Author Tim Murgatroyd's talks about his work and new novel

Q: When did you first develop a love of literature and writing in particular?

A: As a boy I loved reading and immersing myself into imaginative worlds. From an early age, it seemed natural to start writing poems and stories of my own - I’ve been doing it ever since.

Q: Growing up in West Yorkshire, did you enjoy English at school?

A: English literature was one of my first loves and I was privileged to have great English teachers at school who encouraged my enthusiasm. There was less of an obsession with exam-passing back in those days, it was much more about creativity and the gift of great books. Brighouse Library was a treasure trove I explored as a boy and teenager.

Tim with his latest book Dust of the Earth Dust of the Earth is Tim's ninth novel

Q: What was the first novel you wrote and how did that come about?

A: My first novel, which I wrote in my early twenties, never got published. It’s lurking in a box in my study. I had a great time writing it, however, and got hooked on the process of dreaming up characters and what they do to solve their problems - in short, the buzz of story-telling.

Q: How many novels have you now written and what are their titles?

A: Dust Of The Earth is my ninth published novel. They are all a bit different from each other. I try to never repeat myself. First off, a trilogy set in Imperial China, Taming Poison Dragons, Breaking Bamboo and The Mandate of Heaven. Next, a standalone novel set in wartime Holland and contemporary New York, The Nazi’s Daughter. Then came a dystopian trilogy set in a futuristic North Yorkshire, Pilgrim Tale, Pilgrim Lost, Pilgrim City. Finally, a romantic tale of the silent cinema and post-First World War redemption set in York, The Electric.

Q: How long does it take to write a novel?

A: It varies, of course, depending on the book’s length and whether I get a fair wind of inspiration behind my sails. Dust Of The Earth, for example, has gone through many versions and editings. The first draft took me about a year, but then the really hard, painstaking work began, and over many years.

Q: Do you have a particular favourite and if so why?

A: My favourite is always the one I’m writing at the time. Writing never feels like a chore. I love all the stages of producing a novel, from planning to writing to publication. The same applies to the other genres I have explored as a writer. For example, I have written many poems and two plays. My first play, Sea Stones, was performed to capacity audiences in York last year and my next, Rip Tides, is scheduled for April 2025. The same applies to a weekly column I wrote for The Press in York and Bradford’s Telegraph & Argus for several years. Dust Of The Earth, however, is very close to my heart.

VIneyards in Napa Valley, the setting for Dust of the Earth Tim set a number of his previous novels in ancient China

Q: You set a number of novels in ancient China - what draws you to write about China and feature Chinese characters?

A: I wrote my first China-set novel due to a love of Classical Chinese poetry - in translation, I’m afraid. Its hero is a fictional poet. I find Chinese history and culture inspiring and educational. Researching the Taiping Rebellion which took place in 19th century China, for example, made me reassess all kinds of assumptions about the power of belief. The reality is that all human beings have far more in common than divides them. Writing about and imagining Chinese characters as a reader draws upon the shared aspects of human nature that unite us.

Q: What is Dust of the Earth about?

A: The blurb of the novel sums up the basic plot: California, 1877. When Catherine Bourchier flees an abusive husband in France, with her brattish young son and drunken servant in tow, she risks everything she owns on a failing vineyard in far-off America.

In the smouldering powder keg of San Francisco, Chi-en Shambles is exiled from his own Chinatown community. Can his extraordinary talents and natural decency win acceptance, and love where a man is measured by dollars, ignorance and prejudice?

An unlikely alliance offers each damaged outcast a final chance in the ‘New Eden’ of Napa Valley. But the past and its ghosts are never truly dead. And the dust of the earth never settles. Sometimes both come knocking at your door.

However, any novel is always about more than the characters and the dilemmas they face. Hopefully, the story provokes emotions and moral questions relevant to the reader’s own lived experience. California in the 1870s was, of course, very different from the modern world, but many of the pressures people experienced back then - for love, status, prejudice, migration, family, prosperity, belonging, the need for friendship, a secure place in the world - are timeless.

Q: How did the idea to base the story around a vineyard come to you?

A: I was drawn to both the complex art of winemaking as a practical thing, fascinating in itself, and the obvious symbolic possibilities. Dust Of The Earth is a poetic book alongside the action and romance. Nature is both a real physical force for the characters and a way of understanding our place in the world.

Q: How do you carry out research for your novels?

A: Dust Of The Earth was a real challenge when it came to research. How did they make wine in the Napa Valley? What were San Francisco and Napa Valley like in the 1870s? What happened in the astonishing Taiping Rebellion and why? Those were a fraction of the questions I needed to answer. I used many sources: books, websites, old photographs and maps, even holiday videos posted on YouTube to get a flavour of the landscape.

Q: What’s next?

A: I’m working on two novels, one a contemporary tale involving rewilding beavers, among many other things. The other is a sci-fi novel - I love the imaginative freedom it gives me. My next play, Rip Tides, is set for production next year.

Q: You have tutored groups of university students in creative writing - do you find that rewarding?

A: I worked for nearly 20 years as a secondary school English teacher, as well as doing creative writing for university students. It’s inspiring to see people reach into themselves for their own stories and start to get them down on paper. With writing, I often think the real reward is in the process of creation.

*Dust of the Earth is published by Myrmidon Books. Visit myrmidonbooks.com