Guest Author R.R. Gall

Today our guest is Richard, R Gall, author of yesterday’s book The Wrath Inside, here is a link to the post if you missed it. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-51U

Let’s find out more about Richard and his writing.

1) Where is your home town?

I live in Dumfries, Scotland.

2) How long have you been writing?

As I’m getting on a bit now, it’s been quite a long time. I’ve dabbled away since my twenties but only started properly when the big 50 hit me for 6.

3) What genres do you enjoy writing?

Usually murder/mysteries: the crime giving a peg to hang everything on.

4) Where did the idea for The Wrath Inside come from?

It started by wanting to know what life was like at that time. Just basic things like: what they ate, how they made a living, their views, and how much, or, indeed, how little they knew of the world. With that in mind, I decided to set the story in a small, ordinary town.

Also, as part of the research, I read old and modern translations of The Bible and was surprised by how the resonance changed with the language. So I tried to write something that would feel contemporary: hopefully showing that people have changed little through the years and that events in the book are no different to ones going on in places round the world today.

5) Tell us some of the historical background to the area which this book is set in at the time of AD 15

There had been many different conquerors over the years (Persians, Greeks, etc) and now The Romans were in charge. But unease was growing – people wanted to be free from oppression. Revolts flared up, only to be sharply quashed.

6) What illnesses were both Ezera’s parents suffering from?

There is more in the next story.

7) What jobs did Ezera and his friends have in their day to day life?

In the area where the story is set, most would have worked the land. There would be set chores in the home as well. They would also be expected to study Scripture and Law.

8) Joseph Caiaphas had a lot of power over the people, how would Rome have dealt with this threat?

I doubt if the Romans would have been all that bothered by the priest – as long as he did not overstep the mark. Similarly, High Priest Annas wielded great power for a long time but was only deposed after taking things a bit too far – perhaps sentencing people to death. However, he remained influential, in the background, for many more years to come.

9) Tell us about your trilogy.

The Dumfries Detective Trilogy is a murder/mystery set of stories. It consists of: The Case of the Pig in the Evening Suit, The Case of Colourful Clothes and Kilts, The Case of the Hermit’s Guest Bedroom.

As the titles suggest, there is supposed to be some fun in them but, also, enough thrills and spills to keep the tension going right through to the last book.

Unusually, this amateur detective, Jin Johnstone, is not very good at what he does – although he is well-intentioned. Nevertheless, as the trilogy progresses, it is possible to see him improve as a detective, and, almost as importantly, as a man.

All the action takes place in and around the Scottish town of Dumfries – taking in its sights and its colourful characters.

10) What are you working on at the moment? Do you have an expected publication date for fans?

I’m writing a (slightly different) police procedural murder/mystery, set in Glasgow. It will be out at the summer.