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A Pattern Of Shadows - Terry Fairhead
A Pattern Of Shadows
Terry Fairhead
ISBN: 9781425142476
Trafford
Reviewed By Linda Waterson
Official Apex Reviews Rating:
Countless individuals all over the world have strong recollections of the images, events, and lasting impact of World War II. Hundreds of movies have been made, as well as books written, about the great conflict with the noble aim of ending tyranny across the globe; however, while notably fewer people have as strong a recollection of World War I, it doesn’t mean that the impact made by “The War To End All Wars” has had any less of an influence in shaping our common humanity.
In A Pattern Of Shadows, author Terry Fairhead sets out to display the real effects of such an impact, and he does so in admirable fashion. Chronicling the experiences of three young innocents whose lives are irrevocably changed during the run-up to and ultimate unfolding of the Great War, Fairhead puts a starkly human face on what would otherwise become a staid footnote in the annals of world history. Through the bonds of love, heartbreak, and endurance that unite the youngsters, Shadows presents the reader with a microcosm of the greater collective experience shared by the entire world during a time of fear and growing anxiety over a very uncertain future. In compelling fashion, Fairhead recounts in striking detail the multilayered dimensions of such a momentous time in world history.
For lovers of quality historical fiction rife with vivid characters and enrapturing storylines, A Pattern Of Shadows will surely not disappoint.
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Terry Fairhead (A Pattern Of Shadows)
Apex Reviews: Terry, thanks for joining us for this interview. We're looking forward to learning more about your book and other efforts.
What inspired you to put together this tale of love, heartbreak, and uncertainty during such a pivotal time in our common history?
Terry Fairhead: As a child growing up in the Thirties, I had access to a lot of horrific material relating to the so-called Great War. It had a terrible fascination for me, but I was sustained by a naïve belief that there was some sort of glory in it. Now, with my eightieth birthday just over a year away, I realise there is none. Very few people are involved in the decision to go to war and none of those that are have to do the fighting. The rest of us are just caught up in the machinery of madness. I wanted to write a book about how ordinary lives are changed by such decisions though, in the event, the story did not turn out quite as I expected. When you concentrate on character development, the character in question sometimes takes on a life of his or her own.
AR: Our reviewer commented on the fact that World War I was just as significant in shaping world history as World War II, but, for whatever reason, it's gotten much less mainstream attention over the years. Why do you think this is so?
TF: I think perhaps it is because it has had less attention in the US than it has in Europe. This is quite understandable for a number of reasons, not least because, unlike the Second World War, the First had its main battlefield on the Western Front and was thus, more traumatic for the European nations. This is not to say the US casualties were small or that its contribution to ending the war was not significant, but the scale of them in Britain, Germany, Italy and in particular, Russia and France was much greater. If we take the latter as an example, France mobilized 8.4 million men of whom 6.1 million (or 73.3%) became casualties. The equivalent figure for the US forces was 8% - a tremendous sacrifice, but not one that would have touched every family in the country as it did in France.
AR: In the book, you capture the essence of the world climate during the time of the war in a very vivid, realistic light. Did you perform much research prior to penning the tale?
TF: It took me around six years to write this book, a good 60% of which was taken up with research. When I started, it very quickly became clear how little I knew about the period, particularly the mundane things like prices, fashion, utilities, train networks and newspaper headlines – and this was just in my own country. I knew even less about similar things in the US, France and India. Someone who has read my book said he had never come across so many sources listed in a novel. This is probably true, but on my side, I wanted to acknowledge my gratitude for those sources being available to me and the generosity with which the information was given.
AR: As a teen, you actually served in the Royal Air Force. What was that experience like?
TF: I was conscripted into the RAF for a period of eighteen months in 1949. After 26 weeks of training (6 of them learning the arts of swinging a rifle around and marching on bleak parade grounds) I emerged as an Air Wireless Mechanic to serve out my time on a Transport Command airfield in North Hertfordshire. It is something I’m glad I did, but I’m not sure I enjoyed doing it. I was certainly glad to get out, but many years later, I drove past RAF Yatesbury, where I had done my technical training, and saw it was being demolished to make way for new housing. It was being put to good use, I thought and yet I had this feeling that a little bit of my past was disappearing before my eyes. It was almost as though I had not existed – crazy thought.
AR: A Pattern Of Shadows is your first published title (congratulations!). How does it feel to finally be in print?
TF: When I received the first draft from Trafford, I felt like a small child opening his present on Christmas Day. I still feel a bit like that.
AR: What kinds of reactions have you received to the book thus far?
TF: I have been really surprised at the positive reactions from so many people who have read the book. I thought it might be a bit embarrassing for friends who didn’t like it and imagined getting a few comments like: “Yes, it was… Quite long.” Contrary to what I expected though, I have had letters and ‘phone calls from all sorts of people telling me how much they enjoyed the book – sadly though, not from a publisher.
AR: How has your publishing experience been with Trafford?
TF: I have been very impressed, not least because they allowed me to lay out the book and design my own cover in order to reduce the cost of the printing. I was also fortunate enough to pick up on one of their offers which included for forty books for my own use in the overall price.
AR: In addition to being an author, you're also an accomplished playwright. Please share more with our readers about your endeavors in that field.
TF: I am flattered you use the word “accomplished” although I am not sure I deserve it. I do enjoy writing plays, because I like dialogue, but I only started a few years ago – perhaps when I was in my late sixties. A friend of mine – a member of our local amateur dramatic society - who was having a long stay in hospital had got hold of a couple of my computer-generated books of short stories and wrote to me suggesting I might like to turn one of them into a one-act play. This I duly did and as a result, joined the said society (Meopham Players). Since that time, I have written several more one-acts, two of which have actually been performed and two full length plays. The first of these was performed by Meopham Players in 2006 while the second will open in February of next year.
AR: What's next for you?
TF: Good question. Over the years, I have got more and more involved with Meopham Players and have been writing their monthly newsletters since 2003. I also run the web site, which, if you are interested is www.meophamplayers.co.uk, and I am pretty active in most of the four productions which we put on each year.
I would like to start on another novel, and I do have a few ideas, but at the moment, I am still busy trying to get the current one off the ground.
And I will write another play – sometime.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
TF: Somebody asked me a few years ago if I was “driven” to write, a question which made me picture myself starving in a garret somewhere as I typed my fingers down to the marrow. The answer, of course, is certainly not. I enjoy writing and the little world in which I sometimes lose myself as I delve into a character’s development. But, it is an adventure that I control. It doesn’t control me. It just makes me happy.
AR: Thanks again, Terry, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!
Terry Fairhead
ISBN: 9781425142476
Trafford
Reviewed By Linda Waterson
Official Apex Reviews Rating:
Countless individuals all over the world have strong recollections of the images, events, and lasting impact of World War II. Hundreds of movies have been made, as well as books written, about the great conflict with the noble aim of ending tyranny across the globe; however, while notably fewer people have as strong a recollection of World War I, it doesn’t mean that the impact made by “The War To End All Wars” has had any less of an influence in shaping our common humanity.
In A Pattern Of Shadows, author Terry Fairhead sets out to display the real effects of such an impact, and he does so in admirable fashion. Chronicling the experiences of three young innocents whose lives are irrevocably changed during the run-up to and ultimate unfolding of the Great War, Fairhead puts a starkly human face on what would otherwise become a staid footnote in the annals of world history. Through the bonds of love, heartbreak, and endurance that unite the youngsters, Shadows presents the reader with a microcosm of the greater collective experience shared by the entire world during a time of fear and growing anxiety over a very uncertain future. In compelling fashion, Fairhead recounts in striking detail the multilayered dimensions of such a momentous time in world history.
For lovers of quality historical fiction rife with vivid characters and enrapturing storylines, A Pattern Of Shadows will surely not disappoint.
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Terry Fairhead (A Pattern Of Shadows)
Apex Reviews: Terry, thanks for joining us for this interview. We're looking forward to learning more about your book and other efforts.
What inspired you to put together this tale of love, heartbreak, and uncertainty during such a pivotal time in our common history?
Terry Fairhead: As a child growing up in the Thirties, I had access to a lot of horrific material relating to the so-called Great War. It had a terrible fascination for me, but I was sustained by a naïve belief that there was some sort of glory in it. Now, with my eightieth birthday just over a year away, I realise there is none. Very few people are involved in the decision to go to war and none of those that are have to do the fighting. The rest of us are just caught up in the machinery of madness. I wanted to write a book about how ordinary lives are changed by such decisions though, in the event, the story did not turn out quite as I expected. When you concentrate on character development, the character in question sometimes takes on a life of his or her own.
AR: Our reviewer commented on the fact that World War I was just as significant in shaping world history as World War II, but, for whatever reason, it's gotten much less mainstream attention over the years. Why do you think this is so?
TF: I think perhaps it is because it has had less attention in the US than it has in Europe. This is quite understandable for a number of reasons, not least because, unlike the Second World War, the First had its main battlefield on the Western Front and was thus, more traumatic for the European nations. This is not to say the US casualties were small or that its contribution to ending the war was not significant, but the scale of them in Britain, Germany, Italy and in particular, Russia and France was much greater. If we take the latter as an example, France mobilized 8.4 million men of whom 6.1 million (or 73.3%) became casualties. The equivalent figure for the US forces was 8% - a tremendous sacrifice, but not one that would have touched every family in the country as it did in France.
AR: In the book, you capture the essence of the world climate during the time of the war in a very vivid, realistic light. Did you perform much research prior to penning the tale?
TF: It took me around six years to write this book, a good 60% of which was taken up with research. When I started, it very quickly became clear how little I knew about the period, particularly the mundane things like prices, fashion, utilities, train networks and newspaper headlines – and this was just in my own country. I knew even less about similar things in the US, France and India. Someone who has read my book said he had never come across so many sources listed in a novel. This is probably true, but on my side, I wanted to acknowledge my gratitude for those sources being available to me and the generosity with which the information was given.
AR: As a teen, you actually served in the Royal Air Force. What was that experience like?
TF: I was conscripted into the RAF for a period of eighteen months in 1949. After 26 weeks of training (6 of them learning the arts of swinging a rifle around and marching on bleak parade grounds) I emerged as an Air Wireless Mechanic to serve out my time on a Transport Command airfield in North Hertfordshire. It is something I’m glad I did, but I’m not sure I enjoyed doing it. I was certainly glad to get out, but many years later, I drove past RAF Yatesbury, where I had done my technical training, and saw it was being demolished to make way for new housing. It was being put to good use, I thought and yet I had this feeling that a little bit of my past was disappearing before my eyes. It was almost as though I had not existed – crazy thought.
AR: A Pattern Of Shadows is your first published title (congratulations!). How does it feel to finally be in print?
TF: When I received the first draft from Trafford, I felt like a small child opening his present on Christmas Day. I still feel a bit like that.
AR: What kinds of reactions have you received to the book thus far?
TF: I have been really surprised at the positive reactions from so many people who have read the book. I thought it might be a bit embarrassing for friends who didn’t like it and imagined getting a few comments like: “Yes, it was… Quite long.” Contrary to what I expected though, I have had letters and ‘phone calls from all sorts of people telling me how much they enjoyed the book – sadly though, not from a publisher.
AR: How has your publishing experience been with Trafford?
TF: I have been very impressed, not least because they allowed me to lay out the book and design my own cover in order to reduce the cost of the printing. I was also fortunate enough to pick up on one of their offers which included for forty books for my own use in the overall price.
AR: In addition to being an author, you're also an accomplished playwright. Please share more with our readers about your endeavors in that field.
TF: I am flattered you use the word “accomplished” although I am not sure I deserve it. I do enjoy writing plays, because I like dialogue, but I only started a few years ago – perhaps when I was in my late sixties. A friend of mine – a member of our local amateur dramatic society - who was having a long stay in hospital had got hold of a couple of my computer-generated books of short stories and wrote to me suggesting I might like to turn one of them into a one-act play. This I duly did and as a result, joined the said society (Meopham Players). Since that time, I have written several more one-acts, two of which have actually been performed and two full length plays. The first of these was performed by Meopham Players in 2006 while the second will open in February of next year.
AR: What's next for you?
TF: Good question. Over the years, I have got more and more involved with Meopham Players and have been writing their monthly newsletters since 2003. I also run the web site, which, if you are interested is www.meophamplayers.co.uk, and I am pretty active in most of the four productions which we put on each year.
I would like to start on another novel, and I do have a few ideas, but at the moment, I am still busy trying to get the current one off the ground.
And I will write another play – sometime.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
TF: Somebody asked me a few years ago if I was “driven” to write, a question which made me picture myself starving in a garret somewhere as I typed my fingers down to the marrow. The answer, of course, is certainly not. I enjoy writing and the little world in which I sometimes lose myself as I delve into a character’s development. But, it is an adventure that I control. It doesn’t control me. It just makes me happy.
AR: Thanks again, Terry, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!