Wednesday 22 August 2012

Fergus writes... and I comment!

"To really understand the Journey of Anastasia you really need to read Anastasia – Where Eagles Dare. I will say no more than that at this stage as Rachael has not finished it yet.
Yes I am lucky because I know what is going to happen and you, dear reader, have to wait. Believe me it is worth waiting for. It will be Rachael Phillips' best to date. She gets better with every book.
The type of book Rachael has written has been well thought out and is the first of its kind. It is a dynamic, fast moving, action detective adventure.
It is not Miss Marple or the Famous Five. Miss Marple would be too slow for most children and it has to be fast moving and set in 2012. Anastasia is every Adolescent boy’s dream. She is lightening quick, beautiful, tall, slim with a pony tail.
She is the daughter of every mother who reads the books and all have their number one concern as to Anastasia’s welfare and health. Many say it is breaking their hearts to read of her struggles with Haemophilia.
For horse mad girls it is the next stage forward after the Kent Junior Mounted Police and follows Anastasia into her teenage years.
The surprising element in her followers are adult men most of whom have served in the Forces either conventional or Special Ops. They all say they like the way Rachael writes the books in a way that touches on operational details without giving the detail of a Tiger Tank Manual which is what you always get from male writers. Rachael does not bog you down with details or specifications.
So many have commented on Rachael’s research and detailed knowledge of Special Ops methods. Some ask how she knows specific Special Forces call signs such as Broken Arrow which should only ever be used in the utmost emergency.
How does she know the geography of American Units in the European Theatre? Where did she learn how to shoot like that? Above the head of female hostages to target the male behind with one shot.
Where did she find Laszlo and Zoltan from. Are they based on actual Foreign Legion members? Are they that deadly yet have a heart of Gold? What of Joe and John? They are two men who will never forget the trauma of Cambodia and Vietnam and what of their German American background? Well that is another story.
Anastasia has no tattoo. Why do Special Service Operatives have a tattoo under their armpit? It is very simple. It is their blood group in case they are shot. In the field there is no laboratory to match. You need to have a solution immediately.
Some ex military men say Anastasia is a well oiled and highly tuned Nemesis Operative. They all say they love Series III and are unanimous on one thing. They all say they wish Anastasia was their daughter and are most paternal in their support of her.
Anastasia has reached all ages and I am certain she will make it to the movie screen.
One thing all the men say is just how much they are revolted by the practise of stealing children and forced marriages and what a good job Rachael Phillips is doing to keep the matter in the Public Eye.
Well done Rachael! Fergus Wilson"

I have to comment on this because Fergus has been a great inspiration to me.  What started as a project to write about a girl and her horses began to take shape as my imagination went wild and then so did Fergus' as he began to input more with his knowledge of history and Special Ops.  He knows so many things that I wish I could include it all in the stories and then some!
I think for me I want to express the values of co-writing because together we seem to create stories that are exciting and that we both enjoy hugely!  As do the many readers who express their passion for our Anastasia stories.
While I research and am thorough about the facts I include in the stories the military knowledge is definitely from Fergus and some of the interesting and often strange characters in the stories?  Well let's say Fergus knows and has known many interesting people.  
In honesty Anastasia and her great friend Charlotte in the first stories are both borne from aspects of my character (yes I know! - I am so afraid of the dark!)
The characters and how they develop is borne from how I wrote the stories and the effect it had on Fergus I guess.  Where he has inspired me I like to think that I too have inspired him to make the characters and stories bigger and better with every one.
I never envisaged that Anastasia would grow so much and become so loved, not just by the co-authors, but by her huge following worldwide.
If you don't understand how a character can impact on people's lives then you clearly haven't read the stories.  Written with hard work, passion, knowledge and lots of love... the journey has begun.  Rachael Phillips

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