Freya Robertson’s debut novel, Heartwood, is releasing next week. Being published by Angry Robot, Heartwood is a fantasy novel in a new universe created by Robertson. Based simply on the jacket description of the book, this looks to be an intriguing new world to explore:
Chonrad, Lord of Barle, comes to the fortified temple of Heartwood for the Congressus peace talks, which Heartwood’s holy knights have called in an attempt to stave off war in Anguis. But the Arbor, Heartwood’s holy tree, is failing, and because the land and its people are one, it is imperative the nations try to make peace.
After the Veriditas, or annual Greening Ceremony, the Congressus takes place. The talks do not go well and tempers are rising when an army of warriors emerges from the river. After a fierce battle, the Heartwood knights discover that the water warriors have stolen the Arbor’s heart. For the first time in history, its leaves begin to fall…
The knights divide into seven groups and begin an epic quest to retrieve the Arbor, and save the land.
I had a chance to chat with Freya about the novel and her writing process.
Big Shiny Robot!: Heartwood is clearly in the genre of hard fantasy that relies on a sort of beautification of the middle ages in Europe. Christianity had an obvious influence in the culture that often gets overlooked in fantasy stories. Since your novel contains holy knights, holy trees, etc., how important is religion to the story and the inhabitants of that world?
Freya Robertson: Religion plays a major part in Heartwood. The story was born from a fascination of mine with both Templar holy knights and monasticism. I was intrigued by the idea of the Templars being monks who also fought in battle, by what sort of people those knights were, battle-hardened and yet celibate at the same time. I’m not pushing an agenda or trying to change anyone’s view on any one religion. I just enjoyed exploring the notion that over time history becomes myth, and it’s possible for the true meaning of something to become lost. The word “religion” comes from the Latin “religare” which means to re-connect (as well as to bind). This theme of re-connecting with the land is strong in Heartwood, reflecting a suggestion that some of our own environmental issues could stem from the fact that we surround ourselves with concrete and have lost our ancestors’ connection with the earth.
Heartwood is a fortified temple built around the Arbor, which is a holy tree that keeps the land fertile by channelling the loving energy of their god through its roots that stretch from one side of the land to the other. The knights both worship and protect the tree, although they have over the past few hundred years become more of a neutral peacekeeping force between two warring countries. The temple is recognisably based on a monastic layout, but the religion they follow is more of a nature one than a Christian one, with there being an important connection between the tree, the people and the land.
BSR!: You’re known to be a gamer, which is not uncommon among fantasy writers. Is the world you’ve created for Heartwood inspired by your gaming? Do you see Anguis as a possible location for other gamers to utilize?
FR: Anguis is not directly inspired by any one particular game, but the fact that I play Guild Wars 2 and have played World of Warcraft, D&D and other games does of course play a factor in my writing. I love world building and hubby & I spend hours discussing the importance of landscape, economy, flora & fauna and the creatures that any particular land would host. Gaming is as important to me as writing because it enables me to escape, to become lost in a fantasy world where good always defeats evil and a happy ending is usually guaranteed 🙂 (Unless you’re talking about jump puzzles. I’m useless at those.) I’ve thought about using Anguis as a basis for a new RPG game. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
BSR!: On the same note, you also write fanfic for Chronicles of Tyria. Assuming someone writes fanfic based on Heartwood, would you read it or would you try to isolate your own vision of the evolving world?
FR: That’s an interesting question! I don’t actually read a huge amount of fantasy nowadays because I don’t want to be influenced by other people’s worlds, and I tend to read outside the genre. After saying that, I’d love to see what stories other people would create set in the world of the Elemental Wars. In one way it’s very traditional epic fantasy with a quasi-medieval European setting, but in other ways it’s very different, with no elves, dwarves or orcs, and no wand-waving magic. I would be flattered if someone were to write about my world! As long as the story wasn’t better than mine 😀
BSR!: You’ve mentioned on your blog that you’re planning to participate in NaNoWriMo. Have you done it before? Do you think writing to a schedule produces better work for you?
FR: I’ve participated in NaNo unofficially for the last three years (writing 50k but not actually entering the challenge) and officially in CampNaNo this July. The first time I took part in 2010 showed me how important it is not to keep editing your work but to push on and get the damn thing finished, and that’s how I tend to write now. I hope to take part this year, although the launch of Heartwood is making it a very busy time! But it’s always good to have deadlines and to force oneself to sit at the computer. It’s so easy to procrastinate! I have the word BICHOK pinned to my computer (Bum In Chair, Hands On Keyboard.)
BSR!: On that same topic, what’s your writing process? Are you an outliner? Free form and edit later? Do you know where your stories are headed before you get there or are you surprised when you find yourself at the end?
FR: I always outline because I believe it’s good to have a map when you’re setting out on a journey, plus it makes the size of the book less daunting (writing 170,000 words is no mean feat!) I normally have the big Dark Moment when it looks as if everything is going wrong and the ending in my head before I start. I rough out a storyline, then write a few chapters to get the “feel” of the book, then I’ll go back and outline in a bit more detail to make sure I get the story peaks and troughs in the right places. Nowadays I write in fairly short scenes of 2-3,000 words, and I know if I get to 1800 words and the scene is finished, I need to go back and deepen the emotion or write a bit more description. I don’t physically type more than one draft; I’ll finish the book, making notes as I work through and the story inevitably changes (for example in Sunstone about three quarters of the way through I decided to give one of the main characters a dog, and I had to go back and work the dog into the story!) I’ll leave it for as long as I can (at least 3-4 weeks), then go back and re-read it, making alterations as I go in keeping with the notes I’ve made. I might do one more re-read after that to ensure it flows properly. But that’s about it – too much editing can remove the freshness of a story, IMO, so at that point I’ll press send and get it off to my editor.
BSR!: With Heartwood coming soon, and book two, Sunstone, releasing in April 2014, how much more story can we expect in the series? Do we get a trilogy? Are we looking at an 19 volume epic?
FR: LOL I’ll let you know when I know! 😀 Sunstone is quite different to Heartwood—it’s set over three different timelines, and I think I relax into the world more. It’s a little less noticeably medieval European and probably fresher and better for it. It takes the idea of the Arbor and the connection between the people and the land and it expands and elaborates on that, with readers learning more about that connection as the people themselves do. I wrote it quickly and it flowed easily, although I have yet to see what my editor thinks of it! Angry Robot has requested an option on a third book, but whether it comes to fruition will depend on reviews and sales of Heartwood. I have ideas bubbling away and I’m quite excited to develop the ideas behind the religion.
I love epic fantasy and I’m keen to write more, although 19 volumes…LOL. I think I’d rather set the next trilogy in a different world to ensure my writing remained fresh. However, it takes a huge amount of time and dedication to develop a whole world, so I can understand why fantasy readers continue on with lots of books in the worlds they create. I have tons of ideas for other fantasy and sci-fi series though. Watch this space!
BSR!: Thank you so much for your time. We’re looking forward to the release and I’m sure our readers will be interested.
Freya Robertson’s Heartwood will be available November 7, 2013. You can order on Amazon now. Check back with Big Shiny Robot! next week for the full review. In the meantime Freya can be found at her website or on Twitter @EpicFreya. Heartwood is being published by Angry Robot Books (which is not related to Big Shiny Robot!).