Gordon Doherty

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Scottish writer, addicted to reading and writing historical fiction. My love of history was first kindled by visits to the misty Roman ruins of Britain and the sun-baked antiquities of Turkey and Greece. My expeditions since have taken me all over the world and back and forth through time (metaphorically, at least), allowing me to write tales of the later Roman Empire, Byzantium, Classical Greece and even the distant Bronze Age. 21 books and counting, so far 🙂

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘The Crimson Throne’ is inspired by the many nagging questions I have about the end of the Bronze Age. The mighty Hittite Empire fought in the famous Battle of Kadesh and sent Pharaoh Ramesses running (despite the common misconception that it was the other way around). Then, only a handful of years later, the Trojan War occured. Troy was a mere vassal of the Hittite Empire… yet the Hittites played no part in that war, and Troy fell.
How can that be?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m quite rapid (5-7k words a day), though that’s not so unusual. I do like to ‘method write’ though – not so much re-enactment, but walking the ancient sites where my stories occured, and making aconnection with the protagonists. For example, check out: https://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeblog/the-great-hittite-trail-part-1-istanbul

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are three authors who have chiefly shaped and influenced my adult writing style and reading interests: Valerio Massimo Manfredi for his passionately-told stories of Alexander, Troy and Rome, Sam Barone for his wonderfully detailed and absorbing tales of early antiquity and the dawn of the Bronze Age city-states, and David Gemmell for his unerring ability to create life from words (his characters positively leap from the page and sear themselves into your mind) while offering simple, earnest lessons in morality to boot.

What are you working on now?
Part 6 – the final instalment – of the Empires of Bronze saga. The Crimson Throne basically throws everything up in the air, and part 6 finds the world still in utter turmoil.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Word of mouth is everything, I find. I’ve tried paid ads and so on, but they are both a drain on time and money and rarely form lasting readerships.
I have to say this site and its interview feature is pretty darn natty though 🙂

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Develop a thick skin (both to deal with the likely early avalanche of rejections, and to be able to take on board the useful critique of others). Start small – flash fiction is fun and a useful way to hone your style and ‘voice’ without the onerous effort required to write a full novel-length script.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The first and only rule of writing: never listen to anything that claims to be a rule 🙂

What are you reading now?
Spartacus by Lewis Grassic Gibbon.

What’s next for you as a writer?
A brand new project set in Late Antiquity. I think it’s going to be a cracker. It’s been calling me for several years but I’ve just never had the time until now.

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?
Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell
John Julius’ Norwich’s Byzantium trilogy
Letters from a Stoic by Seneca – pretty vital if I’m going to be stranded for a long time 🙂

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