Author Interview: D. N. Carter
Author Interview: D. N. Carter
Today is my stop on the Outremer 3: In the Beginning blog tour and I am pleased to welcome D. N. Carter on to the blog with a quick interview! He’s come up with some intriguing answers!
Q&A
What inspired you to write the Outremer series?
I wanted to share the knowledge of the ancient codes, as I believe I have understood them, and Outremer is a perfect platform to do that in a hopefully engaging and enjoyable format. I therefore included genuine codes from antiquity which still have profound consequences for all of us. If you have ever pondered the reasons why Christianity and Islam were, and still are, so diametrically opposed, then you will discover within Outremer ‘why’.
I wrote the Outremer series to inspire others as I have been, but to also enlighten them is the simple truth…or at least try and provoke readers to think and start upon a path of their own research and not just accept my words, but to challenge all that I write. I learnt that for nearly all of human history our world was once viewed as an enchanted place and myths emerged as an attempt to explain unknowable mysteries, but as material and rationalist ideas took over, our spiritual values declined in direct proportion. Once separated from the world of symbols, the inspiration that created them detached from its links with myth and sacred visions. When the usefulness of a myth or legend exhausts itself, it dies…then any means to keep it alive only serves to make those very symbols of myth, counterproductive. It becomes out dated with the present times, so has to be completely changed and written a new…and that is what I have tried to do within the pages of Outremer. A strong and bold claim perhaps, but the reader must be the judge of that.
I was once told, and now accept, every book, every volume you will ever read takes on a life all of its own formed by the soul of the person who wrote it and from those who subsequently read it; who lived it and dreamed it in their own minds. And with every reading, so the content of that books spirit grows and strengthens. I believe any teaching, and that includes religion, should be one whereby teachers show but do not say nor demand what the student sees. Outremer simply shows. I believe learning with an open mind allows us to plant the seed of intellect, from which mighty oaks of wisdom will grow as people pick up the clues and branch out into further deeper research. I simply ask that Outremer is read with an enquiring open mind. There are genuine ancient codes as well as a new one that readers may wish to work upon. If they crack it, it will lead to a location…one that can only be discovered by reading the entire story. There are exoteric and esoteric messages that run throughout the manuscript. To some they will be obvious whilst missed by others unfamiliar with the symbolism at first; however they will discover and understand as the information slowly reveals itself.
I have tried to adhere as near as possible to the historical truth to convey a new perspective on our history in a comprehensive yet verifiable and checkable format that not only educates the reader, but hopefully inspires too. It is at times funny, touching, heart wrenching in places but also even brutal where I have not shied away from portraying the actual horrors and reality of warfare and cruelty. From the deepest depths of mans darkest side to his most noble and courageous, Outremer conveys mankind at his worst, but also his very best.
What has been your favourite part of writing the Outremer series?
Living it whilst writing it I suppose. At times I became so immersed within the story I actually felt as though I was there and experienced many highs and lows of the characters as I wrote about them. It is something I have never felt before when writing and I became so involved that it touched me on a level I never thought possible. I have loved the responses from people whom I gave my draft versions to first. To hear how the facts and actual story of Outremer also touched them deeply and profoundly. To hear that it made them feel connected to the characters making them laugh and cry meant I achieved what I was attempting to convey to readers and emotionally engage with them.
Where do you do most of your writing?
I carry a notebook with me as inspiration comes at any time and in any location. But I actually do the vast majority of my writing in my studio in England or my glorified shed in France.
Do you read other historical fiction books?
In truth no as most of my historical material is on the research level; factual academic books and papers in the main. But I did read several volumes of historical fiction by C J Ransom after my father passed them to me so they held a personal sentimental value because they were his favourite books.
If yes, which is your favourite?
As said above, it can only be the historical fiction by C J Ransom.
Is there anything exciting about the Outremer series that readers should know?
Outremer is very heavily based upon real people and events of the period covered. The reader not only gets a powerful love story but also an in depth historical presentation of events that ultimately changed the world, the repercussions of which still echo out to the present. Outremer also contains genuine ancient codes that can be verified as valid. There is a real physical treasure that the codes lead too with potentially world changing consequences on understanding our true history. There is also a modern code that leads to a £10,000 cash prize to whoever cracks the code first and locates a hidden item.
If you had to live in one era, which would you choose and why?
I feel a strong affinity to the period covered within Outremer around the mid 12th Century. I would love to be able to meet for real, the people I have written about. I would certainly like to re-educate certain individuals to the folly of their actions back then.
About the book
For Alisha and Paul, their lives settle into a new routine of normality… but the world around them is changing rapidly and that calm routine is violently interrupted. Whilst Paul strives to learn as much as he can about the mysteries in Egypt, new people enter their lives that have direct, immediate and profound affects upon them and the direction they will follow. As confusion grows about their own beliefs so does whom they can trust. As mysteries from the past stretch out calling them, they have to make decisions that not only affect their lives, but the lives of countless thousands both then and now. The decisions they made helped shape the course of history.
Confronted by impossible choices and in making those decisions, they experience at first hand the painful realities and repercussions that threaten to destroy them completely as personal tragedies rip through their lives as a direct consequence. As friends become foes, and foes become friends, nothing will ever be the same again as explosive revelations about mankind’s true past and the Church are divulged that once learned can never be unlearned or forgotten… for truth once whispered, is still truth which only grows louder no matter how hard evil forces try to control and suppress it with fear, hate and war; forces Paul will have to confront head on in order to protect and safeguard a greater secret and legacy destined for all of us in or time.
About the Author
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Will you be reading this book?
