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Interview Jeff Chapman

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For this week’s Feature Friday Futures we are joined by Jeff Chapman, who is here to tell us about The Merliss Tales series

 

How did you build this concept, what research did you do?

I watched various documentaries and online lectures about The Black Death in Europe during the Middle Ages. I also read some novels about The Black Death, chief among them were Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year and Geraldine Brooks’ Year of Wonders. My primary interest was not so much the nature of the disease but how people reacted to it.

The idea developed as I was writing Cat Sidhe–another novel in the series. I made multiple references to a disease that had devastated the land a half-century before. Before writing the sequel to Cat Sidhe, I decided I should nail down what had happened with the disease. The only way to do that was to write about it. What I had planned to be a short story or novella became a novel.

What was the most surprising thing you found out while researching/writing your latest book?

I came across references to people blaming cats for spreading disease. These people tried to eradicate cats from their towns. In hindsight removing cats from the environment was one of the worst things they could have done. The idea of blaming cats for disease plays a major part in The Great Contagion.

Can you describe your world or setting?

The landscape includes a seashore dominated by high bluffs and an area of moorland dominated by incessant wind. Many of the hills on the moor are topped with tors. There are also areas of forest along rivers. Fishing is a primary industry and the town of Pelcairn occupies a small, natural harbor. The level of technology in The Great Contagion is medieval. Politically, the land is under the control of an occupying power.

What’s unique about your world?

The human population has largely turned away from magic and are suspicious and fearful of anything magical. They believe in the existence of magical creatures but want to avoid them. The cunning folk, with whom Merliss resides, act as healers—employing herbal remedies–and are called upon to deal with any magical creatures that become a nuisance. The cunning folk also possess some pseudo-magical gifts. They live on the fringe of society both literally and figuratively. Merliss has a very different understanding of the landscape. For her, there is little to no distinction between the natural and the magical. It’s only a question of how much power something possesses. Two of her friends are pookas—one chooses to live as a moorland pony, the other a stoat. Merliss is aware of the ley lines running beneath the land and knows how to make use of them. She is also conscious of the old gods to whom the people no longer pay homage.

How do you explain the science or magic in your world?

Magic in the world of Merliss is messy. There are various magical systems and various sources of power. The primary sources for Merliss are the ley lines, the sun, and the moon. Blood is also a source as are sites of historical battles or any place where mass deaths occurred.

Merliss makes frequent use of the ley lines for travel. Passing through ley gates—usually an arch of stones—allows one to jump from one location to another. The ley gates draw some of their energy from the sun. They’re dodgy after nightfall. They are also not 100% reliable. When ley lines cross, it’s possible to be shot off in an unexpected direction.

The old gods have immense sources of their own power which Merliss doesn’t understand. The pookas also have their own system which to some extent is governed by lunar cycles. For example, the pookas have a limited number of shapeshifts that they can perform during a lunar cycle.

How do you handle the food in your world?

Fish, mutton, and fowl are the primary meats. There are seasonal fruits and nuts from trees and bushes. Grains such as wheat, barley, and oats are also staples. For Merliss, mice, rats, voles, and handouts from her human companions form the basis of her diet.

Do you have a recipe that you could share, maybe one that our readers could try, based on the food in your world?

Merliss doesn’t believe you will find any of her “recipes” very appetizing. She says the liver is always the best part.

What did you include that you wish was real today?

I wish the magic of ley gates and “jumping” between them existed today. Ley line travel would beat driving or flying.

What technology or science do you think will most affect the world of tomorrow?

Nanotechnology will revolutionize industry and medicine, if we can avoid destroying ourselves with it.

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