Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a British author whose debut novel Liberty Bazaar was published in May 2015 by Aurora Metro Books.
It is a historical novel set in Liverpool during the American Civil War and is based on real events that happened in the city – and could have radically altered the course of the conflict.
The novel was named by Kirkus Reviews as one of the 10 Best Historical Indie Novels of 2015 and been positively endorsed by Professor James M McPherson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom.
I am journalist who has spent 30 years reporting on major events and interviewing front-line British politicians and business leaders.
In addition to Liberty Bazaar, I have co-written High Seas to Home, a non-fiction book about the Battle of the Atlantic. I live with my family in Greater Manchester, England.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Liberty Bazaar is a historical novel based on real events in Liverpool during the American Civil War.
The story revolves around the conflict between Trinity, an escaped slave girl, and Jubal, a battle-fatigued Confederate general.
It was inspired by two real events: the clandestine building of ironclad warships for the Rebels on the Mersey and a major fund-raising event, also in the Confederate interest, that attracted the cream of European society.
Historians agree that events in Liverpool and Birkenhead in 1863 could have radically redirected the course of the American Civil War. Unstinting efforts were made by the slave-holding Confederacy to acquire Mersey-built ironclad warships sufficiently powerful to break the Union navy’s suffocating blockade of southern ports. Equally determined steps were taken by the North to stop this happening. If the blockade had been lifted, the South could have exported cotton to British textile mills, financing the shipment of vital war materials to supply its forces. Had the South achieved this aim, it might have won the American civil war.
In an age when ‘Liverpool went Dixie’, supporters of the Confederacy staged a successful bazaar in the city’s St George’s Hall in October, 1864, raising £20,000 (more than $3 million in today’s money) for wounded Rebel soldiers and their families, but it could quite plausibly have taken place a year earlier, as it does in my work of fiction.
Liberty Bazaar explores ‘what if?’ events surrounding the bazaar had become entangled with the conspiracy to acquire Rebel battleships.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m a night owl and usually write after 9pm, often until well past midnight. I aim to set aside three to five nights a week, but some weeks I get little done and others I’m at it every night – and during the day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors I most enjoy and admire are: George Orwell, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Harris, John le Carre, Mary Stewart, Barbara Vine, James Ellroy, Lee Child, Tom Wolfe, Cormac McCarthy, David Mitchell and William Boyd.
What are you working on now?
A crime thriller set in Nixon-era America. I’m writing in the first person, using a voice that echoes first generation rock and roll culture.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
You need a fully integrated approach, so Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and website, as well as platforms such as this. I attend readings and events whenever possible and ask for media interviews and endorsements.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never lose faith but always try to hone and develop your craft. Asking for honest, critical feedback is a great way to do this and creative writing workshops are an enormous help. Academic courses usually include critiquing groups, but there are many community-based writing workshop groups in most areas.
You should also try writing short stories. They are much easier to get published and a great way of experimenting with different techniques. Also, short stories give you instant gratification, without having to put in the many months – or even years – of hard work that a novel demands.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you can stop writing fiction, you probably should.
What are you reading now?
Clandestine by James Ellroy
What’s next for you as a writer?
It’s always the next novel.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1984 by George Orwell; Miscellanies 1 and 2 by Dylan Thomas; For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Author Websites and Profiles
David Chadwick Website
David Chadwick Amazon Profile
David Chadwick’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account