Christopher Nuttall’s Their Darkest Hour has just been released as part of the Empire at War collection where four British Science Fiction authors have joined forces to show the world that British Military Science Fiction is a force to be reckoned with.
Many thanks for giving us some time here Christopher. Welcome to SFFWorld. How would you describe Their Darkest Hour in your own words?
This time … the aliens have invaded Britain! <grin>
Your aliens all have really alien sounding names, but then there is The-Stig… Was this a well-considered choice or more a spur of the moment decision to bring some fun into it all?
A bit of both, really. Thankfully, it stands on its own for readers who won’t get the joke.
You mention Doctor Who a few times and even before it was mentioned I must admit that as a big Doctor Who fan I half expect a blue police box to come out of nowhere and save the day. Which brings me to the question, where do you get your inspiration from?
Everywhere!
Well, that’s not quite accurate. The basic idea behind Their Darkest Hour came from a desire to have more alien invasion stories set in the UK. There actually aren’t that many, certainly not serious novels. (I don’t count the Doctor Who stories as serious.) I’d actually name Operation Thunder Child and Operation Lightning Strike as the only modern books, although obviously the original War of the Worlds was set in Britain. I started gaming out a scenario, then working through how we would react to an outright invasion …
I’ve always been fascinated by how people cope with adversity, particularly during wartime. Some people just pull up their socks and carry on. Others try to make the best of their circumstances. Some will try to fight, others will become quislings.
So what is different with British Military SF? Obviously in Their Darkest Hour you have the UK setting that probably will be more familiar to a Europeans than Americans, but do you also think there are other aspects where British authors are able to bring something different and unique to military SF?
I think that’s a hard question to answer.
There is, if you will, a cultural difference between American MIL-SF (and military in general) and British MIL-SF. Many American military characters (in, say, John Ringo’s work) are very forward, very blunt … I’d go so far as to say that most of them are thoroughly bombastic. Think a Drill Instructor screaming in your face. While a great many British characters are often calm, competent and basically just get the job done. We’re not as outwardly enthusiastic as the Americans; we’re more gritty endurance, stiff upper lip and just keep going until we win.
To some extent, I think that comes from our differing experiences. The Americans are staggeringly rich and, even as early as their civil war, had little trouble keeping their troops supplied. Britain, particularly in the years after 1919, had very real problems making ends meet, let alone keeping the troops supplied. We operate on a shoestring and know it. The Falklands was our most successful war in years, yet it was a very close run thing. We simply cannot afford to be as blatant as the Americans.
I think that is reflected in our SF too. Independence Day was followed by Invasion: Earth, a six-episode TV series set in Britain. Independence Day is blatant; the enemy is clearly visible, merely overwhelmingly powerful. Invasion: Earth has an enemy who hides in the shadows, at least up until the final episode. They both represent, too, a very different set of fears.
Actually, coming to think of it, there was a brief line from the short-lived Captain Britain and MI13 series. (It was short-lived because it was far too good, like many other promising works from DC and Marvel.) The Big Bad of the story loudly declaims “you think that is bravery?! Tiny things! Within the Skrull Empire you will know grandeur. You will know pride and determination and …”
To which Captain Britain responds “I think you’ll find we know already. We just don’t like to make a fuss.”
It’s probably no surprise that the writer of that comic book is British …
How has it been to join forces with fellow British authors and promote British military SF like this?
It’s been fun <grin>.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
A bit of both, really.
I generally try to have an outline of a book before I start writing, ranging from a basic sketch to a detailed outline (depending on the outcome). Sometimes, though, I change details as I grow more and more immersed in the story. My previous project has a fairly major change made midway through the book because the first idea didn’t make much sense any longer.
Is writing from multiple POVs like you have in Their Darkest Hour a challenge or does it just give more flexibility?
It depends on the type of book, I think.
Really, I tend to divide books into two categories; the personal-driven books and the event-driven books. The former focuses on a handful of characters at most (ideally, just one) while the latter is the event itself. Their Darkest Hour falls into the latter category and a multiple POV approach makes sense. Something more personal-driven, like Ark Royal or Schooled In Magic, requires only one or two POVs.
I read that the next book in the series will be called The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea. Anything you can reveal about it?
Just that there’s a very good reason for the title <grin>.
Let’s talk a bit about marketing. How do you go about the marketing aspect and especially related to your online presence? Anything you’ve seen work better than other things?
It’s actually quite difficult to say what works and what doesn’t. I’ve discovered that remaining engaged with one’s readers does help, but at the same time there’s a certain limit to just how closely you should engage with them. There’s no shortage of stories about kindle authors behaving badly <grin>. Really, the best way I’ve found to obtain and keep readers is to keep writing.
You also give away a lot of free books that people can download from your website. How has that turned out?
It’s led to some interesting feedback, including suggestions that some of the books should be rewritten and sold. I may get around to it one day.
What’s next? Do you have more new and exciting projects you’re working on?
Well, right now I’m gearing up to write Chosen of the Valkyries, the direct sequel to Storm Front. Storm Front covers the origins of the Nazi Civil War of 1985 (I’m still kicking myself for not setting the war in 1984) and Chosen of the Valkyries shows the war heading into full swing as the SS tries to crush the revolt while the rebels fight desperately to survive. Beyond that, I have more Schooled In Magic and Vanguard on the way.
Once again, thank you very much for your time.
*****
Interview by Dag Rambraut – SFFWorld.com © 2016
