Interview with novelist Tom Haward

Today’s special guest is novelist Tom Haward to chat about his new alternate history, The Path of Chaos.

During his virtual book tour, Tom will be giving away a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Tom was born in Essex and he and his identical twin were adopted into an oyster farming family when they were four months old. Tom now runs the family’s business as generation eight of oyster cultivators. He lives with his fiancée, Gemma, and they have a baby girl and a cockapoo.

Tom has an MA in Creative Writing and regularly writes about how Brexit and the current political landscape is impacting small businesses such as his family’s. The Path of Chaos (Cinnabar Moth Publishing) is his debut novel.

Welcome, Tom. Please tell us about your current release.
It is the year 2030, and the Roman Empire never fell. Emperor Nero II rules half the world, but half the world is not enough for the unpredictable Emperor.

Britannia is a Roman outpost. London Bridge is lined with crucified bodies. The streets are patrolled by soldiers in high-speed, horseless chariots. Nero views Britannia as a vital but fractious asset for his planned invasion of the Republic of Indigenous America.

Boatman King was born out of rage. A rage that propels him to try and destroy the Empire. He’s not alone: he leads clandestine rebels fighting to drive the Empire from Britannia. These rebels are his weapon, which he hopes will obliterate Nero and the entire Empire.

Rebellion, though, comes at a steep price. Olivia, Boatman’s wife, is caught and crucified on London Bridge by Nero’s son, Maximus, who is intent on flushing Boatman from hiding.

Instead, Maximus draws Maverick ‘The Beast’ Kirabo, Boatman’s fearsome second-in-command, a champion gladiator who now fights for Rome’s dismay, not their entertainment.

What inspired you to write this book?
I studied a Masters in Creative writing in 2016 and whilst exploring different ideas for my dissertation I thought of a multiverse concept, which had three different worlds: Victorian, Western and Roman. The Roman reality, where the Roman Empire still rules the present day, really grabbed me, so I started exploring that and The Path of Chaos was born from that.

Excerpt from The Path of Chaos:
The general consensus among many Brits was that although they didn’t like Roman rule, they guessed it was better to brush themselves off and make the best of a bad situation. After all, as long as they were still allowed to have a pint or two after work then who cared whether it was a corrupt politician or Roman emperor calling the shots? With this in mind, Nero eased off the terror to a degree. Yes, he still crucified people on the streets, because it was easier than worrying about trials, but he found the British were quite happy to plod along without trying to make too much fuss. This made him happy as he didn’t have to spend too much time or energy on thinking about Britannia.

Everything had changed though. Everything had changed when Boatman stepped into the limelight. Boatman challenged the status quo and inspired rebellion. He was the catalyst of a very un-British uprising against a very ruthless and terrifying emperor. Nero II obliterated anyone who even dared speak against him. He despised criticism and found it offensive that someone would ever see his rule as anything but majestic. Augustus had warned Nero that to try to obliterate Boatman was futile. He needed to reach out to the rebel leader. Nero dismissed his father’s advice as the ramblings of a dying man. The only way to live was to respect the authority of the emperor. To criticize was a sin.

What exciting project are you working on next?
I’m working on a couple of things at the moment. I’m writing a sitcom screenplay, which a six episode miniseries based around a wedding day, with various flashbacks based on certain parts of the wedding day. For instance the episode based around the vows shows flashbacks of those vows being broken.

I’m also working on the sequel to The Path of Chaos which directly follows on and it expands on the world already created, taking us to other parts of the world and introduces new players in the Empire.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’ve always called myself a writer because writing isn’t simply a vocation it’s part of what makes me Tom. I remember writing short stories when I was a child and the thrill of creating something with words has never gone away. I think it’s important that people identify with what they do creatively above what they do in ‘normal’ life. A painter who does accounting on the side. A musician who works in a restaurant. Creativity makes this world go round after all.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write everyday, but that sits alongside the family business that I’m director of, which is an oyster farm. I’m eight generation oysterman, so I run a very busy business, which sells over 1 million oysters every year, with an amazing team of twenty staff. Like my previous answer, I’m a writer who harvest oysters on the side!

I live on an island in north Essex, England, and it was here the Romans discovered oysters. My family started farming oysters in the 1700s and I’m carrying on that legacy. We sell oysters throughout the UK and it’s a physically demanding job, so I tend to start my day at 6.30am and help the team catch process and ship 10,000 oysters per day. Once I’m done I then focus on my writing in the evening, so it’s always a varied day for me.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I love writing dialogue as it comes most naturally to me. I sometimes have to force myself to stop the dialogue in a chapter and provide some description of what’s happening around the characters. I also like writing very short sentences, or even doing one word paragraphs for a specific impact.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a policeman for many years. A policeman who writes!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I wrote my first novel twenty years ago and felt dejected when no-one wanted to take a punt with it. In 2019 I nearly gave up writing completely as I couldn’t get a break and then the amazing team at Cinnabar Moth signed The Path of Chaos. Keep going with the dream if you’re writing but feeling like you’ll never get that break.