1. What is your name and where do you call home?
Hi Rachel, my name is Tom Jackson, and although I originate from cold
and wet Manchester, England (and am proud to call myself a Mancunian), I have
lived in hot and dry Athens, Greece with my wife and daughter for almost 35
years.
2. What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up
in 20 or less words, what would you say?
The Devil’s Legacy
- a contemporary mystery with flashbacks to the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries -
is, in fact my first published book.
The decision to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece leads
to the opening of Pandora’s Box and the unleashing of terrible secrets
threatening the very fabric of British society.
3. What was the inspiration behind your novel? Why
do you feel so strongly about the return of the Parthenon Marbles?
Many years ago I attended a conference here in Athens on the
Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles. The keynote speaker at the event was the
late Jules Dassin (the film director and husband of Melina Mercouri). I
must admit that my initial attendance at the conference was somewhat
tongue-in-cheek. Like the vast majority of British nationals I had little
knowledge of the exact sequence of events leading up to the Parthenon Marbles
being owned by Britain, and housed in the British Museum. For me they were
merely another collection of antiquities we had acquired a couple of centuries
ago. We owned them! Why should we just hand them back? What was the big deal?
However, the conference stimulated my curiosity, and I
became interested in the actual events surrounding the removal of the Marbles
by Lord Elgin’s agents. This led me to undertake considerable research here in
Athens and in the UK - including a visit to the archives of the British Museum.
This research in turn led me to the undoubted conclusion that the Marbles had
been removed illegally, without any proper authority. In fact, the man actually
responsible for the removal, Hunt, admitted quite openly at the time that he
was able to remove the Marbles only through a combination of ‘cajolery, threats
and bribery’! The bottom line is that I felt, as an Englishman, I must do
something to rectify the errors of our ancestors.
There have been many publications of a purely academic
nature regarding the removal of the Marbles, however, I am not aware of
anything fictionalising the event - and thus felt that my novel may well offer
a uniquely interesting and thought-provoking perspective. As well as a good and
fun read!
4. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
I am considering an idea for a sequel. Also I am thinking about
something a little different - a trilogy set in 19th century Greece.
5. What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been
writing?
I took pleasure in writing from an early age. I think my
first attempt at a short story was around the age of ten. I believe that my
desire to write stems from reading. Every Monday I would visit the local
lending library and stock up with five or six books to keep me going for the
week. My preference is undoubtedly for the cocktail of adventure/mystery/crime.
For example, I enjoy Agatha Christie, Alistair McLean, Robert Ludlum, Frederick
Forsyth and Ken Follett. Although I do have a decided passion for historical
novelists such as Jane Austen, C.S. Forester, John Buchan, and naturally,
Dickens.
6. Do you gift books to readers for book reviews?
Indeed I do.
7. How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your
book?
The focal point for the novel is the theft of the Parthenon Marbles over
two hundred years ago, and the secrets surrounding the conspiracy are hidden in
Pandora’s Box. So the Parthenon itself, and the Box on fire with elements from
the story escaping like smoke seemed highly appropriate. The concept of the
cover was the result of a family pow-wow - my wife is an artist. The great
cover design was by Laura Shinn in the States.
8. How did you come up with the title for your book?
Each of the chapters is prefaced by a quotation from the
works of the famous Greek poet, Constantine Cavafy, and I thought at first of
using one of these as the title. However, the theme of ‘Legacy’ runs through
the book on different levels, and whilst one of the characters in my novel is
actually referred to several times as a ‘Devil’, again the Devil could have
several connotations in the context of my novel.
9. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers or audiobooks?
I am something of a traditionalist. I like the feel of the paperback in my
hands. However, I am developing a taste for ebooks, and now have a Kindle
courtesy of my daughter and her husband. I think I am one of the believers -
ebooks are definitely the future.
10. Are you a self-published / Indie author?
Yes.
11. Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it?
Too many times to recall. I think that every time you re-read a book
it’s like visiting an old friend. You know what to expect, you will enjoy the
experience, yet there is always something new to discover . . . appreciate . .
. enjoy.
12. Have you ever
read a book just based on it’s cover?
No.
13. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
Funnily enough over Christmas I just wanted to put my feet up and relax
with an old friend. So I read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ (for at least the hundredth
time) and I’m just about to re-read ‘The Manchester Man’ by Mrs. Linnaeus Banks
which is set in early 19th century Manchester. I do have the paperback version.
Although it is a little known work of fiction (and some of the working-class
dialect in the first chapter or so can be difficult to follow initially) it is
worth the effort.
14. Do you have any advice for other writers? And what’s the best advice
that you have been given when it comes to writing?
Keep writing. Stay positive. Don’t despair. Rejection is not failure . .
. it merely tests your own resolve.
15. Where can your readers follow you?
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/99678
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5390400.Tom_Jackson
Goodreads book page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13222949-the-devil-s-legacy
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/people/@/152698424831830
The Devil’s Legacy Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/people/@/152698424831830
I have also just
started a Blog
Thank you so much
for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your
writing world!
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