I am welcoming to the blog today, John M. Cahill, author of the historical novels, Primitive Passions, Savage Wilderness, and The Trail of a Traitor. Thank you, John, for being here today. To get started, we would love to know more about you.
DK: What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
JC: I have been very lucky. Having lived and worked for nearly 40 years in the area to be covered in my books, I never had to make any pilgrimages. Unless, that is, you count attendance at the Historical Novel Society conferences in England and America.
DK: Tell us the best writing tip you can think of, something that helps you.
JC: KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid!
DK: What are common traps for aspiring writers? Advice for young writers starting out.
JC: The biggest trap is overwriting, especially after you’ve done so much research and learned so much.
DK: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
JC: No one ever wrote a perfect story on the first try. Be patient.
DK: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
JC: I am lucky to count among my friends Deb Peterson, Jasmina Svenne, Liz St. John, Dan Jorgensen, Haydn Corper, Anthony Anglorus, Christopher Cevasco, Daniel Wills, Patricia Hopper and so many more whom I have met through the Historical Novel Society and Facebook. Each has helped me in a different way, but all have provided support and encouragement when I have needed it most.
DK: Can you give us a quick review of a favourite book by one of your author friends?
JC: 5* Kilpara by Patricia Hopper
Finally! A novel in which the family is NOT dysfunctional! Patricia Hopper has written a heartwarming story about a family that understands and accepts duties and obligations. In Kilpara, when the dying matriarch decides that she wants to return to Ireland to be buried on the family’s old estate, her youngest son, Ellis O’Donovan sets aside his qualms and accompanies her. Once in Ireland, however, honoring his mother’s wishes becomes more difficult with each passing day and his chances of a quick return to America become less and less until he meets the love of his life and they become nil. A riveting and satisfying read from beginning to end!
DK: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
JC: It really didn’t. It confirmed that my process was well-suited to the task.
DK: What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
JC: Travel and registration costs related to attendance at Historical Novel Society conferences.
DK: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
JC: When Robert Louis Stevenson pulled me into Treasure Island and wouldn’t let me go until I had finished it.
DK: What’s the best way to market your books?
JC: Every way and any way you can.
DK: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
JC: I spent almost five years researching my first book. It was not until I moved to Vienna, Austria, and started working in the Austrian National Library that I found the cache of primary sources regarding New York in the 17th and 18th centuries that I needed to build my first book on. Luckily, since I am writing a saga about that period, I have everything I need to keep going without needed to spend a lot of time researching.
DK: Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
JC: No! Writing is work!
DK: Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
JC: By asking the question, “Is History Fiction?” Ann Curthoys and John Docker opened my eyes to the fact that all history is told from the perspective of the teller and that not all history is what it purports to be.
DK: What are the ethics of writing about historical figures?
JC: I always try to present historical figures as they appear through their own writings and through the eyes of their contemporaries. I never embellish their failings or their strengths, or try to bend them to a narrative.
DK: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
JC: I read my reviews. I enjoy the good ones and ignore the bad ones.
DK: What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
JC: Putting pen to paper.
DK: Tell us about your novel/novels/or series and why you wrote about this topic?
JC: I have completed three volumes of The Boschloper Saga. “Boschloper” is Dutch for “runner in the woods” and refers to young men, hired by Dutch fur traders to wait in the woods outside of Albany for Iroquois coming to trade their furs and entice them (usually with rum) to trade only with their employers.
Primitive Passions, Book 1 of the Saga, tells the story of Sean O’Cathail, a young Irishman, who deserts from the English navy and finds his way to Albany where he becomes a fur trader. While trading, he also negotiated between the colonists and their Iroquois neighbors. This skill at diplomacy also helped with his love life, torn between courting an indentured servant in town, Laurentje, and a Mohawk woman, Kai, when in the wilderness.
Savage Wilderness, Book 2 of the Saga, follows Sean, now married to Laurentje, as he joins and expedition to divert furs from tribes along the Great Lakes from Montreal to Albany. But, when Sean and his confederates are surrounded by a force of French and their Indian allies and captured, Sean finds that his adventures are only just beginning. He will need all his wits and the help of Kai, his former lover, to survive his trials and return home.
The Trail of a Traitor, Book 3 of the Saga, tells of how Sean discovers that a longtime nemesis, Jeremy Cox, has turned traitor and joined the French and their allies in raiding the homes and hamlets of New York. Sean vows to bring Cox to justice but, before Sean can act, Cox kidnaps Sean’s closest and dearest friend, Megan O’Reilly. The quest becomes personal for Sean. Can he rescue Megan? Can he bring Cox to justice? To do so, he must follow the trail of a traitor.
I am currently working on Beyond the Frontier, the 4th and final book of the Saga. After that, I’m thinking of turning to WWI and the Irish rebellion.
I lived and worked in Albany, N.Y., for almost 40 years and I couldn’t turn around without bumping into a reminder of its Dutch roots. Plus, my late wife’s Dutch ancestors came to New York in the 1640s and were among the first settlers of the area west of Schenectady. All of this made me want to learn more about these amazing people and to tell their stories.
DK: What is your favourite line or passage from your own book?
JC: From Primitive Passions: The two young men ran for all they were worth! They dodged people and carts! They leapt over dogs and puddles and children! But, even over the pounding of the blood in his ears, Sean could still hear the pounding of the pursuing marines’ boots on the pavement.
DK: What was your hardest scene to write?
JC: The hardest scene occurs in The Trail of a Traitor, when Sean’s wife, Laurentje, dies in childbirth.
DK: Tell us your favourite quote and how the quote tells us something about you.
JC: “I don’t like to write, but I love having written.” No matter who said it, and there is some confusion regarding its origins, it aptly summarizes my feelings about writing.
John Cahill Author Bio
I was born and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in the history-rich Berkshire Hills. I earned a B.A. degree in journalism and political science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. After graduation, I moved to New York's Capital District where, for 34 years, I enjoyed a successful and rewarding career in public relations and social marketing with New York State government. While living in New York's Mohawk Valley, I took an interest in the Dutch and English fur traders and their relations with their Iroquois neighbors and their French adversaries. Now retired, I am pleased to share the stories of these amazing people. I live, with my wife, in Vienna, Austria.
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