Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with KM Butler
Book Title: The Raven and the Dove
Released: 11/22/21
Genre: Historical Fiction
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “The Raven and the Dove”?
Butler: My novels are focused around a key question, theme, or event in history. For The Raven and the Dove, it explores the very first moments of Norman history when Vikings and Christians began sit down to live together. What would it have been like to deal with all the tension, recrimination, and animosity? In a world replete with cultural fusion and doomsayers arguing the end is near, I wanted to explore this time when things were far worse, yet the people living through them still found a way to create a new culture, one that would change the world.
How did you come up with the names of your main characters?
Butler: Outside of historically attested characters (Poppa of Bayeux, Count Rollo, Berengar of Rennes), the Internet is my friend for naming. You can find compendiums of names by individual cultures, and from there I create variations that fit with the conventions but create something new. For Taurin, I wanted something that suggested rooting to the earth, stability, and reliability. I liked the sound of Halla, which was a historically attested name (albeit not the character).
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?
Butler: As to writing process, I am an extensive plotter. Before I write a word, I lay out every scene in sequence, noting not only what happens, but what the characters are feeling and how it will change them. I start with the key plot and character beats, then fill in those scenes needed to lead into and come out of those events. My plotting is invaluable to help me identify potential gaps or inconsistencies before I’ve written thousands of words off-track. It changes through the first draft, but it provides a nice framework to keep the story going forward with a clear purpose. It’s also really useful for seeding the story for emotional payoff at the end!
If "The Raven and the Dove" was adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Butler: For Halla, I’d pick Alexandra Daddario. Her eyes, particularly with eye liner like Halla’s kohl, have the same intense look I describe in the book. Taurin is generally thoughtful, but is put through the ringer through the novel. Someone like Dave Franco has the range of expression to do Taurin justice, I think.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Butler: For me, writer’s block comes when I doubt the quality of what I’m writing. To get out of it, I remind myself that we’re never as good as we think we are, but we’re never as bad as we think we are. Even if I’m writing gobbledygook, I can always fix it during editing. I plan extensively before writing, so I know where my story is going. Even if I write a bad passage, I’m still laying track and progressing the story. It’ll take me where I want to go, and I can rip and replace later. Usually, when I go back to read it, it’s not as bad as I feared.
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
Butler: Share your work with writing groups and beta readers. My writing only began to improve when I shared it with others who owed me nothing. They pointed out the flaws, and in so doing they showed me how to improve.
Involve as many people of differing opinions and perspectives as you can. It’s very easy for us to fall into an echo chamber with our writing. You specifically want people to read your work who don’t think like you. I guarantee some of your readers will think like them, too, and you want to know how they’ll react sooner than later.
What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?
Butler: My favorite book is The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. He weaves not just character stories, but also the reminiscent feel of a world slipping away that deserves the title of “art”. That’s very rare in writing.
What are you working on next?
Butler: My next novel, The Welsh Dragon, released on September 23. It follows the 14-year exile that turned Henry Tudor from a penniless fugitive into a claimant for the English throne. At its core, it explores his struggle to make a life for himself when all those around him are trying to define him according to his lineage. While many stories in the Wars of the Roses are about the battles, The Welsh Dragon is about his character and the ways he grows and reacts to the traumas he has to life through as he searches for his “happily ever after”.
I’ve just finished a historical novel about a thief and a qiyan (courtesan, without the sexual undertone) in Muslim-controlled Spain during the Reconquista. It’s a study in how to cope and heal when your world utterly changes, and not for the better. It also just happens to have El Cid and his wife, the unstoppable Jimena Diaz, as characters!
I’m also researching and plotting out a novel about Gaius Cassius Longinus, the man who organized Caesar’s assassination. He’s painted as a selfish villain by history. While he certainly had selfish motives, he also had a deeper unease about how Caesar was twisting meritocratic and democratic traditions into dictatorial fiat. That’s something we can all relate to.
Learn More About the Author and The Raven and the Dove here:
Twitter: @kmbutlerauthor
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Find it for purchase here or Kindle Unlimited
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