Interview: Brian McPhee, Author of All Visible Things #Interview

Brian McPhee lived in Glasgow, Scotland until he was 21, when he moved to London. In his early 40s, he emigrated with his wife and daughter to Maryland, USA. After a successful career in IT marketing and management, he and his wife moved once more, to Monpazier in southwest France. All Visible Things is his third novel.

WEBSITE: https://www.ententepublishing.com/

I have never seen Maestro Leonardo so angry. He announced his return from the home of Signor del Giocondo by slamming the door. He then swept his eyes around our bottega before fixing on Salaì. In a loud and harsh voice, he scolded Salaì for the untidiness of his workspace, then cast him out with a command to stay away until he could swear an oath to mend his ways. Maestro then stormed across to Agostino and berated him for the slovenliness of his vestments, driving him out also, declaring he should return only when newly bathed and attired in fresh clothes. I confess, at this I became extremely anxious, worried that I too would incur Maestro’s wrath for some fault.
Fortunately, his harsh words with Salaì and Agostino had sated my master’s temper, although not his anger.
--From ALL VISIBLE THINGS

 

 

Welcome to The Writer's Life!  Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process.  Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning?  When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

I became aware of Leonardo da Vinci’s unfinished painting, La Scapigliata (The Lady with Disheveled Hair) and was completely charmed by it. I then realized that hers was the face in several of Leonardo’s religious paintings – Virgin of the Rocks, Virgin and Child with St. Anne and The Lansdowne Madonna. The face is almost certainly an idealized representation of innocent feminine beauty, but what if she was in fact a real woman? This was the initial spark for All Visible Things late in 2017.

Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?

In the online world of physical and ebooks, I think reviews are more important than cover art.

How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

One particular difficulty was synchronizing the modern and period stories and actual events. As the modern characters gradually uncover the Renaissance material, their findings prompt contemporary events. However, while the Renaissance diary covers many years, the modern tale is measured in weeks and months. I was also keeping close to the historical events in Leonardo’s life. I eventually bought an artist’s pad of oversize paper and this was incredibly useful in charting the interweaving plotlines. I started with the actual events, built my Renaissance tale around them and paced the contemporary episodes to fit within that framework.

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

I’m currently working on The Dance We Danced. It is set during and after World War II and explores the contrast between the intensity of wartime experiences and relationships and the sudden return to post-war daily life. The title is inspired by a quote from Gabriel García Márquez–No matter what, nobody can take away the dances you've already had.

Going on past experience, it should be finished around the middle of 2021.

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

According to his contemporaries, Leonardo was a wonderful singer and a virtuoso on a period instrument rather like a lyre.

Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

That our heroes have feet of clay, but we can love and admire them anyway.

  

Thank you again for this interview!  Do you have any final words?

In historical fiction it is more important to be true than to be accurate.