Roy Dimond lives in
Pender Harbour, a serene coastal village along the west coast of British
Columbia, Canada. From his log home overlooking the ocean, Roy and his wife
Lorraine spend their days hiking around the surrounding lakes and forest.
Before writing his first novel, The
Singing Bowl, Roy was a Youth Worker in the education system. Since
retiring, he has traveled the world.
D.O: Thank you for joining us
today, Roy and welcome back on Authors’ Curtilage. We are glad to have you.
R.D: Wonderful to be back and thank you.
D.O: We are going to talk
about some things that might interest your potential readers and I’m going to
start with the research of your work, Silence
and Circumstance. “The letter went on to say he would be
meeting someone with rather astonishing name of, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud in a
country that was soon going to be known as Saudi Arabia!” These lines
show how much research you did for this project. I’m impressed. How much time
did you actually take to do research for the novel, ‘Silence and Circumstance?’
R.D: I did extensive research for this fictional story.
Considering the subject matter, the 11 days that Agatha Christie went missing
in December 1926, the story line demanded it. Fortunately, I love research and
I hopefully end up learning as much as my readers do.
D.O: Briefly explain the
mysterious content of the letter that changed the role of Charlotte from
governess with the Christie to a confidant.
R.D: Ah yes, the letter that begins the adventure, with the
words that are, "thick and sort of pawed onto the paper. Clearly a man's
writing…"Agatha Christie finds herself in the uncomfortable position of
asking her governess Charlotte 'Carlo' Fisher to help her with a mystery that
comes in the form of this letter. This changes their relationship at a
fundamental level, as Mrs. Christie is not a person who is used to asking for
help. It is the exact moment when their relationship changes from professional
to friend.
D.O: Tell us briefly, the
dangers involved in meeting Moe Berg and why Mr. Christie forbids his wife from meeting him.
R.D: Because the Christie marriage at that time was not on
solid ground. Mr. Christie had no interest in, 'allowing' his wife to travel
from their home in Sunningdale, Berkshire to London. Despite the letter being
signed, "Urgent… Your Empire and I need you."
D.O: Who is Moe Berg?
R.D: An excellent question. I hope my readers take some time
to look deeper into this fascinating man. As with all the characters in the
story he really existed. He was a baseball player, quite good actually, who may
have been a spy for the United States. He spoke several languages and stood out
from his fellow ballplayers because he was well read. He traveled the world
with such players as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and may have used these travels to
share information with the American government on countries like Japan.
D.O: Mr. Peter, the mischievous
dog, [SMILES] I sure love him. Does he give the story a forward momentum in any
way?
R.D: Ha! Peter the Beast, as Charlotte calls him. Rosalind,
Agatha's daughter loved the "floppy eared terrier" but unfortunately,
Peter's relationship with the governess was somewhat fraught with
confrontation. I thought his hijinks with the Charlotte would add a little humor and I did get a chuckle writing those scenes.
D.O: His participation was really funny. You did well on the humor. "I
closed my eyes and rested while my imaginations continued floating about. I
pondered if the characters in Mrs. Christie’s manuscripts knew who was about to
be killed off even before the author, their protests and accusations only half
formed sentences muffled in the author’s head." For me as a
reader, these lines created emotion. It brewed suspense and fear. It made me
guess that there is going to be a crime in the novel ‘Silence and Circumstance.’ It made me ask the question, is
Charlotte going to lose her life to the journey she’s embarking on? And that
brings me to ask you Roy, does ‘Silence
and Circumstance,’ have a crime genre?
R.D: In the big picture, absolutely. But the crime is grand
and something that humanity must constantly be vigilant against. Something that
I personally love about Silence and Circumstance is that the real story isn't just about the
11 days that Agatha Christie went missing in 1926. It is about the serious
problems that humanity faced then and still does to this very day. If you
changed my characters and took them out of 1926 they would fit comfortably into
today's world and today's problems. I do hope that I was able to get that
across to my readers. The deeper story is as vibrant today as those 11 days
that Agatha went missing.
D.O: O.K. I am intrigued with
Charlotte’s decision to go and meet Moe Berg in place of her employer, the star
of English Literature, not minding if the meeting might be her last on earth.
How does she grow and develop in the story.
R.D: That was one of the truly inspiring things about writing
and creating this character. I think the reader will see how Charlotte grows
from being a rather insecure governess, to a woman with her own values and a
mind of her own. She travels from the backyard of the Christie estate, to
Paris, and from there has a grand adventure on the continent. In 1926, many
young British women did the same during, "the season" but as Mrs.
Christie says, "Those women with vacant eyes," hardly experienced the
rich and deep adventure that comes with risk and Charlotte does risk
everything. As with most of us with risk comes growth so we watch Charlotte
Fisher evolve into a woman who sees that there are other cultures besides the
rigid class structure of England. Liberal thinking and lifestyle brings with it
adventure for a young woman that was unimagined by the strict rules of British
society.
D.O: Briefly, tell your
potential readers more about, Silence
and Circumstance.
R.D: In the opening page, I list a number of characters with a
short description of who they are, relevant to 1926. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and
Dorothy Sayers are examples, as they actually did participate in the search for
Mrs. Christie. I was pleased to see that my publisher, Untreed Reads did an,
"Order of Appearance" page as a nod to the great writer herself.
Agatha often began her books in this manner, with a list of characters. It was
just my way of showing respect to Mrs. Christie.
D.O: What’s your reason for
writing this novel?
R.D: Now
this is a truly great question. I often think that author's don't get asked
this enough. This story isn't just about the 11 days that Agatha Christie went
missing, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle says in my story and one of my favorite
lines… "It's about the timelessness of tyrants." You see, there were
tyrants on the rise in 1926 and there are still tyrants today. Tyrants of the
one percent, tyrants of religion, and of course political tyrants, so the story
should resonate not just as an interesting read on a hopefully fascinating
subject, but it should be read for our times, and sadly for times to
come.
D.O: Hmm. Intriguing! Did you intend to write a
short story, or did you start out writing ‘Silence
and Circumstance,’ as a novel?
R.D:No, Silence and Circumstance was always a novel. Although Agatha wrote
many incredible short stories I wanted an homage to Mrs. Christie and that, for
me, could only be in a novel.
D.O: O.K. What is the best way for
a new writer to get into the business of writing?
R.D: By writing, and never accepting the great river of,
"No" that they have chosen to swim in. Most rejection letters from
publishers and agents are because they're already full or looking for only one
specific type of book. Writer's write and as long as you continue to write you
belong to a wonderful clan.
D.O: What’s next on your plan?
R.D: Well my agent, Malaga Baldi is hot on the trail of a
movie deal for Silence and Circumstance and hopefully if it does well my sequel
entitled, Rendezvous at Carchemish gets picked up.
D.O: Do you have any final
thoughts to share with us?
R.D: Just a very big thank you for taking the time to
interview me and hopefully we will do many more of these. Thank you for such
wonderful and thought provoking questions.
D.O: [SMILES] I'm blushing. Thank you Roy.
R.D: You are welcome.
D.O: Hey people, the overall
idea of the novel, ‘Silence and
Circumstance’ is very interesting. It’s a good story that has been told
clearly, free of any inconsistencies or ambiguities. It’s one of the best
stories around. Pick your very own copy at buy links supplied at the end of the
interview. Once again Roy thanks for joining us today.
R.D: Just so your readers know the best place to buy it,
meaning least expensive :) is probably from the publisher directly.
http://www.untreedreads.com/ Right now they are having a 30% sale and if you
purchase the paperback you get the e book free. And again, thank you to you and
your readers, your time is greatly appreciated.
Silence and Circumstance will be running a one-day sale on Wednesday, April 15th, on OminiLit.com
Purchase your copy of Silence and Circumstance from the following links:
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