Author Interview - Ben Kane

[Nollaig]

Ben Kane was born in Kenya and raised there and in Ireland. He studied veterinary medicine at University College Dublin but after that travelled the world extensively, indulging his passion for ancient history. He is the author of The Forgotten Legion and The Silver Eagle, and fans are awaiting the final book in the trilogy, The Road To Rome.

 

Q. For those who haven’t yet come across The Forgotten Legion Chronicles, can you give a brief overview – how would you entice someone to start reading them?

 

A. The Roman historical fiction genre has been enjoying increasing popularity over the last decade or more. Huge numbers of readers clearly look for books about the Roman time period – and mine are (hopefully) in the vein of Simon Scarrow and Conn Iggulden. Among other things, the trilogy relates a tale that has rarely been told – the incredible true story of how 10,000 legionaries, taken prisoner after a battle in modern day Iran, were marched nearly to Afghanistan to serve as border guards for their captors. It also details what life was like for slaves, those at the bottom of the social ladder, rather than the ‘normal’ method of using a senior army officer or nobleman.

 

Q. The Chronicles are a trilogy, did you write them in this way from the start, or did your initial ideas expand once you started writing?

 

A. I wrote The Forgotten Legion as a standalone book, with the idea for the rest of a trilogy in my head. Because my publishers were keen for a trilogy, they bought one, and I had a major writing job on my hands! While the Chronicles is a trilogy, it has the potential for more books down the line.

 

Q. The books weave together many characters and storylines – do you have a timeline or storyboard to help you, or are you good at keeping it in your head?

 

A. When I wrote the first book, I winged it quite a bit. Then during the writing of the second, I went off on a few wild goose chases as I enjoyed myself writing about the Roman army on campaign. This time, with The Road to Rome (the 3rd book), I have what happens in every single chapter written down on a document which I check every day. It’s excellent at keeping me on the straight and narrow.

 

Q. Is the Roman era a time that has always interested you? How much research did you need for your books?

 

A. Yes, it is, ever since I read Eagle of the Ninth and The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliffe. I also repeatedly borrowed a book about the Roman army from my school library, and had completely forgotten about it until I recently purchased an excellent textbook called Greece and Rome at War by Peter Connolly. Imagine my delight when I found it to be the same book I’d read so many times as a boy!

 

Q. It’s a popular era for historical authors to write about, what do you think makes your books stand out?

 

A. That’s a tough question! Perhaps the fact that they’re not about the high-ranking officers or leaders of Rome – they’re about the ordinary foot soldier, slave and gladiator, and how hard life is for them. Unusually for this genre too, one of the main protagonists is a woman.

 

Q. You’ve done a lot of travelling – do you think that has increased your interest in history, and does it help with your writing?

 

A. It certainly has increased my interest in history – I’ve visited World War I and American civil war battlefields, Little Big Horn, countless Aztec, Maya and Inca sites in Central and South America and the grave of Tamerlane, Genghis Khan’s grandson. I’ve wandered around the tomb of Alexander the Great’s father, Philip, and seen the treasures found there, and travelled parts of the ancient Silk Road in Iran, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. I think seeing so many places as well as reading about them helps immensely with writing historical fiction.

 

Q. Have you always been a keen reader yourself? What are your favourite genres and authors?

 

A. Sorry to be boring, but historical fiction comes top of the list as a genre. I do love contemporary fiction and some fantasy too though. Favourite authors include Simon Scarrow, Louis de Bernieres and Guy Gavriel Kay.

 

Q. Can you tell us a little about the road to publication – I understand there was a bidding war for the trilogy?

 

A. It was a long, long slog – about five years of writing, an Arvon Foundation course, and countless 90+ hour weeks (between full-time vetting and writing). Fortunately, I met my now wife when I had already started working like this, so she knew what to expect. Once the book went out on the market in August 2007, there was a bodding war for about a week between 6 of the biggest publishers around. It was so exciting! Preface, a new imprint of Random House won the war, and I’ve been very lucky to gain Rosie de Courcy as my editor there – she’s one of the best known editors around.

 

Q. The first two books in the series are now published – are you working on the 3rd book, and do you have any ideas when it will be published?

 

A. The Road to Rome comes out in summer 2010, although I’m hoping to have it finished very soon. The date is down to the publishers – sorry to any impatient readers!

 

Q. What comes next for you, are you going to continue to write?

 

A. Oh yes! I’m not going back to veterinary if I can help it. I’m in the fantastic position of having just sold a new trilogy to Preface – about the second Punic war between Rome and Carthage. This was the conflict with Hannibal, so there’s the most extraordinary amount of fantastic action to recall – from his crossing of the Alps with elephants to the battle of Cannae, when he inflicted the greatest defeat Rome was ever to suffer – 50,000 Roman legionaries were killed in one day, which must have been the most appalling sight to see.

 

Interview by Michelle

July 2009