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Nobly Born

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« on: October 13, 2007, 12:31:33 pm »





Nobly Born: Interviews With The Author
The following Interview ran in the June 2007 edition of The Argonaut:

 

Argonaut: So many books have been published lately about the Knights Templar, how does yours stand apart from the others?


SD: What is different about Nobly Born is that it is perhaps the first book about the Knights Templar, which tells their story through the eyes of the complex world in which they operated. It was a world where personal and political interests often overshadowed the greater interests of Christendom and one in which yesterday's enemy could become today's ally at the drop of a hat.


The bulk of post Da Vinci Code Templar books have told the story of the myth of the Templars - that they found something under the Temple mount, that it made them rich and powerful, that they were persecuted because of it and that they fled to Scotland and buried it beneath Rosslyn Chapel.


However, the true story of the Templars, and their slow rise to wealth and power, is every bit as fascinating as the speculative stories, because it shows us that for all their piety and dedication to their faith, the Templars were every bit as prone to human greed as their secular counterparts. That is the story Nobly Born sets out to tell.


Argonaut: Wasn't your earlier work speculative in nature?


SD: Some of it certainly was.


I've written seven books to date; five of them have been on the Templars. Of those five, the two I co-wrote with Alan Butler dealt with speculations about the Templars. But, unlike many authors, we didn't say, "Here it is and this is the gospel truth." Instead we said, "Here it is, here's why we think so; now you make up your own mind."


I think some of our speculations were correct, but there are other aspects that I now disagree with. In fact, I make no bones about this in the preface to the new book. The more one investigates a subject, the more one is likely to change their viewpoint.


Argonaut: What is the message you are conveying in your book?


SD: I think the book demystifies the Templars and makes them human once again.


For centuries the Templars have been placed upon a pedestal, especially by members of the Masonic Knights Templar. We Freemasons have a tendency to see the Templars as these almost super human warriors, who were the personification of chivalric values and selfless motives. This is probably why so many Freemasons want to believe that our Order evolved from those Templars who escaped persecution.


But the historical record shows that the Templars lost more battles than they won. It also shows that a good majority of their leadership was elected, not by the will of the Order, but by the will of the Nobly Born Europeans who supported them for their own ends.


So much of what we believe about the Order is built upon the ideal of what the Order was supposed to be and not the reality of what they were. Oddly enough, the Templars lowered their admission standards when their numbers were growing too few.


Argonaut: What do you want your reader to know or believe when they finish reading your book?


SD: I'd like them to know that most of the stuff written about the Templars over the past five years is rubbish, but what they choose to believe is entirely up to them.


As in my previous books, I do not try to draw the reader's conclusions for them. My job as a writer is not to convince you one way or another, but to make you re-evaluate what you think you already know.


Argonaut: What was your goal in writing this book?


SD: First and foremost it is to receive a nice fat royalty check every six months. I'd be dishonest if I said otherwise. But aside from the pecuniary interests, my goal in writing the book was to tell a story worthy of the Templars.


I think that the men who started this "new knighthood" would be appalled by what has been written about them by modern authors.


October 13th, 2007 marks the 700th anniversary of the arrest of the Templars in France and my goal was to create a book that is a fitting and honest tribute to their memory.


Argonaut: Who is the audience for your book?


SD: The great thing about the Templars is that they draw a diverse audience. Certainly the book will appeal to those interested in medieval history in general and the Military Orders in particular. But given the current situation in the Middle East, I think the book will draw a wider audience than it normally would. I truly believe that Nobly Born is not so much a book about history, as it is a mirror through which to examine today's world. Without getting into any controversial politics, there are many similarities between the era of the Templars and the present era.


Argonaut: There are many influences that have an impact on what material makes it into the finished product. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?


The biggest challenge in any kind of writing is to know what to leave out and that is a difficult task when you are trying to cover a period of history from the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 638 AD through to the destruction of the Order some seven centuries later.


When Lewis contracted me to write the book, it was supposed to be 60,000 words and 200 illustrations. What they got was a 100,000 word book - including endnotes - and 200 illustrations. I actually chopped an entire chapter out of the book, which will wind up forming part of my next book for them.


So, I don't think there is anything that I'd change about Nobly Born, because Lewis was good enough to let me tell the whole story I set out to tell.


Argonaut: Many people don't realize the sometimes Herculean task it takes to research, write, edit, and publish a book. Can you share some of the obstacles you came across with regards to this book and how you overcame them?


SD: I think the biggest obstacle was the stacks of books lying on my office floor for the seven months it took me to write the book. I finally got tired of tripping over them all the time and, about three months into the project, put them in several boxes so that I could sort through them easier. Mind you, I still had to navigate around the boxes, but at least they didn't come crashing down in the middle of the night and wake everyone up.


Seriously though, doing the research is the biggest obstacle in any book of this nature. There is a considerable amount of time spent sorting through the various versions of historical chronicles, because even those writing close to the actual events had their own motives and biases. For example, when researching a particular battle, I tried to research both the Christian and Muslim accounts of the battle to see where they were similar.


Another challenge is the endnotes, which Nobly Born has a considerable amount of. There is so much information that one can put in the endnotes that would slow the narrative down, but are essential to tell the full story. It is also important to show that you are not simply pulling your information out of thin air.


Editing the book is another matter altogether. Lewis Masonic assigned an excellent editor [Jay Slater] to my book. This is the first time I've worked this closely with an editor and Jay did a fantastic job. I received three or four e-mails from him every day, asking me to clarify or expand on a particular passage. The problem in writing a book like this is that so much of what seems like common knowledge to me, isn't necessarily common knowledge to the reader. Jay was instrumental in driving that fact into my head and I think the book is much stronger because of it.


Argonaut: Who or what has influenced your writing and choice of subjects?


SD: I'd have to say that the biggest influence on my writing was my Grade 11 English teacher, who was the first person outside my family to see value in my writing. I was not a particularly dedicated student prior to having him as a teacher. However, having your efforts appreciated tends to change your focus a bit. Many years later, my youngest son had him as a teacher, and he remembered me - even pointing out to my son where I had sat in his class. That meant a hell of a lot to me and still does.


As to the subject of the books I write, it is a little more complicated. Obviously I'm going to write what is going to sell, because that is how I put food on my table. However, I was asked to submit proposals for three books to Lewis and passed on one of them because it didn't interest me - largely due to the fact that I didn't believe the premise of the proposed book.


Ultimately, and I think this is true with any writer, you choose your subject based on what you know, what you believe to be true and the story you want to tell.


Argonaut: What books have influenced your life the most?


SD: Almost every book I read influences my life to some degree. I think that is one of the great things about books. Whether I agree with the book or not, it forces me to reflect on how I feel about the subject.


But the one book that stands out in my mind is a book I read when I was sixteen - The Kryponite Kid by Joseph Torchia. The book tells the story of an abused Catholic boy, entirely through the letters he writes to Superman. It is a brilliantly creative book that is not only humorous, but extremely moving. Although I do not write fiction, I'd love to write something half as creative as Torchia's book one day.


Argonaut: Writing can be a lonely art; can you name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members?


SD: Writing is a lonely art - there are no two ways about it.


I tend to be extremely focused on what I do, no matter what it is that I am doing. When I have a project in front of me, it is, without exception, my sole focus and I work day and night on it until it is completed.


I think this is one of my best and worst qualities rolled into one.


There really isn't anyone outside of my immediate family who supported me through the project, because you have to keep so tight lipped about what you are writing that you do not reveal too many specifics.


There are of course exceptions, and I'm grateful to several friends and colleagues whom I could trust as a sounding board. Dr. Christian Tourenne, Gordon Napier and Christine Leddon, who moderate our discussion forum at TemplarHistory.com and also writers, were a great help with fact checking and their insights into the various maps and diagrams in the book.


Stephen McKim, who designed the cover art for the book, was not only supportive of the project, but a creative inspiration. But McKim's dedication to his art is an inspiration to anyone who knows him.


Argonaut: What current projects do you have in the making that you would like to share?


SD: I've actually got several projects in the works right now, but my top priority is the second book, which I'm under contract to write for Lewis masonic.


The book is called The Compasses and the Cross and is a history of the Masonic Knights Templar. It will trace the birth and growth of the Templar Orders in Freemasonry and how they spread across the Atlantic and, perhaps more importantly, how Templarism took on different forms in different countries.


Beyond that, my agent is presently shopping my book on the Morgan Affair, which will be the most comprehensive and unbiased book on the subject written to date. Although that is a biased opinion.


Argonaut: I heard you are doing some comic book work as well.


SD: Yes, I've written the first script for an ongoing comic book series on the Templars, but with my contract with Lewis Masonic, I've put it on the backburner until I can give it my 100 per cent focus.


I recently had an original illustrated story published in the second volume of the comic book anthology, Tales from the Harbor. The story is called, A Notice & A Caution: The Masonic Murder of William Morgan and is probably the strangest thing I've ever written. Essentially the tale is written as a children's story, as if written by a child. However, the piece is intended for an adult readership and is really a satirical look at this interesting era of Masonic history. The tale is part of a 340 page book, which is a collaboration of more than 30 Alberta artists and writers. I've agreed to write another comic story for their third instalment, due out in December of 2007, but it will have nothing to do with the Templars or the Freemasons.

http://www.stephendafoe.com/noblyborn/interviews.html
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