NOVELS
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Alan Moreton is the author of The Book Traveller, the Classic Fiction Fantasy adventures of Thomas Howard.

Be sure to download the Chapter Sampler PDF and read the  opening chapters of my book The Book Traveller. Here is what some LibraryThing members had to say after reading them:

“I loved it!”  - MusicMom41

“It is already a great story!”  - furdog

“Love the story and I am going to teach myself how to star your list so I can come back to it. It makes me want a reading chair, which I do not have!”  - cerievans1

“What a brilliant opening! Looking forward to reading more” – judylou

“this is fabulous!” – allynk

“I'm enjoying reading what you are writing.” – Whisper1

“I am completely enchanted.” – Suslyn

“I just now found your first two chapters and they are wonderful!” billiejean

INTERVIEW

 

Who is your favourite character in The Book Traveller and why?

I have two. The first is Sky, Thomas’ Staffordshire Blue Bull Terrier.

He is such a comic character and is a counterpoint to the seriousness of the story. I enjoyed writing about him enormously.

The second has to be the charismatic Heather Lee, who, while she is basically a tragic heroine is a very complex and fascinating character.

How did you come up with the title, The Book Traveller, for this book? It is such an unusual title.

I was posting on LibraryThing and a member happened to mention that another member had done some good armchair travelling. Somehow the idea of an armchair called The Book Traveller immediately presented itself to me and I began writing the book. It was one of those moments of inspiration that came unbidden and sparked my imagination.

Thomas, the hero of the book becomes six characters in The Book Traveller. How and why did you choose the particular books that you did?

As the story took shape in my mind, I knew that I wanted to tell the story of the relationship between Thomas, Heather Lee and Penelope.  Each book progresses the story and is told from Thomas’ point of view and conveys a particular trait of Heather Lee’s and provides Thomas with an insight into his own character. Heather Lee was both proud and prejudiced at the outset and it seemed natural therefore to start with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in which Thomas becomes Darcy. Also, it tells the story of two lovers meeting and thus provided a good beginning.

Without wanting to give too much of the plot away, the next book, Wuthering Heights, in which Thomas becomes Heathcliff, tells the story of star-crossed lovers and it is this element of the story that I wanted to use as a springboard for this section of the book.

The third book, in which Thomas becomes Sherlock Holmes, tells the story of Irene Adler in A Scandal in Bohemia. It is all about deception and as  this plays a major part in The Book Traveller I knew it would be ideal to convey this.

The fourth book, in which Thomas becomes Charles Bovary in Madame Bovary, tells the story of a dissatisfied woman and her ineffectual husband. This element of dissatisfaction is an important one in my book., and thus Madame Bovary illustrated it perfectly.

The fifth book, in which Thomas becomes Dr. Proudie in The Barchester Chronicles, explores the subject of pride in the section I have chosen. Both Heather Lee and Sky display attitudes of pride.

The sixth and final book, in which Thomas becomes Rochester in Jane Eyre, provides the backdrop to both tragedy and redemption and it seems to provide a perfect ending to the book.

Where did you write The Book Traveller?

For a book with traveller in the title is seems appropriate that I wrote almost the entire book while travelling on the train to London every day.

What was the hardest part about writing The Book Traveller?

I wanted to come up with a completely original treatment of the books I was working with. I had no interest in plagiarising. I wanted to merely use the ideas in the six books to convey certain attitudes and characteristics of my original creations, Thomas, Heather Lee, Penelope and even Sky. I decided to give Thomas the leading role and so all the material is re-written from his viewpoint. This was both challenging and rewarding.

 

Do you have plans for a follow-up to The Book Traveller?

I have written The Messenger, a further Classic Fiction Fantasy based on the two Alice books by Lewis Carroll as a follow up to The Book Traveller and it will be published later in 2012.

He is also the author of At the World’s End, an Historical novel set at the end of the Victorian era during the Boer War and the suffragette Movement. To be published in 2012.

He is also the author of The Confession of Sandy Harris, a Rev. Dr. Roger Ratcher mystery (see the link above).

 The Temptation of Anthony Stone is a further investigation of the Rev. Dr. Roger Ratcher on which the author is currently working. Scheduled to be published in 2012.

NON-FICTION

Rendezvous in Russia: An Internet Romance tells the story in emails of the author’s romance and subsequent meeting with his wife in Russia. This will be published in 2012.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

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