Sandman is the latest installment in my DI Marsh crime
series. The title character is an Afghani veteran of two wars: the war against
the Soviets in the eighties and then the War on Terror. He is bitter, feeling
betrayed, dehumanised and robbed of his honour, his country and his family. He
blames the West for his plight and embarks on a mission of revenge. DI Gillian
Marsh is pitted against him and his collaborators in a deadly game of cat and
mouse on the periphery of Salisbury Plain.
Terrorism has become a hallmark of our times. When devising
a theme for each of my DI Marsh installments, I think of such hallmarks, be it
homelessness, road rage, the loneliness of old age or the rise of far-right
extremism. I want my books to reflect the times we live in. Some of these
themes I understand better than others. Some of them I experienced myself,
others I witnessed. But getting inside the head of a hardened terrorist and
understanding his motives so that I could write about him with authority was a
tall order. I didn’t want to botch it.
As much as I had some background knowledge of some of my
characters, such as the Zimbabwean farmer or the Polish train driver, I had to
research others in order to do them justice. I watched documentaries about the
Falklands War so that Oscar’s nightmares could touch a nerve – and that happen
when a retired Army officer validated my descriptions as accurate and praised
their authenticity.
In order to reliably convey Sandman, I delved into the
history of Afghanistan. I didn’t struggle with understanding the mentality of a
nation subjugated by the Soviets – that was easy, I know of it first-hand.
Sandman’s personal journey through two wars was harder. I am eternally grateful
to Rodric Braithwaite for writing Afghantsy, The Russians in Afghanistan
1979-89. I read that book from cover to cover, took notes, re-read
passages, and I gained a glimpse of what may be crossing the mind of an Afghan
who had lost everything apart from his expertise in killing. I hope Sandman captured the essence of the mind of a terrorist.
Links to my books:
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anna-Legat/e/B01HA598FK?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1577988311&sr=8-1
Bio: A globe-trotter and Jack-of-all-trades, Anna Legat has
been an attorney, legal adviser, a silver-service waitress, a school teacher
and a librarian. She read law at the University of South Africa and Warsaw
University, then gained teaching qualifications from Wellington College of
Education (Victoria University, New Zealand). She inhabited far-flung places
where she delighted in people-watching and collecting precious life experiences
for her stories. She writes, reads, lives and breathes books and can no longer
tell the difference between fact and fiction.
Critique Service for Writers
Writing Competitions
Join the D.I. Sterling Mailing List for News, Updates and Giveaways
No comments:
Post a Comment