I wrote ‘The Searcher’ because I love westerns, and they’ve fallen out of fashion. Simon Toyne Read Quote
If you look back to the earliest religions, before they got organized and started building churches and amassing wealth, they all sprang from the same place – they were inspired by nature. Simon Toyne Read Quote
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 Read Quote
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 Read Quote
If you do come across ‘Sanctus’ in a bookshop, please see past the cross on the cover and the sinister outline of a monk and just read the first page and make your own mind up. If it’s still not for you, then that’s fine; just put it back and walk away. Simon Toyne Read Quote
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 Read Quote
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 Read Quote
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 Read Quote
