Torchwood: Exodus Code
recently hit the bookshops in paperback form, with Captain Jack Harkness on the
front cover. My hardback copy has the
Celtic symbol on the front cover. A book
I’d read in a few days after buying it at the signing at Waterstones, Glasgow. I also got to shake John’s hand and lost all
power of speech thereafter!
This is the second time
I’ve had the opportunity of interviewing Carole and John Barrowman with regards
to their novels Exodus Code and the Hollow Earth trilogy, and having read and
fully enjoyed their novels, I had a fistful of questions to put to them.
The
Cuari – I was shocked when I came to the end of the book to realise that this
tribe didn’t actually exist, when I was convinced as I read their bio that I’d
read about them in National Geographic.
Were they based upon a tribe in Peru or was this entirely built on
fiction?
CB: They are indeed based on a tribe in
Peru.
The
taste sensation that Jack and the women on Earth experienced in the book, why
did it affect Jack?
JB: Jack is more evolved… (not sure
about John).
(photo courtesy of
John Barrowman.com)
I
read in an article Carole that you also experience this taste sensation
Synaesthesia have you always had it and
what triggers it off, is it as strong as those within the book?
CB: I’ve a mild form of synesthesia
(nothing like the characters in the book). I see bright colors and bold shapes
whenever anyone says days of the week or months. I was in college when I
discovered that’s what I had and I’ve been researching it since. I always
thought everyone’s brain saw things that way.
JB: I never knew she was a synesthetic
until we started this project… it explains so much!!
With
Exodus Code received well by the fans, will you guys write another Torchwood
story?
JB: We’d love too. It’s just a matter of
each of us finding the time.
I
loved Chapter 51 with the ‘chartered fishing cruiser’, I could picture that
scene. When you were putting the story
together was it written with the purpose of making it cinema worthy, as it
reads very much like a film than a storybook, whereas Hollow Earth series reads
like a story that you’d want to see made into a film?
CB: I think we both are very visual
storytellers so in all our novels we’ve tried to make the story cinematic.
JB: This kind of cinematic pacing is
planned. We’d love to see “Exodus Code” as the next chapter for Torchwood on
film.
The
parts where Jack was scared, and ran away I felt his pain and how it always
seems to be Jack’s fault. When you wrote
Exodus Code had it been a joint decision to lay so much pressure at Jack’s door,
to see how he was going to solve this threat to mankind far greater than even
Miracle Day?
JB: Jack’s the hero and hero’s have to
be flawed and Jack’s flaws are sometimes the things people love about him so we
were conscious of the fact that in Miracle Day Jack had experienced being
mortal again and that would have changed him… but not so much that he shirks
responsibility or pressure.
What
does the symbol on the front cover of the book signify as I’ve also seen it
used in another programme?
CB: A Triquetra is an ancient
mythological symbol, usually for the elements of wind, earth and fire. It’s
also an iconic Celtic symbol (a Celtic knot) and it represents a trinity of
spirits or deities.
Do
you have a dream cast for your stories, especially Exodus Code? Aside from the regular cast, who would in
your minds play Renso and the crew of the Ice Maiden?
JB: Not sure who we would cast. All I
know is I’m playing Captain Jack! We’d love to read what fans think. Who would
you cast in the other roles?
I
loved Bone Quill. In this 2nd
novel there was more involvement, it was a nice move from the first and I raced
through the story. I was never really
interested in History, but the Middle Ages just got interesting. We got to learn a lot more about the monks
guarding the Bone Quill and the life of Solon and his quest. The treachery of the monks and the mysterious
hooded character, I most especially enjoyed the twist at the end of the book,
disappointed only by the fact I have to wait until the third instalment to find
out what happened to Matt and the hideous figure in the hood. When will the 3rd instalment be
out?
JB: Carole is writing the third book
right now. We outlined it last year after we’d finished editing Bone Quill…
Originally when we first came up with the idea we plotted the big events
through to the final book.
CB: We’ve always known how it is going
to end.
When
you’re writing, and putting aside collaboration for a moment, but when you’re
writing about a certain character such as Malcolm sealed away in a painting,
had you always known what his purpose was in the story, or did his character
present itself to you after you planned out the first book and were starting on
the second, did you know the series of events that would take Matt and Em and
Zach on their journey? Do you sometimes
let the story unfold and see where it will take you, or do you always work to a
plan?
CB: We work from an outline, but we let
tangents happen when they come up and they work. But we knew Malcolm was in a
painting from the beginning. It was one of the first ideas we had when we were
brainstorming the arc of the trilogy.
JB: I trust Carole and I know that when
a character chooses to do something that we didn’t plan she has to see what
happens.
With
all that goes on in your own life Carole, how do you find the time to write? Do
you have a routine plan, as in how much you type in a day, giving yourself
deadlines to meet x amount word score?
CB: During a semester when I’m teaching,
I write every day (even if it’s only a few hundred words in the evening before
or after dinner), and I always work to a deadline (either my own or our
editor’s). In the summer when I’m not teaching I try to write 1,000 day.
You
guys ROCK you really do, and I’d love the opportunity of meeting you both
again, hoping I don’t forget how to speak after you shake my hand John!
Diolch
yn fawr!
JB: And thank you!
Photo source:
Thank you to www.johnbarrowman.com
Nice interview. Now I even more want to read Exodus Code! Must get it! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a really good read and well worth the money, and I'm not just saying that. I have enjoyed the book, all their books, so easy to get into and well worth the money! :)
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