Interview with John Marco

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Q: Do you think the fact that Richius as a somewhat flawed (or less than perfect) hero, allows the reader to accept Biagio more openly as the central character in Saints?

A: Absolutely. Anyone who's read the books knows that there aren't really any heroes in them, at least not in the conventional use of the word. Certainly there are characters that are better and kinder than others, but even the best of them have flaws and sometimes do things out of less than noble ideas, like selfishness. So yes, I think that made it much easier for readers to except Biagio as the central character in Saints. In fact, I've not gotten one comment to the contrary. Everyone seems to be very pleased with the move.


Q: Military history is something you have said you enjoy reading about, and it shows in this series. Have you or has anybody close to you served in the military? If so, how has this helped you to entrench the readers in the battle scenes you write?

A: I've known a number of people who've served in the military, and their stories and experiences have always fascinated me. And they don't have to be stories about war, either. Even the humdrum, everyday existence of the military interests me. So to be honest, I'm not sure how this has helped me in my writing. Like everything, it just kind of seems its way into the stories. Every writer takes bits and pieces from their memories and plugs them into their work, and a lot of times it's on such an unconscious level
that you can't even recognize them.

I've been lucky enough to be complimented on the battle scenes that I write, and that always makes me proud because I've never been in battle before (thankfully) and because of that I can't possibly describe it accurately. But I do my best to put myself in the mindset of the soldiers, try to picture what it would be like, then put it on paper. And I have a lot of great writers to take my cue from, and try to emulate. If I can give even a small sense of reality to these scenes, I'm satisfied.


Q: The magical elements in The Jackal of Nar were an important issue, while magic in Design was not as central to the story. In Saints, the magic comes back as part of the story and the same can be said of Richius; he was the central character in Jackal, was a large character in the cast of Design and his story comes full circle in Saints. Is this cyclical or recurring aspect of history something you wanted to highlight in Tyrants and Kings?

A: I think what I was trying to avoid more than anything else was to become too predictable; I didn't want all of the books to be the same, so I made a real effort to introduce important new characters in each book, while still bringing the whole story of Richius and his country of Aramoor to a close. As for the "lite" touch on the magic, that's just something that the story seemed to dictate. It was never going to be heavy on magic. I just wanted enough sorcery to tell the story, sort of a backdrop for the overall tale. In the end, I was happy to see magical elements make a small resurgence in the third book, because I think it gives the trilogy a feeling of closure.