For me, Cultural Exchanges kicked off on
Monday when Gary Day interviewed historical writer, spiritualist and former animal
anaesthetist, Manda
Scott. I was particularly interested in hearing about her research methods
as I'd recently written a historically-based short story for an
assignment.
Interestingly, she began writing her famous Boudica series, knowing nothing of Boudica but her name which she spelt wrongly! This was the result of a ‘vision quest’ undertaken when she felt
the balance between her spirituality and her scientific mind was uneven and that
she had lost her sense of self.
As I'm a sceptic of all things spiritual, I
was initially put off by her talk of Shamanism and spirit guides, but her
endearing personality and enthusiasm for what she does completely won me over.
Scott also has a delightfully rebellious streak which shone through. She couldn't hold back a cheeky grin when admitting that she announced her change from
crime to historical fiction in front of her former publisher “to piss her
off”.
This isn’t to say that it’s all fun and
games in the life of Manda Scott. She spoke of the hours spent following obscure
research trails: learning battle techniques; a night spent in a roundhouse; and
learning to make a sword. She then explained the ‘iceberg principal’ that the
reader never sees or should see the depths of research undertaken, and I
think that's the main point I took away.
All in all, an informative and fun
event.
- Hannah Maggs
