I try to be an enlightened male, but at the end of the day, I’m a guy, and I feel the need on occasion to read guy stuff. In Historical Fiction terms, that often means military history, or at least stories based on battles set long ago. One of my favorite new indy/small press authors in that field is Peter Darman.
Pete writes nifty tales of wars that most of don’t know about. (Go ahead, name a famous Parthian. Okay then). In particular, I’m a fan of his series about the Teutonic Crusades in the Baltic, “The Crusader Chronicles.”
So what’s the Pete Darman story?
I have been writing on and off for 25 years but have only been a full-time author for the past three. After completing my master’s thesis on the Royalist cavalry in the English Civil War (1642–46), I was living in London where I worked in a number of unfulfilling jobs. Eventually I landed a position as a research officer with the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Intelligence Staff in Whitehall. Writing top-secret reports was at first exciting but ultimately frustrating because they were so classified that few people saw them before they were filed away, never to be seen again. So I decided to leave the Ministry of Defence and try my luck in publishing. As a result I spent over 20 years in the publishing industry as an editor, during which time I wrote a number of non-fiction titles in my spare time. Then came the great leap into the unknown in 2012 when I decided to become a full-time writer. It hasn’t worked out too bad thus far…
I first discovered your work with “The Sword Brothers,” and have followed the rest of the series. What’s the new book,”Master of Mayhem”, about?
‘Master of Mayhem’, a work of historical fiction, is the fourth book in the Crusader Chronicles series. It follows the adventures of Conrad Wolff, a brother knight of the Sword Brothers, a military order established at the beginning of the thirteenth century to battle paganism in the Baltic.
The book begins with Conrad, now a master in his order, as well as being Marshal of Estonia and commander of the Army of the Wolf, crusading with Bishop Albert, the founder of modern-day Latvia, against first the Lithuanians in the south and then against the Oeselians in the north. But the enemies of the crusaders are many and skilful and soon Conrad and the Sword Brothers are fighting for their very existence in the coldest winter in living memory.
When we think of the Crusades, we think of Palestine and Jerusalem. I know the book I’m working on now is set there (although I now see that’s a horrible cliche and I should be ashamed of myself.) Why the Baltics? It’s kind of obscure…
Because I started my writing career penning historical non-fiction I have always been interested in many periods of history, but particularly those periods that are little known. Everyone has heard about the crusades in the Holy Land but the crusade in the Baltic during the medieval period is not well known. As a result it sparked my interest. I originally envisaged the central character of the series being a member of the Teutonic Knights. But closer research revealed that another military order pre-dated them – the Sword Brothers.
The Crusader Chronicles is not only the story of Conrad Wolff but also the Sword Brothers, who are now largely forgotten. It was they who laid the foundations of the modern states of Latvia and Estonia.
I’m familiar with your other books, but let’s bait the hook for new readers. What’s one of your favorite scenes in the new work?
One of my favourite scenes in the book is when Conrad plays host to William of Modena, a Papal legate sent to the crusader kingdom to act as adjudicator between the Sword Brothers and the Danish king, who at the time possessed the northern half of Estonia. A medieval Papal legate was extremely powerful and spoke with the full authority of the Pope. A legate could raise armies, excommunicate individuals, including kings, and possessed the power of life and death over not only individuals but also kingdoms.
It was nice creating a scene where Conrad and the legate could discuss their very different upbringings and positions in a time when social mobility was all but impossible. When the legate asks if Conrad always knew his fate, Conrad replies: ‘Yes, to die a hundred yards from where I was born.’ In a time where nobility and wealth were signs of social superiority the legate, himself from a powerful Italian family, reminds Conrad that in the end everyone, high born or lowly, serves a higher power and that perhaps they are not that different.
That’s great. Conrad is something of a #@%@%$ disturber, which is what makes him a strong hero. Where can people find you and your work?
All my books are listed on my website:
and on my goodreads site:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/70670.Peter_Darman
In addition, ‘Master of Mayhem’ is available to purchase as an ebook on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and as a paperback on Amazon.
