THE ROSARIO
Peter Sissons

Rosario originated from the Latin rosarium – a garland of roses. Spanish Roman Catholics’ Rosary is the name given to the Virgin Mary – Our Lady of the Rosary – or a chain of beads used in devotion.

Until recently, I had never written a word of creative writing. At school, I was not known for my English written acumen! As an architect and industrial designer, writing was a tool for producing reports or drawing explanations. Five years ago, I was told in no uncertain terms that I could not write a novel in a thousand years – this was a red-rag-to-a-bull challenge I could not walk away from! The Rosario is the result of that misplaced assessment of my English abilities.

I used to live in Oxford, where one of the biggest bookshops in the world is called Blackwells. I bought an inspirational self-help book on ‘How To Write A Novel’. I took the author’s advice, who suggested I found something or someone to ‘hang’ the story, plus adding to or changing a fact of history – a fact that no one knows about that could have happened and be credible.

I stayed in an ancient house that had carved wooden panelled doors in the lounge and bedroom; the owner told me they could have hung in the admiral’s cabin of a Spanish galleon that had been part of the Armada of 1588 that tried to invade England. Those doors became one of the ‘hooks’ that began my novel.

Having nearly been thrown out of English at school, I was astonished at how much I loved writing the story; chapter upon chapter flowed out of me without being conscious of the hours disappearing like water as I built the story. I knew I had found a fantastic art form to create pictures, characters and situations. And to answer the question – The Rosario took just over a year to write… and edit!

Knowing that my standard of English comprehension, sentence construction, spelling, and grammar was so low, my priority before churning out more chapters was to search for a very patient editor. Living near Oxford I had plenty of choice; however, I zeroed in on a lady whose surname was… Read. Emailing my first attempts to her resulted in a diplomatic suggestion that I begin some serious editing of the manuscript since I had written enough words to fill several books several times over! All beginner authors (I believe) see every word they have written as precious and cannot possibly be changed – I certainly felt that way, and the hatchet job I had to perform on my chapters was painful in the extreme. However, now I see editing as a fundamental tool to ensure my work is top-notch… and the process doesn’t hurt anymore!

I have travelled extensively in Europe, including visiting the wonderful city of Barcelona and its surrounding isolated mountainous regions; I felt having a fabulously wealthy upper-crust English villain living openly in luxury accommodation, with a secret base for his ‘extra-curricular’ activities in wild Andulusia, would make an original place to spin my yarn. Read more here about Spain in The Rosario.

The Rosario is sold as a Kindle and paperback through Amazon. There are no signed copies of the paperback except ones available at book signings or if they are sent to the author for my autograph and a dedication – send me an email for a price.

At the moment, The Rosario is only available in English.

There are plans for an audio book to be read by an actor with a marvelous range of character voices.

Even though the villain, Xavier Natanial Sinclair, was killed off in The Rosario, I have begun a second novel that will continue the adventures of Katie and Max and include some of the characters from the first book. The cast will be visiting different parts of the world, intertwined with new villains and breathtaking scenarios.

Being an artist (sissonsfineart.co.uk) I love painting chapter scenes using words, then imagining the characters – what they look like, how they talk and behave with people and how their strange habits and foibles can enhance my story.

I love delving into the details behind the people, organisations, history, places and objects found throughout The Rosario; I wanted the facts to be facts and then place them in the situations I had imagined.

I have been travelling to Devon, particularly Dartmouth and Kingswear, since the late 70s, so I am familiar with the towns, villages and surrounding countryside.

No, but I have a smattering of chapter ideas for a follow-on novel to The Rosario – which I am excited about. The pages are beginning to form beautifully on my laptop. I also write for e-magazines – have a look at my work in www.luxurialifestyle.com/a-visit-to-les-suites-hotel-at-the-cliff-bay-in-funchal-madeira/ and www.luxurylifestylemag.co.uk/drive-sail-and-fly/private-aviation-peter-sissons-tests-out-diamond-aircrafts-diamond-da62/ plus, I have articles on my writing website www.petersissonswriterauthor.com.