Q: Hello Ms. Guler! Welcome. Will you please briefly introduce yourself?
A: Thank you for the invitation to join you today. I’m honored! And please, call me Kathleen. I have a long background in history and literature from university days, but much of that lay neglected while making a living. Then, twenty years ago, on bailing out of corporate America as an accountant, I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Rocky Mountains of northwest Colorado. Here, I’ve morphed into an author of historical fiction. Finally, a chance to put all that wonderful education to good use!
Q: You’re currently on virtual tour with your book A Land Beyond Ravens. Will you tell us about the book?
A: A Land Beyond Ravens, like all the other books in the Macsen’s Treasure Series, is a historical spy thriller set in fifth century Britain. It continues the story of master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth’s efforts to keep the country free from oppressive Saxon dominance and to aid in the fulfilment of Myrddin Emrys’ (Merlin) prophecy that a great king called Arthur will one day take the crown. In this, the final installment, Marcus discovers the emerging Christian church is gaining enough power as an independent faction to dangerously shift control of Britain. At the same time, his beloved wife Claerwen, gifted with second sight, is plagued with strange dreams that connect inexplicable doom to both Arthur and a long lost grail sacred to Britain’s high kings. But as Marcus struggles to distract the church, he and Myrddin also set up the very doom Claerwen sees. It seems they accidentally set things in motion that will send a lot of folks off chasing something called a grail …
Q: A Land Beyond Ravens is book four of the series. Did you originally set out to write a series?
A: During the time I was shopping the first book, Into the Path of Gods, to agents and publishers, I started exploring the idea of expanding into a series. The characters were telling me, as characters are wont to do, keep going, there’s more to tell! How could I ignore them? So … before the first book was even sold, I’d written a draft of the second book, worked up the premises for the third and fourth books, and reworked my book proposal to include the full projected series.
Q: Tell us about your main character.
A: Ah, Marcus ap Iorwerth! Master spy, master of disguise, master swordsman. He’s the sort who needs to set things right. In the fifth century a lot of things needed to be set right—stubborn kings, corrupt noblemen and warlords, all squabbling with each other, plus the barbaric, oppressive Anglo-Saxon land grabbers. Of course Marcus could be a bit barbaric as well—he’s lopped off a few heads, swears, likes to drink a lot … But he’s clever, stubborn, loyal, has boundless courage, talks bluntly, has a wicked sardonic sense of humor, and beneath that tough exterior has an astonishing capability to deeply love his wife. What a guy!
Q: What is it about historical fiction that draws you more than other genres?
A: I have always felt more comfortable with past times. Perhaps it’s because we’re too close to all that goes on in our own time and quickly become disgusted or bored with it, and that makes past times more interesting. It doesn’t mean earlier periods were any better or worse, but the puzzle of understanding the mindset and way of life has always been intriguing to me. Having said that, to put the dynamics of the past into perspective perhaps makes the directions taken in current times a little more understandable.
Q: What inspires you in regards to your writing?
A: Research is probably the most inspiring. It’s an ongoing, never-ending process that is sometimes frustrating when what you want to know doesn’t turn up and always fascinating when it does. For example: during the writing of A Land Beyond Ravens I needed to know if bishops had already come into service in the region where the book takes place. Not only did I learn this was true, but I found records of two bishops in the right time and place—plus their actual names! I also needed a logical name for another character who would eventually become one of Arthur’s warriors. I dug through long compilations of names associated with Arthur’s knights and armies and was stunned to find one name with a patronymic that matched the character’s father. These are just two small examples, but when one of those priceless nuggets of information surfaces and helps the pieces of a story fall perfectly into place, what a fabulous feeling!
