Blog | Alison Morton's Thrillers

Writing people or writing stuff?

Talking online with some colleagues about historical and alternative historical writing, the conversation inevitably turned to research and how it was woven in or dripped into the story. We all declaimed against the dreaded info dump when the poor reader gets a JCB bucket size load of history book content poured on them. But how much period or descriptive detail is the right amount?

I’m the minimalist type like many thriller writers. I give the reader enough to form their own picture of where and what, and to see the bare winter trees or sniff the air. Writers must also include some elements of backstory and context or the reader doesn’t feel engaged. But it should relate to the narrative of the story and not be there because the writer has done some wonderful research.

So far, so normal.

Elizabeth I at Tilbury facing the Spanish Armada

But there’s another strong factor to consider: what type of tone and style is the story? Is it literary, a learned, almost non-fiction in its meticulous portrayal of a dramatised version of documented history or an adventure, action story where plot is the main driver or a romantic story or saga where the lives of the characters are the focus of the book? Is the writer seeking to bring in every detail of events of the period and their effect on history, to describe every hook, lace and braid, or to draw some universal truth, lesson or interpretation about people by playing their story out as it may have happened in a past era, or to engage them in a very personal and emotional story which happens to have a historical setting? Or to describe technological change in detail, or social revolution? Or a mixture of any of these?

Whilst I dislike deliberately ignored or changed important facts such as who won a battle or married a different prince, and am irritated by smaller ones that can be easily checked such as purple fabric dye or potatoes, I’m not a historical fiction snob. Historical-lite is as valuable as historical-serious as long as it’s well done. Stories about great events written in a high style prose appeal to some ‘histfic’ readers; others enjoy personal stories, military tales or Regency fluff.

Historical fiction embraces many types and tastes. Some write about people, some about stuff, some about a mixture of both. And it’s always the reader’s choice what they pick up and read.

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, and PERFIDITAS. Third in series, SUCCESSIO, is now out.

Find out about Roma Nova news, writing tips and info by signing up for my free monthly email newsletter.

Licensed to thrill!

I am absolutely delighted to have become an author member of the International Thriller Writers.
*Happy dance around the office*

The presidents are M J Rose and Lee Child and their membership list includes James Patterson, Clive Cussler, Karin Slaughter, Peter James, Kathy Reichs, Ken Follett and many many other wonderful adrenaline-bursters like Adrian Magson and Mari Hannah.

In their own words…

“ITW represents professional thriller authors from around the world.

The International Thriller Writers is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” This would include (but isn’t limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas.

ITW’s mission is “To bestow recognition and promote the thriller genre at an innovative and superior level for and through our Active members; to provide opportunities for mentoring, education and collegiality among thriller authors and industry professionals; and to grant awards for excellence in the thriller genre.” ITW By-laws: Article II, Purposes, Section 2.

One of the main purposes of the organization is to provide a way for successful, bestselling authors to help debut and midlist authors advance their careers. To that end, ITW has designed numerous, effective programs and events which promote debut and midlist writers and their work, sometimes in partnership with bestselling authors.

In addition, ITW promotes literacy, gives money to worthy organizations, supports libraries, and advances the genre. Finally, it brings together almost a thousand writers, readers, publishers, editors and agents at its annual conference, ThrillerFest, as well as at CraftFest, a writing workshop program, and AgentFest, where aspiring authors can meet and pitch top literary agents.

Today, ITW counts over fifteen hundred members from around the world whose cumulative book sales total almost three billion copies. “Our members come from a diverse range of the thriller genre, fiction and nonfiction, including suspense, mystery, horror, detective, espionage, legal, medical, science, true crime, adventure, supernatural, romantic suspense, historical, and young adult—and the list keeps growing.”

I think I’ve just introduced a new part of the genre with the Roma Nova thrillers!

You can subscribe to the online magazine The Big Thrill packed with news, author interviews (e.g. Val McDermid interviewed by JF Penn), book spotlights and round table discussions (e.g. “Do readers prefer and ageless protagonist?” or “Do writers strive too hard for unusual methods of murder and what are some of the most memorable?”).

If all goes to plan, I’ll be in the US next summer, so I may well be going to Thrillerfest in New York in July!

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, and PERFIDITAS. Third in series, SUCCESSIO, is now out.

Find out about Roma Nova news, writing tips and info by signing up for my free monthly email newsletter.

Win Jessica Bell’s thriller, White Lady!

To celebrate the release of her latest novel, WHITE LADY, my writing friend Jessica Bell is giving away an ebook (mobi, ePub, or PDF) to the first person to correctly guess the one in the three statements below. Two statements are false and one is true:

Jessica Bell’s first ever job in Australia was as a …

waitress
pharmacist’s assistant
sales assistant in a bead shop

So which one do you think could be true? Write your guess in the comments, along with your email address. Comments will close in 48 hours. If no-one guesses correctly within the 48 hours, comments will stay open until someone does. (We thriller writers are relentless!)

Give it a go – you have a one in three chance!

Want more chances to win? You have until 31 October to visit all the blogs where Jessica will share a different set of true and false statements on each one. Remember, each blog is open to comments for 48 hours only from the time of posting.

If you win, we’ll notify you by email with instructions on how to download the book.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Jessica’s fluent, realistic style doesn’t hold back, so you should be aware the novel contains coarse language, violence, and sexual themes.

Sonia yearns for sharp objects and blood. But now that she’s rehabilitating herself as a “normal” mother and mathematics teacher, it’s time to stop dreaming about slicing people’s throats.

While being the wife of Melbourne’s leading drug lord and simultaneously dating his best mate is not ideal, she’s determined to make it work.

It does work. Until Mia, her lover’s daughter, starts exchanging saliva with her son, Mick. They plan to commit a crime behind Sonia’s back. It isn’t long before she finds out and gets involved to protect them.

But is protecting the kids really Sonia’s motive?

Watch the book trailer (I recommend it!)

If you can’t wait, here’s where you can buy White Lady.

Jessica Bell, a thirty-something Australian-native contemporary fiction author, poet and singer/songwriter/guitarist, is the Publishing Editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal and the director of the Homeric Writers’ Retreat & Workshop on the Greek island of Ithaca. She makes a living as a writer/editor for English Language Teaching Publishers worldwide, such as Pearson Education, HarperCollins, MacMillan Education, Education First and Cengage Learning.