My handbook throughout the writing of ‘Fire and Sword’ was Norman Macdougall’s masterly portrait of King James IV, published by Tuckwell Press.  The process which underpinned the writing of my novel involved the threading together of local and national historical accounts, before creatively filling in the gaps: if it hadn’t been for the way in which Macdougall brought James and his reign to life, I don’t think it would have been possible to create a convincing piece of historical fiction set in and around the Scottish court at this time.

During the years I toiled over the novel, my working life as an archaeologist brought some unexpected benefits.  I found myself employed at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) for a year, and to my delight, one of my bosses put me in touch with Norman Macdougall, then a professor at Saint Andrews University.  I remember having a wonderful telephone conversation with Prof. Macdougall about James IV, Hugh Montgomerie and French horns – like myself, Prof. Macdougall played the French horn and we’d both had lessons from the same internationally renowned French horn player, the inimitable (and sadly missed) Ifor James. 

An added bonus occured when Prof. Macdougall then gave me an opportunity to get in touch with one of his former research students, Dr Steve Boardman, who is now a respected academic in his own right. Dr Boardman’s Ph.D. thesis on the politics of the feud in late medieval Scotland dealt in detail with the Montgomerie-Cunninghame feud and helped me try and get to grips with one of the underlying issues which underpinned the novel: just why did Hugh Montgomerie consider it appropriate to wipe out his political opposition at every opportunity, and by means which can hardly be described as subtle, even by the standards of the time? 

Such dialogues with the leading academics of the field were wonderful, of course.  Everything a wanna-be historical novelist could hope for, and more.  But one thing always eluded me.  You see, Norman Macdougall had written another authoritative textbook on the reign of James III.  But at the time I was carrying out the initial research for my novel, both ‘James IV’ and ‘James III’ were out of print and were already being displayed in the bargain basement shelves of the local academic bookstores.  Unfortunately, I was an out-of-work archaeologist at this time and virtually penniless.  While I successfully tracked down the biographies of James IV and James V (another Tuckwell book in the same series, though by a different author), despite searching high and low for ‘James III’, I couldn’t find it anywhere.

Through the intervening years, I’ve checked out numerous second hand book shops and looked online for copies.  The few I’ve seen have invariably been stranded in the hands of tyrannical book speculators with ridiculous price tags attached.  Like £500, or $700.  Hey, even if I had that kind of money, I wouldn’t bow to these people by giving in to their demands.  I see it as holding knowledge to ransom.  It’s immoral.  It’s outrageous.  It’s just plain wrong.

A couple of years ago, I gave up looking.  But now I’ve discovered that at long last ‘James III’ by Norman Macdougall has been reissued.  I’ve bought it, of course.  Soon this not-very-picturesque cover will be making its long-awaited appearance in my library and I can’t wait to see it!

And then there will be much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, once find out just how much information and detail I’ve been missing out on in the intervening years!

As I write this, it’s been exactly 525 years since a battle was fought near Stirling. A battle fought by Scots, against Scots, in which the rightful King – James the Third – died in extremely suspicious circumstances.

Unlike more celebrated battles like Culloden and Bannockburn, the Battle of Sauchieburn hasn’t captured the public imagination.  Arguably, it lacks their importance: although a king died that night, the moment of his death didn’t really mark a turning point in the country’s history.  Before and after Sauchieburn, Scotland was still a medieval country, and James the Fourth a medieval king, albeit a highly cultured one. 

But for the individuals who fought on the losing side that night, the world had fractured, perhaps irredeemably so, and it was the story of one of these individuals that I was keen to explore in the writing of Fire and Sword.

It took eight years to write the story. I had to get to know my characters, to create convincing personalities from the sparse information left behind in the historical records. This initial stage took a lot of work, but once the names had faces, a complex web of political alliances and friendships suddenly fell into place.  Finding the right voice was the next challenge, but eventually, I’d created a story I was proud of.

And then the quest for a publisher began.  That, of course, is another story.  Some bizarre events got in the way – I thought, for a long while, that my book was yet another casualty of the appalling Hurricane Katrina – but eventually, I found the perfect home for my manuscript with Hadley Rille Books.

That’s the way of writing.  It’s a tremendous struggle for years, and then all at once, everything kicks off.  The edits are done, the cover art is done, and after years in the wilderness, you can see an end in sight.  A book with your name on it.  You’ve invested so much time and so much effort, and at last, there’s something to show for it.

I’ve had lots of help along the way.  From the archaeological community, from some worthy Scottish historians, and from writers.  I am extremely grateful to the Paisley Writers Group: to Writers-in-Residence Ajay Close and Paul Houghton, who provided many insights into the craft of writing, and to my fellow writers, with Karen McKellar meriting a special mention.  And, of course, I owe a special ‘thank you’ to my editor at Hadley Rille Books, Eric Reynolds.

As for the blog…  I already have a blog at LiveJournal where I talk about life, archaeology and the numerous ancient monuments and historic buildings that I visit in my travels (see http://endlessrarities.livejournal.com/).  The focus here will be much narrower.  I’ll talk about my writing, about future projects and events.  I’ll also talk about the worlds which I explore in my work.  At the moment, this means I’ll be concentrating on late medieval Scotland, its people, its places, and its material culture.  Though in future, I’ll hopefully be moving further afield.  Much further afield…

But that’s another story!