Today I have another extra-special guest on my blog - my friend and fellow-Crooked Cat author Tim Taylor, who is here to talk about Life, The Universe, Revolution, and the Crooked Cat summer sale.
Welcome, Tim!
Hello, Sue, and thank you very much for inviting me to visit
your blog.
My pleasure, Tim. Please tell us a
little about your new novel, Revolution Day.
It follows a turbulent year in the life of a fictional
dictator, Carlos Almanzor. Now in his seventies, Carlos is feeling his age and
seeing enemies around every corner. And with good reason: his Vice-President,
Manuel Jimenez, though outwardly loyal, is burning with frustration at his
subordinate position.
Meanwhile,
Carlos’ estranged and imprisoned wife Juanita is writing a memoir in which she
recalls the revolution that brought him to power and how his regime descended
into repression.
When
Manuel’s attempts to increase his profile are met with humiliating rejection,
he resolves to take action, using the resources at his disposal as Minister of
Information to manipulate Carlos and drive a wedge between him and Angel, the
commander of the army. As Manuel begins to pull the strings, Juanita will become
an unwitting participant in his plans.
There is
more information about the novel, plus some tasters, on my website.
What inspired you to
write this particular story?
For a while I had been toying with the idea of a novel about
someone who has been very powerful but is starting to lose his grip as he
becomes an old man. Initially I envisaged him as a king, but when a string of
dictators (Hussein, Mubarak, Gaddafi) fell in quick succession I thought ‘why
not a dictator?’. Then, as the ideas started to come together, I settled on
Latin America because I wanted a strong, politically active female character,
which would have been more difficult in a middle-eastern context.
How does it relate to
your previous novel, Zeus of Ithome?
There is one point of similarity in that both novels
describe a revolution – and because of that, there is a kinship between the
aspirations of certain characters in both novels. But that is more coincidence
than anything else; in other respects, they are very different. Revolution Day
is set in the present, in a fictional country, whereas Zeus is set in the 4th
century BC and chronicles real events – the struggle of the ancient Messenians
to free themselves from three centuries of slavery under the Spartans – albeit
through the personal stories of fictional (as well as some historical)
characters.
As a fellow Crooked
Cat author, I’m sure you will agree that Crooked Cat is a wonderful publisher. How did you first hear about them, and what
made you decide to submit to them?
A friend of mine in Holmfirth Writers Group, Kimm Brook (a.
k. a. K B Walker) had published a novel (Once Removed) with Crooked Cat, and
spoke highly of them. So I submitted the first three chapters of Zeus of Ithome
and the rest, as they say, is history! They are indeed very nice people to work
with.
Now please tell us a
little about the real Tim Taylor!
What do you like to do
when you aren’t writing?
Well, I like to play my guitars (I have fourteen!), and a
bit of piano. I like walking up (or just being among) hills and mountains,
especially on a clear day. I like to visit museums and watch plays. And I must
admit that on occasion I succumb to the charms of general slobbing about.
What is your favourite
tipple?
Either Newcastle Brown Ale or a nice red wine, depending on
my mood and circumstances.
Is there somewhere
you’d love to go but haven’t so far visited?
Oh, so many places!
South America, the Himalayas, China, India. If I won the lottery (or had
a huge bestseller) I’d buy a big boat and spend a lot of my time travelling the
world.
Is there anything
which, with hindsight, you would have done differently?
If I could have back the few months I wasted getting bored
at home before I went to university, I would do a lot of the travelling I have
never had time to get around to since then, and go to some of the places I have
just mentioned! At the time, I didn’t
realise how rare and precious it is to be free of commitments and responsibilities.
Thanks again for hosting me, Sue, and for those
thought-provoking questions.
Facebook
author page: https://www.facebook.com/timtaylornovels
Website: http://www.tetaylor.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/timetaylor1
Crooked Cat Author page:
http://crookedcatpublishing.com/item/tim-e-taylor/
Revolution Day on Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Revolution-Day-T-E-Taylor-ebook/dp/B0106GALR4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1435449288&sr=1-1&keywords=Revolution+Day
Tim was born in 1960 in Stoke-on-Trent. He studied Classics
at Pembroke College, Oxford (and later Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of
London). After a couple of years playing in a rock band, he joined the Civil
Service, eventually leaving in 2011 to spend more time writing.
Tim now
lives in Yorkshire with his wife and daughter and divides his time between
creative writing, academic research and part-time teaching and other work for
Leeds and Huddersfield Universities.
Tim’s
first novel, Zeus of Ithome, a historical novel about the struggle of the
ancient Messenians to free themselves from Sparta, was published by Crooked Cat
in November 2013; his second, Revolution Day, in June 2015. Tim also writes poetry and the occasional
short story, plays guitar, and likes to walk up hills.
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