Epic stories, especially ‘quest narratives’ like ‘The Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey,’ are brilliant structures for storytelling. The quest lends itself to episodic storytelling. – Simon Toyne
I hate it when characters know things but only reveal them when it’s convenient to the story. I’d never do that. That’s cheating. – Simon Toyne
‘Sanctus’ deals with creation myths in every culture. It fascinates me that all cultures, evolving independently, have similar models of mankind’s origins, of a Greater Being, of the flood, and so on. It’s amazing how they crop up time and time again. – Simon Toyne
Quest stories are about the oldest form of narrative there is, and they’re also the perfect metaphor for life because we’re all on a journey trying to figure out where we’re going and who we are. ‘Solomon Creed’ is just doing it with more danger and guns involved. – Simon Toyne
I knew from my television work that I could sit down and put words on paper but didn’t know if I had the talent to tell a story in novel form. – Simon Toyne
I love researching all sorts of weird stuff. I always say, ‘God help me if the FBI came across my Internet search history.’ – Simon Toyne
The author always knows more than the reader does at the start of a novel, and gradually, they share that knowledge with the reader – that’s storytelling. – Simon Toyne
I looked back at the years since I’d left college and thought of the list of things I’d have liked to do. I’d always wanted to write a book – not a small undertaking. I never felt I had the time or creative energy to spare in order to write one as well as I wanted. – Simon Toyne
One of the things that made me try writing novels was I could take time off to be with the kids. That’s the practical side of what I love about the writing life. – Simon Toyne
It’s interesting to note that when something like a virus tries to poison us, the first thing our bodies do is heat up. We burn away the infection. Maybe that’s what Earth is doing to us. – Simon Toyne
‘Sanctus’ was done on speculation. I had no agent or publisher. I was being sensible, I suppose, by writing a standalone novel. I figured if that one didn’t work, no one would be interested in reading a sequel. – Simon Toyne
It is easy to be inspired by history when you’re living in a part of it and allow that to seep into your writing: having said that, a minimalist room with no distractions is often better; the most exciting visions should already be in your head. – Simon Toyne
‘The Searcher,’ as the title suggests, is about someone in search of something, and I have always loved quest stories and so was drawn to writing one myself. – Simon Toyne
As a writer, I always try as hard as possible to get out of the way of the story, so maybe that’s the most important thing my readers should know – I’m all about the story, not about the ego. – Simon Toyne
The largest two books I’ve ever read more than once are ‘Bleak House’ by Charles Dickens and ‘The Stand’ by Stephen King, about 1,200 pages each. – Simon Toyne
I figured if I write a modern thriller but spliced in the DNA of a classic western – the drifter who comes into town with secrets – I could do something interesting with both genres. Westerns are also an incarnation of the classic knight errant tale, the lone warrior with a moral code, and I love those types of stories. – Simon Toyne
‘Solomon Creed’ is a man who knows everything about everything but nothing about himself and is on a journey of redemption to try and reclaim his identity. – Simon Toyne
If you look at the great Westerns, and at Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology, they all contain elements in common: a harsh landscape; demons or outlaws trying to stop or kill the protagonist; and there are mythical legends at their core, innate in all cultures. – Simon Toyne
As a television producer, you do a lot of writing – drafting proposals for pilot shows and other things, so yes, a good deal of writing was involved. – Simon Toyne
When I set out to write ‘Sanctus,’ all I wanted to do was craft a piece of high quality entertainment. – Simon Toyne
My family and I live in a wing of a Georgian mansion in East Sussex, which was built in the 1780s and fell into disrepair. It was rescued in the Seventies and carved into six terrace houses. – Simon Toyne
I think ‘The Searcher’ is a departure from my first because it’s less grounded in religion and is far more rooted in the mythic tradition: more of an existential thriller where the main character is actually the central mystery, and his journey is all about trying to figure himself out. – Simon Toyne
