Peter Darman - I like to Write about Places and Periods That Are Less Well-Known Than Others (U.K Based Author)

In a sense, I have always been a writer. I wrote essays at school, then at university where I studied history and international relations and finally researching for my masters’ degree dissertation. 

When I finished higher education in 1987, I had a year’s break from writing before joining the Defence Intelligence Staff in London as a Research Officer. 

Tell us more about your background and journey.

I was interested in history from boyhood. Heroic tales and deeds always inspired me and I grew up with a deep interest in the past, especially military history. I grew up in a small market town in the Midlands, being surrounded by stories of the Second World War, my grandfather having served in the British Army in the conflict, landing on the Normandy beaches on D-Day, and thereafter fighting in Normandy, Holland, and Germany in 1944–45. 

This was the 1960s and many people around me had experienced the war, either as children or directly in the armed forces. This kindled a flame of interest in military matters that burns still. I went to the local grammar school where learning history was encouraged (Isaac Newton was one of its pupils, though in the seventeenth century), which increased my interest in the past.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

In a sense, I have always been a writer. I wrote essays at school, then at university where I studied history and international relations and finally researching for my masters’ degree dissertation. When I finished higher education in 1987, I had a year’s break from writing before joining the Defence Intelligence Staff in London as a Research Officer. 

This position involved writing papers on the Soviet Union’s military capabilities. The job was interesting and challenging but highly frustrating. Every paper I completed was classified, which meant only a select few were cleared to read it. So, I was writing papers that were seen by only a few individuals before being filed away.

It was for this reason that I decided to leave military intelligence and enter mainstream publishing, becoming an editor in 1990. I spent over 20 years in this role, being given the chance to write numerous military non-fiction books in the process. Though I made hardly any money from these titles, the joy of writing them made up my mind to become a full-time author in 2012, though in fiction rather than non-fiction. 

The ebook market was taking off at the time and, with only one fiction title published, The Parthian, I decided to devote all my energy to being a full-time author.

Is it a financially stable career?

For me, becoming a professional writer was a risk that paid off. The Parthian Chronicles series of books was well received and allowed me to pay off my mortgage and become financially secure in the years afterward. It is now 2021 and I have written 25 novels thus far. 

In recent years I have noticed that my ebook sales have declined compared to when I first started out. I put this down to ebook reader sales peaking and leveling off, and greater competition. Put simply, there are now many more independent writers than there were 10 years ago.

Personally speaking, becoming a full-time writer has provided financial stability, though I would advise anyone thinking about quitting the day job and becoming a writer to think very carefully, especially if he or she has a mortgage, family, and other commitments. 

There is no guarantee that a novel, even a great one, will get noticed and sell well, and there is every possibility it will get lost in the thousands of titles that are published every year. My advice would be to test the water first. Get one or two books under your belt before giving up the day job.




Who is your favorite writer and why?

Bernard Cornwell without a doubt. I have read his Warlord Chronicles many times. His writing creates such vivid worlds that a reader can step into with ease. 

There are the Sharpe novels that are outstanding, of course, but his Saxon Stories series centered around Uhtred of Bebbanburg, which tells the story of the conflict between Saxons and Vikings for the soul of England, is more evocative.

Where does your inspiration lie?

I like to write about places and periods that are less well-known than others. For example, everyone has heard of the Roman Empire but very few know about the Parthian Empire. This inspired me to write the Parthian Chronicles, not only to create an exciting tale spanning several decades but also to illuminate an empire that existed for nearly five hundred years but is now almost totally forgotten. 

It was the same with the Crusader Chronicles, which told the saga of the Medieval crusade in the Baltic through the eyes of Conrad Wolff, an orphaned German boy who became a member of the Sword Brothers and rose to high command. The Baltic crusade is now largely forgotten, as are the Sword Brothers. Through my writing, I hope I have shone a light on both.

What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring writers?

A writer writes, which may seem obvious but is important to remember. Do not get distracted by writing blogs or spending hours posting on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Try to write every day, even if it is just a paragraph. Writing is a job like any other. 

You have to put in the hours to get the benefits, and though we all live in the hope that one novel alone will be the key to fame and riches, be realistic. Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. But if you keep knocking at a door it will eventually open. 

Get into the habit of treating it like a job, not a hobby, and you will get there. But the most important thing is to get into the habit of writing regularly, not intermittently.

Which is your favorite book and why?

‘Eagle in the Snow’ by Wallace Breem. Quite simply, this novel about a Roman general called Maximus who tries to hold back barbarian invaders on the German frontier in the fifth century AD was the spark that ignited my career as a full-time writer. 

It inspired me to write ‘The Parthian’, which was published a year before I quit my day job to become a full-time author. I owe everything to this book.

Bio

I was raised in Grantham, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, and attended the King’s Grammar School after passing the Eleven Plus exam. In the latter, I clearly remember writing an essay on Oliver Cromwell – my first piece of military writing.

Then came a BA in history and international relations at Nottingham followed by a Master of Philosophy degree at the University of York in the 1980s. The subject was the generalship and cavalry of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, my boyhood hero, during the English Civil War. The year I spent researching and writing at York, Oxford, and at the British Library in London was a truly wonderful time. However, like all great times, it eventually came to an end and I was forced to find employment.

By this time, I was living in London and started work at the London Borough of Haringey. It was hell, but it did allow me to finish my thesis. Then fate took a hand and I landed a job as a research officer with the Defence Intelligence Staff in Whitehall in 1988. Writing top-secret intelligence reports was highly exciting until I realized that their security clearance was so high that only a handful of people were cleared to read them. 

In 1990, therefore, I decided to apply for a job in the publishing industry as an editor. I joined a small company in a said position in the summer of that year and the rest, as they say, is history. I spent 22 years as an editor before becoming a full-time writer in early 2012. To date, I have written 48 fiction and non-fiction books.

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Interviewed by - Subham Biswas