David Shoesmith
Origins of Conflict
David lives in a village in East Northamptonshire with his Wife and Spud the Cavachon. Their five children have now all flown the nest.
He began his career working for Coca-Cola in senior management roles and after twenty years, decided to swap a suit and tie for a pair of steel toe-capped work boots and started a landscaping and groundworks company. He now runs the company with his wife, Lin (the real boss, according to her tea mug at work).
Although David has always been an avid reader, he only discovered his passion for writing eight years ago. If he’s not writing, he’s plotting.
What made you enter the Cheshire novel Prize?
Cheshire Novel prize quickly established themselves as pioneers in writing comps and the appeal of feedback from multiple readers was a huge draw to me. I loved the way CNP make a real connection with their audience using social media, with constant updates, guidance and events, all adding to the excitement of the prize. I entered the 2022 comp, got LLL and some great (and insightful feedback). With so much encouragement from the CNP team, I decided to re-enter the comp in 2023 with a new, heavily revised draft.
What did it feel like when you were LL and SL?
There’s a section in my phone notes called ‘2023 Fam goals’. My Wife and I wrote ours, after a wine or three on New Year’s Eve 2022. I wrote: ‘Get long-listed for CNP’. My Wife took my phone and changed it to ‘Get Short-listed’ (she also added: finish tiling the bathroom).
When I saw my title come up on the LL announcement, I was at work. My wife and I and a couple of staff members were crowded around my phone watching the presentation. After a tortuous wait through fourteen titles, mine appeared, and I’m sure I scared the birds out of the trees with Yessssssss and some (many) expletives.
Six weeks later, the shortlist announcement left me speechless. It’s a huge confidence boost and validation that my novel is heading in the right direction. It does still feel very surreal and something I’ve only dreamed about until now.
What was the reaction like from those around you? Family? Friends?
My family and friends have always been encouraging, but most of all, they’ve always had faith in me. When they found out I had been LL’d, then SL’d, they were ecstatic. As I write this, I’ve had four messages asking me to remind them when the winner will be announced – no pressure!
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
My favourite question is ‘why’ and specifically, why does conflict happen (in any walk of life from conflict in relationships to invasions of independent states)?
When I stumbled across a newspaper article and spotted a quote from a Middle East terror group, my interest piqued.
“We await the armies of Rome, whose defeat will initiate the countdown to the apocalypse”.
The article claimed that Western intelligence powers had dismissed this rhetoric because there are no ‘Armies of Rome’ and interpreted it as simply relating to ‘the armies of the west’
This gave me the idea for Origins of Conflict – what if there really was an army of Rome? A new, modern-day threat to peace that could trace its origins back to the Roman Empire.
How long did it take you to write it?
I completed the first draft in five months in 2015. It was rubbish, but I didn’t know that then. Eleven drafts and eight years later, it is in its best shape (so far). Criticism and feedback fuelled my novel to get it to where it is now.
What’s it about?
At its heart is a flawed, divorced, soon-to-retire MI5 officer who hasn’t seen his children for five years. He’s faced with an emerging threat to the UK and soon learns that he and his family are historically linked to a new terror group. In a race against time to avert devastating attacks on the UK, he is faced with the conflict of saving either his family or his country, but not both. His emotional journey takes him to a realisation that to save his country, he must save his family. The story is a ‘Dan Brown meets Chris Ryan’ thriller laced with betrayal, jeopardy, family dynamics and the intricacies of terror.
What’s your writing routine?
I’m more of a winter writer, summer reader. Although I work full-time, October through to March is less hectic and I can commit more time to writing. Generally, I will write most evenings for 3-5 hours at a time.
What’s next for you?
Actively pursuing representation is my priority, but I’m also at the planning stages of a sequel to ‘Origins of Conflict’. I want to expand the characters and their journeys and although my Novel is a standalone, I believe it has series potential. I’m also 20,000 words into my next WIP, a crime/thriller about a brother and sister on opposite sides of the law – think Female Dexter!
Have you done any writing courses?
I haven’t done any formal writing courses but have absorbed everything writing communities have to offer. I’ve had three complete manuscript assessments since 2015 and four Agent 121’s. All of which have enabled me to fine tune (or completely overhaul) my work. I have had to ‘kill’ many ‘darlings’ over the years.
What are your two favourite books and why?
My first would be ‘Night Fall’ By Nelson DeMille. I still talk about this book now, 15 years after first reading it. It’s a fiction based around the events surrounding a 747 exploding off the east coast of America in 1996. I remember the news footage of the tragedy and the speculation surrounding it. DeMille weaves a story around this that offers an alternative to the investigation and news reports about the event. It’s superbly written and ends with a totally unexpected twist that feeds the misinformation and conspiracy that many believed smeared the investigation 20 years ago.
The second would be either ‘Origins of Conflict’ By David Shoesmith, because it’s just ace (always hustling), or ‘The Black Flags of ISIS’ – A Pulitzer prize winning non-fiction by Joby Warrick. I found this a fascinating narrative surrounding the origins of the Middle-East conflict, from the western coalition invasions of Iraq and the aborted Russian invasion of Afghanistan, right back to the UK and French influences in Jordan after the first world war. Without giving judgement, it lays out historical insights into how the cauldron of conflict was born in that part of the world.
What advice do you have for any aspiring writers?
I’ve found my writing journey to be about taking little steps and continually moving my writing skills forward. I thought my first draft was amazing at the time but quickly learned it was pants! So, my advice would be to work on your resilience as much as your writing. Put your heart and soul into your novel but don’t leave them in it once you’ve finished. Soak up as much feedback as you can. There’s so much support and guidance available from the writing community that the answers to writing a great novel are all there. Stay grounded and take the knocks, there may be plenty.