character. Tell us about Ferdia (also your son’s name).
My first real chance of writing an Irish character came with my novels about Richard the Lionheart. I used the Strongbow connection, weaving in an Irish hostage sent to Wales who then meets the Lionheart. What is the appeal of historical fiction, and military history in particular? Good historical fiction can bring alive the past far more vividly than museums or the ruins of buildings.
I think military history fascinates and shocks, just as the criminal world can. How do you balance research and imagination? I could read textbooks all day, but to make a living, I must finish a novel every year. This allows two to three months of research before the writing proper begins.
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