Neil Broadfoot’s Stirling, Edinburgh and Belfast

 Neil Broadfoot’s Stirling, Edinburgh and Belfast

Perfect timing to have Neil Broadfoot on The BookTrail. It’s the end (or is it?) of the Connor Fraser series and that deserves a bit of a celebration. So we ordered in some food and drink, got them comfortable and picked Neil’s brain as Connor sat inside it.

So, since Neil is a former journalist, got to tread carefully with the questions. They’ve got to be good, insightful and….journalist standard so, ahem, here goes…

(c) Neil Broadfoot

This is your seventh outing for Connor and you take him out of Stirling and head to Belfast. Why is Belfast important to not just the story but Connor’s story? What do you think drives Connor?

I spent a lot of time in Belfast as a student, so it’s a city I know well, and I love getting back there when I can. I always wanted to take Connor back to Belfast to explore that part of his personality, and I was musing on that when the first scene of the book came to me. After that, it just flowed from there. As for what drives Connor, I think he’s like the rest of us, flawed, but trying to do the best he can. He’s trying to get justice for his friend, trying to get over his difficulties with Jen, trying to do right by Simon and his gran. He’s also driven, I think, to prove his father wrong, and that he’s driven by more than just “the Fraser temper”.

No Man’s Land

The first book in the series kicks things off in style. What does this book mean to you and can you explain how it sets off the series?

Well, it was my first book with a big publisher, so my first hardback and audiobook, so that was great. I think what No Man’s Land does is raise the curtain on Connor’s world, lets people get to know him. It also established that Paulie, who I only ever thought of as a walkon character, as a real reader favourite.

Cowane Hospital

Cowane Hospital features in the novel as does the Wallace Monument. What research did you do to get the detail and and history right?

I spent a lot of time walking around the area, getting a feel for it. Visited the library, then turned to Captain Google to get the history and details right.

How did Connor come about?

In the beginning, he was a construction, really. When I landed on the idea of No Man’s Land, it became pretty obvious pretty quickly that the protagonist was going to have to be able to handle himself. I knew I wanted to bring guns into the plot, so who was capable and exposed to guns a lot? Well, a former PSNI officer would do that. Then I knew I wanted him to be physically capable, so the gym element of his personality came in. But I also wanted to make him human, and give him a reason to come back to Stirling other than just things exploding in Belfast. I was close to my gran, so I gave him one to be close to. After that, I’ve discovered new things about his with every book, and hopefully added layers to him as we’ve gone along.

How much of a role do you think that your journalist background plays in getting the dialogue, angle and plotting spot on?

For the dialogue, I suppose journalism taught me what sounded unnatural and wrong – you have to plough through a lot of achingly pre-prepared statements when working on a news desk! Also, speak to people, interviewing them, give you an ear for what’s right.

As for plotting, well, I don’t plot, which is another newsroom hangover, I suppose. you get a rough plan, but then the news cycle you’re dealing with turns on its head and you’re looking at something completely different, so flexibility is important. I think the biggest thing journalism taught me is that writing, while it never really feels like work, is a job. You have a deadline. You have a word count to hit. Go get to work.

Connor and Donna. Both very different but equally as strong. What makes them great separate and together?

Separately, they’re both strong capable characters driven to get results, Connor in his work. Donna in rebuilding her life after a fairly disastrous break-up. Together, I think they work as they don’t take any crap from each other, but they realise that working together.. works. They’re different enough as people that the contradictions complement each other, so together they see things they maybe wouldn’t have alone.

How much of the series had you planned or plotted at this point?

Well, I signed for a three-book deal with my publisher in the first instance, so I had to come up with another two synopses for the other books. That said, I promptly ignored them when better ideas came along! Planning really isn’t my thing, so I tend to wing it.

Come back soon for the second part of this mega interview with Neil and Connor.

BookTrail Boarding Pass: All the Broadfoot books

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