Inceptio is your debut novel. Can
you tell me a little about the road to publication?
Alison: I’ve played with words
most of my life - storyteller, playwright (aged seven), article writer, local
magazine editor and translator. I started novel writing in 2009 after seeing a
particularly dire film. "I could do better than this," I whispered in the dark
to my other half. "So why don’t you?" Three months later, I had completed the
draft of Inceptio, the first Roma
Nova alternate history thriller.
I knew the draft was both woolly
and rough. I needed to learn novel-crafting skills and joined the Romantic
Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme in 2010. Two RNA conferences, an
Arvon Foundation course in commercial fiction and the Festival of Writing at York
spurred me on me on. I met some knowledgeable, generous and fun people along
the way, one of whom ended up mentoring me. My history MA had taught me how to
research and my six years in the Territorial Army trained me to do “guns and
mud.” Perfect preparation for Inceptio.
I made the
classic mistake of submitting too soon. Several rewrites later I had some full
submission requests, including from a US agent. Replies like “If it was a
straight thriller, I’d take it on” and “Your writing is excellent, but it
wouldn’t fit our list” were a little depressing. I was (am!) passionate about
my stories so, happy that my writing was at a reasonable standard, I decided to
self publish with bought-in publishing services. Using high quality
professional backing (editing, advice, registrations, typesetting, design, book
jacket, proofing etc), I think it’s a fantastic way for new writers to enter
the market.
Why did you choose to write a thriller and what is it about?
Alison: Inceptio
started as a romantic novel with some action bits, but the thriller proportion
grew until I realised I loved writing tension, danger, death, cliff-hangers and
conspiracy more than romance. But the central romantic relationship is still
key in this and the next two books.
It
starts in New York, present day. Karen Brown, angry and frightened after
surviving a kidnap attempt, has a harsh choice - being eliminated by
government enforcer Jeffery Renschman or fleeing to the mysterious Roma Nova,
her dead mother’s homeland in Europe.
Founded
16 centuries ago by Roman exiles and ruled by women, Roma Nova gives Karen
safety and a ready-made family. But a shocking discovery about her new lover,
the fascinating but arrogant special forces officer Conrad Tellus, isolates
her.
Renschman
reaches into her new home and nearly kills her. Recovering, she is desperate to
find out why he is hunting her so viciously. Unable to rely on anybody else,
she undergoes intensive training, develops fighting skills and becomes an undercover
cop. But crazy with bitterness at his past failures, Renschman sets a trap for
her, knowing she has no choice but to spring it...
Do you have any tips for writers working on their debut novels right
now?
Alison: Bash the story out. If you pause
too long beautifying individual scenes at this stage, you risk losing the
narrative flow. You’re first and foremost a storyteller; the story is the most
important thing.
Put it away for at least six
weeks, then do the first self-edit, checking the plot structure, deleting the
dreadful parts and working on the sloppy bits. Then back into the drawer and
start the next project.
Out of the drawer comes the first
novel a few months later and this time you scrutinise each sentence word by
word, forcing each one to justify its existence. Then you have something to
work with.
What is your own favourite novel?
Alison: Currently, it’s Restless by William Boyd – spies,
two strong women leads, Second World War, love, betrayal on personal and
political levels, Cold War, class, alienation, irreverance and beautiful prose.
Perfect!
Inceptio by Alison Morton (SilverWood Books, £9.99)
Alison’s
blog: www.alison-morton.com
Twitter:
@alison_morton
