BY AVELLINA BALESTRI

Avellina Balestri: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

Paula Lofting: I have been writing fiction for some years now. I started when I went to uni later in life than most people to start training to be a mental health nurse. I have a lovely family of three grown up children and two grandchildren whom I love spending time with and sharing, whenever they are willing to listen, my love of history.

Avellina Balestri: What first inspired you to start writing?

Paula Lofting: I have loved reading and writing all my life but it was not until I was in my forties that I decided to actually turn a childhood dream into reality. As a child I loved to read, and I used to write little stories and lived them out in my head before I fell asleep at night. Unfortunately, I was never able to follow my dream because, being somewhat cack-handed, I couldn’t manage a typewriter and was too ashamed to send something off that I had written by hand so I gave it up. Getting into relationships and having kids, kind of replaced that idea, but it was always there in the back of my mind. It wasn’t till I decided to become a nurse that I realised I could learn to use a computer and so going to uni where I had to type, was a gateway to me deciding to write a book.

Avellina Balestri: How did you first become interested in history, and what are your favorite time periods?

Paula Lofting: I have always loved history as long as I could remember. I have my dad to thank for that. As a kid I used to love reading Rosemary Sutcliff books, heavens that woman was prolific. These books still remain my favourites, among them Dawn Wind and Eagle of the Ninth.

I grew up in Australia, so most of our primary school years were spent studying Australian colonial history which I really enjoyed. I don’t remember learning English history at school but I remember watching films like The Vikings, Camelot, Oliver!, Henry the Eighth and his Six Wives, Anne of a Thousand Days, Cleopatra and many other spectacular films. My favourite periods today are post Romano Britain, the eighteenth century (Leon Garfield books were amazing) Wars of the Roses, the English Anarchy, and more lately the Peninsular Wars, the English Civil War, and The American Revolution. But my number one favourite era of all is the Anglo-Saxon, especially the eleventh century. It was such an exciting and turbulent time, the stories fascinate me: battles, betrayal, love, intrigue, what’s not to like?

Avellina Balestri: What started you on the journey of historical fiction writing in particular?

Paula Lofting: I love history so much it was always going to be histfict. Going to the annual Battle of Hastings reenactment one year I became interested in the tales that surrounded that event. This was around the time I had rekindled my desire to write a book and I started reading up about Harold until one day, I just thought, this is what I want to do. 

Avellina Balestri: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of working within the historical fiction genre?

Paula Lofting: Just the times when you need to get from A to J but can’t work out how to write from B to I.

Avellina Balestri: How have you chosen which historical characters to feature in your books, and what made their stories resonate with you?

Paula Lofting: My Sons of the Wolf series centres around fictional characters but they interact with historic characters. So figures like Harold Godwinson and Edward the Confessor and other real personages have to be involved. Sometimes they insert themselves into the story and before you know it, they are part of the cast!

Avellina Balestri: What is your process in terms of research and bringing historical characters to life?

Paula Lofting: I read as much as I can about the period until I have a pretty good picture of them in my head. There is a paucity of recorded information in my period of interest which is the eleventh century, particularly on the English side so I need to look at the parts these characters play in the history to get a glimmer of what they might have been like according to their actions. This isn’t always very sufficient, so sometimes I have to imagine their personalities by how they fit into the fiction.

Avellina Balestri: What is your method to integrate fictional characters and situations into the historical setting?

Paula Lofting: Sometimes, but not always, I look at the events and see if I can insert my fictional characters into the real historical framework so I can assimilate them as seamlessly as possible.

Avellina Balestri: If you had the chance to convey a message to your favorite historical characters, what would it be?

Paula Lofting: I would definitely tell them to avoid the situations I know are going to cause them harm or their downfall. For instance, I would tell Harold not to go to Normandy and visit William the Bastard there. It was the last thing he should have done.

Avellina Balestri: What do you find more enjoyable/difficult: First drafts or editing/rewriting?

Paula Lofting: Editing, rewriting.

Avellina Balestri: How have you gone about publicizing yourself and your works?

Paula Lofting: Not very well I’m afraid. In the beginning I did some library talks and book signings but as time has gone by I have had so little time to do those things. I used to do lots of blog hops and visits to other people’s blogs. I’ve had a lot of offers but I’ve not had the time to write an article, so I really appreciate your offer of hosting me.

Avellina Balestri: What are some of the main themes/morals you would like readers to take away from your works?

Paula Lofting: Always be true to yourself and your beliefs. You can’t please all the readers in the world so it’s not worth trying to because for everyone you succeed in not offending, there will be just as many who will be offended. Write what is true to your characters and your historical setting without inserting modern sensibilities into a different world. Remember the past is another country.

Avellina Balestri: What is some advice you would give aspiring authors, especially those focusing on the historical fiction genre? 

Paula Lofting: Probably what I just said.

Avellina Balestri: Plug your socials, published works, and current projects!

Paula Lofting: A book about the life of Harold Godwinson, due to be released in January 2025 with Pen & Sword

Facebook Author Page https://www.facebook.com/Wulfsuna 

X – @paulalofting https://twitter.com/Paulalofting 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paulaloftingwilcox

Blog – www.paulaloftinghistoricalnovelist.wordpress.com 

Sons of the Wolf   myBook.to/Sonslive 

The Wolf Banner   myBook.to/WolfB 

WIPs

Wolf’s Bane, book 3 of the Sons of the Wolf series

Edmund Ironside, for Pen & Sword