Elsye Harwood

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The Custodians’ Series

In the last week of the summer holidays in 2014, my husband sat down and binge watched every single episode of The West Wing. I had started to watch it as well, but something pulled me away after the first series.

What distracted me from this brilliant programme was not only the imminent end of the holidays but that I‘d started to write a story about two men riding across the desert and finding the ruined city of Persepolis. I have no idea why or how this image came to me. But it did and within a few days I’d written a short story which is now chapters two to ten of The Kin

All my stories before this point had roots in something tangible, they’ve either been inspired by songs I’ve heard or images I’ve seen which have set a story running in my head. But I’d never met Junius or Marius before. They simply rode out of my head and went straight down on to the screen. They weren’t even called that originally either. I struggled at first to name them and had to do a lot of research on Roman names which are not at all straightforward.

The ironic thing is that though I studied Classical Civilisations for my degree , I always opted to do Greek history and avoided the Romans as much as possible. I’ve never been a fan of Roman history, probably because of the mass killing of animals for entertainment. I found them dull, uninspiring, logical and predictable in contrast to the erratic, inquisitive and imaginative Greeks which is much more in line with my own personality.

As mother always said when they were handing out logic I was at the back of the queue, but made damn sure I was at the front for imagination. I don’t think she meant it as a compliment at four o clock in the morning when I had yet another nightmare.

So suddenly there was I doing masses and masses of research about a people I’d avoided for many years. The only thing I can put this sudden interest down to is the brilliant BBC TV series I Claudius, which I watched for three years on the trot whilst teaching Ancient History GCSE. The students started off bored and unenthusiastic about watching it, but by the end of the series they were watching it themselves on You Tube at home. They also achieved good results in the exams. Shame about the coursework.

I wrote the whole story very quickly, but then my husband suggested it'd be fun to know these characters in a modern setting. But instead of the standard trope of the slow revelation of everyone's origin just get it out of the way and learn about it as the initiate does.

So that’s how David Lowe and the Custodians’ of The Order of Arcane Knowledge came into being. One day they weren’t there, the next they were and a whole new world had opened up for me, which I often go back to as there are so many possibilities and I like my characters.

In fact a lot of their stories have come from other people suggesting ideas to me which I’ve taken and adapted to fit into their world. I hope this series continues for a while yet because I haven’t even really started to explore my favourite periods in History. It has the scope to allow me to go and play anywhere and when I like.

I have a stack of short stories that may well grow into something else later on. I'm still learning my chops as a writer so the practice and reflection do me good but most of all it's fun. The pulling of threads out of my head like cooling fondue cheese is far more pleasant than it sounds.

Hope you enjoy/ed them and any thoughts you have are welcome. Find me on Twitter, Facebook or email me if you share my horror of social media.

Elsye Harwood

The Custodian Series

The Custodians Series