Interview with Catherine McCullagh - Author of Love & Retribution
A warm welcome and congratulations to Catherine McCullagh!
This interview is based on her newest release out January 5th, 2022.
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Please give us an overview of Love and Retribution and what inspired you to write it.
Love and Retribution is the story of a young war widow, Emmy Penry-Jones, who discovers two men washed up on the beach below her house on the west coast of Cornwall. It’s July 1943 and the world is in the midst of a global, cataclysmic war which has already lasted almost four long years and doesn’t appear set to end soon. Emmy is used to rescuing washed-up sailors, the deadly Battle of the Atlantic exacting a heavy toll on shipping. But these men are not like the shipwrecked sailors she has rescued before and Emmy is soon drawn into a web of intrigue that will test both her ingenuity and her patriotism. Rocked by accusations of war crimes against a man she knows to be innocent, Emmy launches a bid to defend him, all too aware that the accusers could turn on her. The trial marks a turning point and Emmy is drawn further into a deadly cycle of post-war retribution, fuelling the realisation that the broad-ranging effects of the great conflict will linger long after the last shot has been fired.
I was inspired to write Love and Retribution after reading about the enormous impact of the U-boat war — both physically and mentally. I was appalled by the losses suffered by both the Allies and the Germans and the accounts of the deep and lasting effects of this form of warfare on its protagonists and those caught up in its impact.
You have two successful non-fiction books. This is now your third novel, so what made you decide to cross over to fiction?
I am endlessly intrigued by the ‘hinge factor’ — the influence of luck on the course of history. Fact is extraordinary — ‘stranger than fiction’ as the saying goes — but I wanted to toy with history, to test the course of events if decisions had been made differently, if luck had not intervened or, conversely, if it had. By the time I began to write historical fiction, I had built a good working knowledge of World War II history and I wanted to explore what was possible against that factual backdrop.
Your heroine, Emmy, is a nurse. Why did you decide to place her in this profession and how does it benefit the story?
In writing about a young woman during World War II, I was conscious that her life would be structured and her career choices quite limited. I chose nursing for Emmy because I knew her character intimately and I sensed that this was a profession that would reflect her qualities. She is intensely loyal, hard-working and practical, but extremely empathetic. She worked through the worst of the Blitz in London, but cared enough for her parents to recognise their need for her. I also needed Emmy to be mobile at a time when people were generally placed in an occupation that suited the war effort and movement out of that workplace or the district in which they lived was extremely difficult.
Who is your favourite male character in Love and Retribution and why?
Max is my favourite, although I admire the way Peter develops as the story progresses. But Max is a survivor and, despite his hard years engaged in submarine warfare, he retains not only his humanity, but also his sense of humour. I really enjoy his humour and the way he bounces off Emmy and Muriel. I also felt very satisfied by the way he responded to his brother, Erik, who he baits mercilessly, despite being aware that Erik represents his greatest threat. Max provides most of the humour in the story and I considered this an effective counter-balance to the dreadful reality of war.
If you were to write a spin-off novel on a supporting character in Love and Retribution, which character would you choose?
I would choose Peter as there is so much in his life that remains unresolved. He continues to grapple with his grief over the death of Toby, he remains far too obsessed with Emmy and his bitterness at the way his active role in the war was summarily ended by his wounding at Dunkirk continues to dog him. His hard-won friendship with Max will become increasingly important and could well be his salvation.
What are the main themes in Love and Retribution?
This is a story that tests the bounds of patriotism and loyalty with a hefty dose of humanity. Is doing one’s duty always the right course of action? Should circumstances dictate the way that duty is interpreted? And is there a place for retribution? Is there such a concept as necessary retribution? Can wounds heal without the dubious salve of revenge?
What was the hardest scene to write in Love and Retribution and why?
Wartime movement scenes are always hard to write as going anywhere at all in time of war is fraught with difficulty. I needed a week or so of intensive research just to move Max from Bergen in Norway to Emden in north-western Germany given the timing of the Allied advance in early 1945. In terms of the plot, the vast majority of scenes wrote themselves, with me struggling to keep up and terrified I would be unable to portray the tension of some of the exchanges, or the shock of discovery or confrontation. Mercifully, I managed to record them and then used subsequent edits to draw out the essence of the scenes themselves.
Have you always wanted to be a writer? Please share your journey.
I have always wanted to write, but never thought I had the ability. It was only after years of editing other people’s writing that I started ghost-writing and realised that this was something I could do — and that I enjoyed. From there it was a short step to writing historical fiction — although I never thought anyone would want to publish it, far less read it. That has been a true revelation!
What is the most unusual setting you have worked in while writing a manuscript?
My books are obsessive, so once a story descends on me, it refuses to leave me alone until it is largely written. Love and Retribution decided to assail me just before my husband and I embarked on a cruise with our daughter, who was working as a production cast dancer with Celebrity Cruises. As a result, I found myself scribbling madly throughout a long-haul flight from Sydney to Dubai (I had decided that travelling with a laptop was far too much fuss) and then each day as we cruised through the Middle East and down the west coast of India. It actually worked well as the changing settings proved refreshing and stimulating and I found a number of minor characters among the passengers on the ship (!!).
What type of writer are you: a plotter, a pantser or both?
Probably both. My stories come to me apparently fully formed, but then take off in unforeseen directions and develop plot twists that I had never anticipated. So I find myself playing catch-up a great deal of the time. I do plan timelines as I need to establish a solid chronology, either based on an historical sequence or on the requirements of the characters. I find it easiest to construct these timelines on paper so that I can scribble notes everywhere and add events where characters decide to vary the direction of the plot.
Do you find it difficult to stay focused while writing? If so, what helps?
No, I am utterly obsessive and need to be reminded that children require feeding and that the housework won’t do itself. But I do find that a daily walk in the bush gives me time to think, as if I need to separate myself from my writing so that my mind can refresh.
What kinds of stories as a child fired your imagination?
My favourite stories invariably saw the individual triumph over adversity in books such as Ian Serraillier’s The Silver Sword or Paul Gallico’s Jennie. Adventure stories such as those by Enid Blyton and science fiction including Isaac Azimov’s Foundation series or Frank Herbert’s Dune also gripped me, as did the Biggles books by Captain W.E. Johns. Reading was always a big part of my life — unsurprisingly!
What’s the trickiest thing about writing characters of the opposite gender?
For me, understanding men sufficiently to portray them in a variety of circumstances, to document their innermost thoughts and describe their motivations is most difficult. Mind you, I’ve had some good material to work with — Max is a richly layered character as is Peter and, joy of joys, they hated each other when they first met. I do so love conflict and confrontation!
How has your background in military history helped in the writing of your fiction?
It’s been absolutely essential. I could not have created characters in a wartime setting without a basic technical understanding of the military side to the conflict. It has also given me the vocabulary to describe the battlefield and to achieve some small insight into the minds of those who fought. I am also very interested in combat trauma and this is reflected in most of my books which not only concern characters who have suffered in combat, but many who have been changed irrevocably by the trauma of war. The impact of war on the individual is an ongoing preoccupation and by that I don’t just mean those who actively fought, but also those left behind, whether parents, children, siblings, friends or lovers.
If you could write in another genre, which would you choose and why?
I enjoy creating specific worlds, so perhaps I would dabble in speculative fiction or even science fiction. But the breadth and scope of the wartime experience is so vast that I think I’ll be clutched in its grasp for some time yet!
What authors or books have most influenced or shaped you into the writer you are today?
Good question. I don’t think I have been particularly shaped or influenced by any one group of writers, but I have been shaped by what I consider good writing. I simply cannot read bad writing and nor can I read anything superficial or ‘mindless’. I read to explore someone else’s psyche in whatever form it takes, so I need layers, nuances and cleverly structured writing. But I also need writing that is beautiful and some of the classical authors are simply extraordinary. I love the classics — Dickens, Hardy, Eliot, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Jane Austen and the Brontës, etc, etc. Australian authors such as Patrick White, Shirley Hazzard, Ruth Park and Kylie Tennant are also favourites, as are Irish author J.G. Farrell and British writers Rumer Godden, John Wyndham, Somerset Maugham, P.G. Wodehouse and Dorothy Sayers. Modern writers? Oh dear, they seem conspicuous in their absence! I did love Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow, but couldn’t handle his other books. Hilary Mantel, on the other hand, is wonderful and I will read anything she writes.
But, as for shaping or influencing the way I write … no, I don’t think there’s any one author who has exerted a significant influence over me. I think the way I write is simply a product of a feverish imagination …
Thanks to Catherine for being my guest! We wish her well on the release of her new novel.
