Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
I have the joy of bringing to you a conversation I *loved!* engaging in with Susan Spann about her convictingly brilliant Cosy Historical Mystery series: Hiro Hattori! This series has truly touched my heart over the years, as the closer we follow the life and adventures of Father Mateo and Hiro Hattori, the more we become attached to these two men who have forged an incredible friendship together in 16th Century Japan!
What is most incredible in their friendship is how they come from two different cultural & religious worlds – sometimes, those differences seek to draw a wedge between them or act as a fracture of trust or respect; as they do have their moments where they are at odds. However, the beauty of the series is how each of them chooses to decide to ‘find the middle ground’, of keeping their friendship intact despite those differences and of finding personal growth through their relationship as the longer they know each other, the more their individual empathy & understanding grows.
Yesterday, Ms Spann was meant to be the guest for #histficchat (the information on this being rescheduled follows this interview!) wherein, I tried to pitch-hit for her to give the chatters a bit of information about why I love the series & at the heart of it, what truly pulls me back into the chapters of each new installment which is published. Let me share a few of those tweets to give you an idea of why I love talking about this lovely series:
For those who love #historicalmysteries, Ms Spann set her series in Feudal 16thC Japan where we follow in the footsteps of the lovable Father Mateo (a Jesuit Priest) and Hiro Hattori (a ronin samurai) as they travel & solve crimes #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
What endeared me to the #HiroHattori series is the friendship between Father Mateo & Hiro; they come from different cultures/religious backgrounds & yet, together they have forged a rather unique friendship; plus Hiro protects the priest on their travels #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
You'll find Father Mateo is a compassionate priest, someone willing to go the mile to help someone else (even outside his culture) find the truth or to honour the dead by resolving their untimely death (hence he loves to sleuth) whilst Hiro has a complicated history #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
It could be? I'm not as familiar w/ this British series but I know it's historical. You get a wonderful backdrop of 16thC Japanese history, cultural heritage, traditional foods & it's how the mysteries are set against the political history is smashing as well #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
Yes, he is a special kind of ninja – blessedly Ms Spann dishes on this unique history of his – his heritage & his martial art skills, whilst opening us to the complications of life in 16thC Japan from all walks of life. She let's us travel through different regions #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
Whilst having visited Japan through the years, the county has become a part of @SusanSpann's soul which is another hidden layer of awareness you'll find in the #HiroHattori series; currently she's climbing #100Summits & achieving so much personally w/ each climb 🙌#histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
I do as well! :) You get such a good feel for Japan – I walk out of #HiroHattori novels feeling as if I personally 'walked' amongst the footsteps of the characters, smelt the local flavours of food & flowers as Ms Spann had in our century & felt tucked close overall #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
I LOVE this aspect of #HiroHattori!! When she surprises you w/ female samurai & the other 'women' who populate the series, each of them is a fiercely strong & independently minded woman who has a 'special' purpose w/in that installment! #sogood I agree! #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
I get so dearly *excited!* whenever the newest installment is about to publish, because I know I can pick up right where I left Father Mateo and Hiro! The layered continuity is one of my favourite bits to the series, as there is an impressive central arc threading throughout the series itself. Each installment is building upon the last, grounding you into the world as it was illuminated in this niche of time and giving us a fuller grasp of what life would have been like for both of these individuals, whilst it intercepts with living history.
As you will find throughout this conversation, I pulled together key insights into the background of the series, trivia about the characters (lead and supporting) and discuss key aspects of Ms Spann’s writing life as well. I loved her responses, as you get a wonderful glimpse into how passionate she is about writing the stories themselves but also, how dear the characters have become to her as well to write their adventures! I also love the hidden insights I hadn’t expected to uncover whilst getting the pleasure of joy of candidly discussing a series I find wicked #unputdownable!
If your a fellow time traveller through History, who appreciates well-conceived Cosy Historical Mysteries with cunning dialogue, lush scenery, brilliant back-histories and a convicting plot threading through each of the mysteries themselves, I think you will enjoy your stay within Ms Spann’s world! The added blessing is she regionally takes us to different places throughout Japan, whilst introducing us to their regional traditions, cultural histories and religious rituals. There is a lot of Japanese lore and legend as well etched into the background which gives you a well-rounded approach to better understand this beautiful country.
Remember, my interviews are best read with your favourite cuppa in hand!
Why I personally love *devouring!* the Hiro Hattori Novels:
Series Overview: Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo investigate crime in medieval Japan, from the palaces of the samurai to the colorful world of Kyoto’s theater district—and beyond. The series weaves fictional plotlines through one of the most exciting—and dangerous—times in Japanese history.
Ms Spann has created a series for the historical reader at heart! A bit of a backstory about my ardent admiration for this portal into 16th Century Japan:
I still marvel at how I came to know of the series through the second release Blade of the Samurai whilst being blessed to have read the series from the beginning in Claws of the Cat. Each step along the way my heart has felt pulled into the drama and the suspense behind how the friendship Father Mateo and Hiro Hattori have shaped their lives – there is a lot going on in the series, from a historical perspective and from the world’s point of view of where Ms Spann has alighted us into her lovely 16th Century world. Her world-building is what makes this such a keen series to feel a part of as you nearly take for granted it’s not the 16th Century each time you place yourself in step with her characters!
On where we are right now with Father Mateo & Hiro Hattori:
Atmospheric conditions and climatic nuance are some of my favourite passages in novels as they reassert how fragile we are against mother nature! The intuitiveness of accurately placing us inside a thunderous storm of epic proportions is not easily done – however, when I read this passage, it felt like the conditions were growing in both dimension and severity! It is a brilliant time to have a suspicion of doubt murmuring through this closed community where the lightning and the storm rises the tension, enables the fear to thrive and allows the clues to become shadowed from those seeking them. As the hardest way to sleuth out the truth is when there is no visible reason leading you to suspect anyone of the guilt from the crime which has proposed more questions than it has answered.
Even Father Mateo appears to be properly aghast over this mystery! Not just from the clear differences in religious beliefs but of why the dead in this particular instance are being depicted the way in which they are – almost as if the display of their persons is meant to trigger either a warning to those who find them or insinuate a message no one has yet surmised as being delivered. Hiro for his part is attempting to remain emotionally detached, to focus on the facts (as limited as they seem) and intuit out the rest as he’s able to gather out of his enquiries. Evenso, the foulness of the weather raging outside is impending their progress, almost as a signal all is rather grim far past what they perceive!
I have the tendency to favour Father Mateo’s views on the world as in this instance, his compassionate understanding for the dire necessity for the nuns to walk to this temple was sparked out of sheer will to survive not the mark of women who were attempting to reverse sacred order! The storm itself you would think would be justification enough but after having learnt the ordeal they had survived, surely compassionate sympathy should be an innate response rather than one which needs to be learned? There are moments not just in this series but in life, where you would think people could see past themselves and accept there are circumstances outside of controlled order which lean on being sympathetic to how life does not run according to plan but rather can be altered in an instant?
Ippen stole my heart – without revealling anything, it is becoming a lovely trend throughout the series where certain secondary characters or even more minor characters of influence are touching my heart! In this instance, it is how innocence and the rites of the dead can affect everyone irregardless of age or influence of wealth. We all grieve with mutual anguish and it is how we look after the dead which bespeaks the most to our humanity.
I am wicked happy to lament this story is not predictable even if you know the premise through Dame Christie, Ms Spann has re-envisioned it in such a way to thread enough of a distance from the original to give us a wholly original tale which sparks its own accord for how a spree of killings can become a daunting case to solve! I was on the edge of my seat each step of the way, as despite knowing the blueprint of what was happening (as it is revealled) it didn’t lead me to draw preliminary conclusions – there is an intricacy to her stories and how she crafts her mysteries – the key reason I am drawn inside them as readily as I am – to where, I felt this was a rather sophisticated crime due to the high level of premeditation needed to carry it out!
I oft see readers mentioning you can read this series out of sequence but for me, personally, I do not see how you can have an understanding of the growth of the characters nor the breadth of what the series is eluding to as each installment is a percolator of events yet to be disclosed. The relationship between Father Mateo and Hiro Hattori is duly layered and has thrived due to how each of them has chosen to forge a friendship with someone they never expected to feel a humbled connection too. If you start this series out of sequence, you would be sacrificing the beauty of living through their experiences to gleam the best insight into how the series is lovingly built around these two men!
-quoted from my review of Trial on Mount Koya
On my connection to Susan Spann:
I started visiting the chats hosted by @LitChat in the latter months of 2013, as it was around the time of the conference at The Betsy in which I started to cross paths with regular chatters, amongst whom were Natalia Sylvester (début novelist of “Chasing the Sun”) and Susan Spann. I am unsure which month I first started to notice Ms. Spann as a friendly presence who always reminded me of myself — someone who provided cheerful commentary, engaging questions for each visiting guest author, and a wicked knowledge base on a variety of topics. Generally speaking, I always click-over to read a person’s Twitter profile, but whilst engaged in those #LitChat(s) I felt like it was this magical rendezvous for the bookish and those who are attuned to bookish culture.
In this way, it wasn’t until I learnt of Blade of the Samurai was going on a blog tour that I decided to discover a bit more about her! In so doing, I learnt who she was ‘behind the curtain’ so to speak! I always considered her one of my ‘friends in the twitterverse’ but I never disclosed this to her until I was on the (Blade of the Samurai) blog tour in September 2014! Such serendipity as the tour brought us a bit closer and I am grateful that Twitter is a social-positive method of reaching past our distances in geography to connect to people who share a passion for the written word. We have continued to remain in touch although we do not get to ‘meet-up’ on Twitter as often as we once did due to our schedules in recent years.
I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Spann through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst attending #LitChat or in private convos. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author, whether I am reading a book by them for the first time or continuing to read their series in sequence of publication. This also applies to hosting a guest feature by the author I share a connection.
Susan Spann | Fuji Summit, 2018 part of her #100Summits journey
Join me in welcoming, Ms spann
to Jorie Loves A Story for this lovely conversation
about a series which has tucked itself into my bookish heart & given me *six!* wonderfully lovely installments in which to become better acquainted with her dearly compassionate Father Mateo & her pensively reserved Hiro Hattori! Get to know her & her characters, today!
What surprised you the most about the history of Buddhism during the 16th Century vs the Buddhist practices of today? Were there significant differences (either in discipline, approach or practice) or have the legacies of what the monks celebrated through their monasteries survive through time?
Spann responds: I find Shingon Buddhism endlessly fascinating, both historically and in a modern sense. There’s a great deal of continuity in the practice, despite the centuries since Kōbō Daishi brought the Shingon sect to Japan from China during the early ninth century.
One of the most intriguing, and moving, rituals I learned about was the goma, or fire ceremony, a daily ritual in which prayers are written on sticks of wood and then consumed in sacred fire, transforming the prayers into smoke, which rises to heaven where the prayers can be answered. The ritual still impacts me deeply each time I observe it, and I made sure to include a goma ceremony in Trial on Mount Koya.
I loved seeing the goma ritual as casting prayers through fire is cross-relatable to other spiritual backgrounds. The purposefulness of intention is what creates the prayer to manifest out of the mind and cast into the flames whilst the singular belief in what is being spoken silently can be felt spiritually is a leap of faith itself. The beauty of rituals like these is how they attempt to help the living transition through a period of mourning by actively seeking ways to find a honour the dead in ways which keeps their faith a living testament of their beliefs and customs. // as mentioned on my review for ‘Trial on Mount Koya’
I was so very thankful seeing you shared a photograph of this particular ritual and spoke about it during our conversation, as this was singularly one of my favourite passages within the novel, as it was a ritual I could personally relate to having witnessed one in person, through through a slightly different interpretation as it was simply called a ‘fire ceremony’ though the intentions were the same as the goma ritual you aptly described and have now photographed!
The beauty of ‘Trial on Mount Koya’ is the fact you’ve found a beautiful way to pay homage to Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ but without the immediate signals of this being an ‘inspired-by’ story except of course for the dead stacking against the living. What might even a discernible reader might have overlooked as being a nod to Christie which you hoped they might find inside the novel?
Spann responds: The characters in And Then There Were None find themselves marooned on an island with a killer who murders them one by one, on the basis of the victims’ crimes. While Trial on Mount Koya spins that theme—the killer selects his victims on the basis of their virtues, specifically their similarity to the thirteen incarnations of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas who judge the living after death—the walled temple grounds in which the book takes place are essentially an “island,” surrounded by water (in my case, in the form of snow), an added nod to Christie’s choice of setting.
This is what I found wicked fascinating, as instead of focusing on what a victim did which someone would feel was an injustice, this time round, it was what they did as virtuous individual which caused them to be vulnerable. I was dearly intrigued and compelled to learn more about this entire back-history about the judges in the afterlife! You broached it in such a compassionate way – both to acknowledge the finer points of the religious history this involved but also, how both the history and the reality happening in KOYA would be cross-relating to each other due to the nature of the events as they evolved. Again, I definitely think you breathed new life into the key aspects of this plotting and gave us a wholly original story to feel lost inside!
As you’ve happily visited the site of where this novel is set both in the past and concurrently with the release, what are your favourite takeaways of spending time at Koya?
Spann responds: Spending the night in a thousand year-old temple is an amazing experience, and I highly recommend Ekoin (my favorite temple on Koyasan) to anyone planning a visit to Japan. Everything about Koya is a “favorite” to me, but if I have to make a choice, I think my favorite activity is spending time at Okunoin—Japan’s largest cemetery, with over 200,000 graves nestled among a forest of giant cedars. It’s one of the loveliest, and most peaceful, places I have ever been.
I can imagine why you loved spending time at Ekoin! There are some places on Earth where we visit a scared space where time stills, memories and footprints co-merge and there is an awareness of ‘before’ still etched inside their settings. I have felt connections like those previously on my travels and I can imagine the same could be said of Ekoin! I also find serenity when visiting cemeteries! Some of which as you said, are park-like in appearance, enveloping you in the natural world and giving you such a sense of peace and calm, you almost do not want to leave the place for how content you feel. I can’t imagine the number of graves, though – how incredible just to know it houses so many! Seeing those giant cedars appealed to me!!
Whenever I see Ms Spann’s photographs of Japan,
I feel humbled, inspired & full of serenity.
My other favorite thing to do is eat shojin ryori (temple cuisine), a form of Buddhist cooking that developed during the 13th century and has continued to improve and refine over time. Although it uses no animal products, shojin ryori offers an amazing diversity of colors, textures, and flavors. It’s my favorite type of food in the world, and although I love meat I’d gladly give it up if I had the chance to eat shojin ryori dishes every day.
I have a feeling I’d enjoy this style of cooking myself – I tend to be adventurous as a foodie, even if my early years were less inclined to experiment with new spices or dishes. On looking at your photographs of the dishes themselves, I nearly felt I could ‘taste’ what they held and I can see why this is your favourite way to eat! As a foodie who leans towards more vegan and vegetarian diets, I can attest to how there are many foods without the use of animal products which are cosy comfortable to be eating and wicked good in their taste profiles!
Isn’t it clever how they can make a ‘dinner’ for two feel like a foodie’s best adventure?
One of my favourite secondary characters is actually Hiro’s cat Gato – knowing you are travelling through Japan to climb the #100Summits with Oobie at your side – which characteristics did Oobie inspire for Gato and which part of being in Japan does Oobie love most?
Spann responds: A little-known fact: every one of Gato’s major scenes was inspired by something Oobie does, or has done, from attacking Hiro’s hair in an early book (I may still have the claw marks from Oobie’s sneak attack) to her tendency to wail when placed in a basket (Oobie hates the carrier, and makes her opinion known).
I oft wondered about this as I’ve been reading the series! There was an air of familiarity about Gato, each time the cat came into a scene! Being a girl whose always had her heart claimed by a cat (or multiple cats as the case is now) – it was almost as if I could almost see Gato had origins of a cat like Oobie, as there were small little nudges of familiarity in the cat’s overall personality and behaviour patterns! I am so thankful to finally unearth the truth! I love vocalised cats – my tabby didn’t find his voice until he turnt 13 years old! He only squeaked previously (when he yawned!) and now, wells, he has quite a lot to ‘talk about’ as you can guess! lol
The photo of Oobie on the balcony is where he ‘settled’ after his flight from America!
Surprisingly, Oobie managed the eleven-hour airplane flight to Japan with much less complaining than I expected and settled into our new apartment in Tokyo almost immediately. I’ve included a photo taken less than two hours after our arrival—Oobie was already right at home!
Equally surprising, we never felt our current cats would love to travel? Last Autumn, we discovered quite out of the blue, they actual prefer to travel and do not like to be stationary where life is more sedate! Isn’t that curious!? Perhaps, Oobie was feeling it was time to travel and see a bit more of the world as well? Cats never fail to surprise us! Almost as if we barely scratch the surface of who they are whilst they keep our company.
I love how you kept this installment rather atmospherically intriguing as Father Mateo and Hiro couldn’t move around as freely as they have in the past, due to the severe weather patterns. What did you feel was the most challenging aspect of writing this novel where it nearly became a ‘locked room’ mystery?
Spann responds: The most difficult part of writing Koya was actually gender-equalizing the cast. It’s important to me to include a mix of male and female characters in every novel, but during the 16th century women were not allowed in the temples on Koyasan. Since I won’t put any details into my novels that aren’t historically accurate, I had to get very creative to find a way to get the women on the page!
I can imagine this would be incredibly challenging! I have commended your efforts from afar, as the little bits of information I had about this time-line in Japan prior to reading the series leant me the impression even though there were strong women in the country at the time, there were still a lot of highly restrictive codes of conduct they had to endure. The interesting bit though is how alive you’ve made this world – including the choices in which person to highlight or showcase, men or women alike. I find the series wicked engaging on that level alone!
Of all your secondary characters which ones stand out to you the most as being the ones who you enjoyed developing the most? For me, I have been most curious about Ana as she’s become quite endeared to me since The Ninja’s Daughter even though within Trial on Mount Koya she took a bit of a backseat in being featured. What can you share about these secondary characters who encourage our curiosity?
Spann responds: I’m a very fortunate writer, in that I’ve never created a character I didn’t love, one way or another. That said, I do have favorites—and Ana is one of them. She’s far more complex than the stories allowed me to reveal in the early novels, and I’m enjoying the fact that she’s coming into her own as the series continues. You may have to wait a little longer for her “day in the sun,” but I can promise Ana has a major role in the books to come.
In fact, many of the secondary characters featured in the previous books will have recurring roles as the series continues. You haven’t seen the last of Ginjiro the brewer, Luis Alvares, or two of the secondary characters in Trial on Mount Koya—though I won’t give away any spoilers by saying who!
Can I just say I was clapping like mad and smiling as big as the moon!? I can definitely wait to see what is revealled lateron in the series in regards to Ana! I am simply happy to know there is still more to Ana than meets the eye, as they say! I wasn’t sure which characters would be brought forward again but there are a few clues towards this as you do a wonderful job of enriching the series with dimensional characters; meaning, you give us such an awareness of who they are and how they fit inside this world, there are times where I wonder to myself – this person could re-engage somewhere else in the series as they are as living and true as Father Mateo and Hiro! I look forward to seeing which of the characters continue to ‘step through’ the series!
One of the things I appreciate most is the background you knit into the Hiro Hattori series – as there is a lot of living history happening behind the scenes of the novels. Real historical events are tucked behind the sleuthing and there are tides of change which really occurred which follow the footsteps of Father Mateo and Hiro. Each novel brings us closer to the real-life events which are on a collision course with your characters, what can we look forward to seeing ‘develop’ in the next three novels which might surprise us about this kind of biographical history being brought back to life?
Spann responds: I chose this specific time for the series (commencing in 1564) because so many important historical events occurred in the years that followed. The shogun’s death in 1565 set off a chain reaction of political intrigue, espionage, and war that did not end until at least a decade after Tokugawa Ieyasu became the shogun in 1603 (and essentially unified Japan). I plan to bring all of the major historical players “onstage” in one book or another—including Oda Nobunaga, who will show up as a character within the next few books.
More immediately, however, Hiro and Father Mateo are headed north to Edo (the city which will become Tokugawa Ieyasu’s capital and, later, be renamed Tokyo). In the next few books, they’ll face an arsonist, a powerful warlord, and a ghost—not necessarily in that order.
I knew there was a keen reason for depositing us where you did in the 16th Century! I feel like I am gaining a strong understanding of Japanese History through reading the series (one of the benefits I find of reading heaps of Historical Fiction overall) but what truly is impressive is how you’ve humanised these key figures of Japanese History, to where we not only understand their importance in the time-line but we gather a better sense of ‘who’ they might have been if they were still alive to tell us a bit about who they were and what they did. To me that is the fascinating bit to the living lifeblood found in Historical Fiction – where the biographical elements knit alongside the imaginative.
Ghosts are my favourite inclusions – I am so thankful there will be ‘ghosts’ arriving soon!
For my readers who aren’t aware of your #100Summits project, what can you share about your favourite climb so far on your journey as you’ve been in Japan since May? Which summit left you in the most awe and which summit did you feel has been the most challenging to reach?
Spann responds: The #100Summits project is my quest to climb Japan’s most famous peaks in a single year—to climb 100 mountains within a year of the May 2018 conclusion of my treatments for breast cancer, and to write a book about what I learn along the way. Each summit (I’ve climbed 18 so far) has been a deeply humbling gift, and each mountain has taught me so many practical and spiritual lessons I’m likely to spend far more than a year unpacking the experiences in my mind. My recent climb of Mount Fuji (July 19-20, 2018) was one of the most awe-inspiring in terms of the views, and also represented the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to stand atop Japan’s highest and most iconic peak.
I am in awe of your #100Summits journey and I love how open you are about sharing portions of this journey with your readers on your blog and through your IG feeds; where we feel as outsiders peering through your words and photographs as if we could ‘live through’ what you share to better appreciate what your experiencing! The photographs are awe-inspiring in of themselves – from the height of the summits, to the discoveries you’ve made along the way to how you’ve captured these treasured moments in a photograph. I can attest you’ll be ruminating over #100Summits for a lot longer than the time it will take to write the book!
This photograph represents Akagi Summit!
That said, my first climb—of Mt. Akagi—taught me that I really could climb a mountain that was almost a mile high, and standing on its summit barely a month after finishing cancer treatments taught me that all of us (me included) are stronger than we believe ourselves to be.
This is a very true statement – our strength and our courage is not readily known until a moment arises where we test ourselves and then, the truth of what we can do is revealled to us.
Of all the well-known cities Father Mateo and Hiro have visited, which have you visited yourself and found to your liking? Of the ones still forthcoming in the series, can you reveal which one your most excited about showcasing?
Spann responds: I’ve visited every city that Hiro and Father Mateo have visited, most of them many times—and I adore them all. In fact, I have yet to visit a Japanese town or city that I didn’t appreciate, if not love. At the moment, I’m probably most excited about the next Hiro novel, scheduled for release in July 2019, which will be set in the hot spring resort of Hakone, along a travel road that winds through heavily forested, volcanic peaks—precisely the type of place that gives birth to legends . . . and is home to many ghosts.
Eek! As soon as I read this response, I was in love with the idea of the setting and the backdrop involving the potential for ‘ghosts’. The fact your novels drop in the Summers makes re-revisiting Japan on a yearly basis a special treat as you get in your mind how seasonal this series is attached to your own bookish heart! I can definitely agree with your sentiments here – as I have felt this as I read the series. It is easy to see how Japan has attached itself to your soul and how through your passion for Japan and the history waiting for you there – the series has evolved to become such a perceptive series overall! I must admit, this new setting sounds rather alluring – from volcanoes to old forests – I can see Father Mateo and Hiro will have an experience they won’t soon forget! And, happily it sounds atmospheric again which would be true delight!
We’ve oft talked about how history has a way of being bridged into the future, of the six novels in the series thus far published, what historical legacy is mentioned in one of the stories which you feel could still be seen, felt or observed in contemporary Japan? Which has had the most impact through the centuries? Was it what was happening to the political shifts in power or was it something more nuanced?
Spann responds: One of the most intriguing aspects of Japanese history and culture, to me, is how the country has simultaneously changed completely and not changed at all. Many aspects of medieval Japanese culture lurk in the corners of modern Japan like ancestors watching over their descendants. History, and historical sites, are treasured even in modern Japan, and although the country has shed its feudal trappings in favor of modernity, technology, and progress, the traditions, tastes, and cultural beauty remains a part of life here as well.
I am thrilled to hear this – as this is something I started to observe when I wrote letters to my friends in Japan. From what they were sharing in their letters and what I have seen gleaming out of your novels, this felt like a hidden truth for Japan. They truly seem to have found a good balance between their past and their present.
One of the most powerful scenes I felt was how the dead was discovered in KOYA – as it was fusion of both the back-history of this particular region and the spiritual lives of the priests. When you decide how one of your villains is going to reveal their motives, how hard is it then to ‘set the scene’ for the dead they leave behind? Is it something which develops organically out of their ‘nature’ in-step with their development amongst the other characters or is it something else completely?
Spann responds: Each new Hiro novel normally starts with a setting—a physical location, but also a facet of the culture I want to explore through Hiro and Father Mateo’s eyes. With Trial on Mount Koya, the place and setting were Koyasan—one of Japan’s most sacred peaks—and Shingon Buddhism. From there, I have to figure out what kind of a killer would commit a crime in that particular time and place, and how (s)he would go about the deed. Everything about the murder, from the victim to the manner in which the killer accomplishes the task (and, in the case of Koya, arranges the body afterward) has to fit the time, the place, and the murderer’s psyche. In that sense, the process is largely organic, but it grows from the seeds of setting.
Once I know the who and the how, I actually write the crime scene—the scene in which the killer commits the murder—even though that scene will never actually appear directly on the page. Having written it, however, I know what happened and where to place the clues to “stage” the reveal of the body.
Thanks for talking us through your process! This is something I’ve been truly intrigued and fascinated by for a long while now and am thankful I thought to broach it today! I like how a good chunk of what is taking place isn’t overly outlined – giving you the freedom to stitch those moments together as their being written and keeping the whole series feeling as if we are living inside someone’s journal (of past events) rather than of stepping strictly through your imagination. There is a living embodiment of place and time in the series which I love the most.
How have you curated such a hearty symphony for turns of phrase which give us such a firm grounding of presence in the 16th Century? This is something I love finding inside your novels, how depending on how you want the scene to resonate with the reader, you find cleverly chosen subtext in how the phrases you use bespeak a particular visceral response and awareness. I was curious if you approach these turns of phrase in a particular fashion or if, they’ve organically knitted into the heart of the series?
*note to the reader, I quoted one of these lovelies on my review for Trial on Mount Koya
Spann responds: I’d love to tell you my metaphors spring from the page like wildflowers in a summer field, but I’d be lying. There’s not a single word in any of my books that wasn’t carefully curated and scrutinized in editing. Each novel goes through an average of seven drafts before the publisher sees it, and although some phrases pop out “correctly” the first time through, the greatest compliment I can receive is hearing that the words resonate organically. It took a lot of work behind the scenes to create that flow.
I admit, I had a good laugh and smile over your initial reaction to my question! The visual you provided was what felt to be full of the most mirth for me! I never would have expected this to be the truth of it though – as you honestly have found a way to insert these phrases in such a way as to feel organically in-line with the rest of the thoughts being shared – I never would have suspected otherwise, and that’s a credit to how you approach writing the series.
Father Mateo likes to challenge the mindset of whom he encounters, as his compassionate heart goes against social norms and even, against the practices of mindfulness of conflicting customs between his heritage, his spirituality and the Japanese. A lot of the sequences in your stories offer to show how his compassion is an effort to show empathy, acceptance and tolerance – is Father Mateo based on a historical priest who travelled in Japan, a composite character of other priests who spent time in Japan or a wholly original character but of whom had a purpose you wanted to share throughout the arc of the series which parlays into his humbled attributes?
Spann responds: Father Mateo was originally an entirely fictitious priest, created to serve as a “Watson”—someone foreign to Japan, who could serve as a lens through which I could focus Japanese history and culture for readers unfamiliar with the time and place in which my books are set. I wanted to make him historically accurate, so I did a lot of research into 16th century Jesuits. In that sense, he’s probably a composite of many historical priests—with more than a little touch of my own compassion, ethics, and attempt to be mindful of those around me even as I bumble through life like an awkward Western bull in a Japanese teahouse.
Claps hands! Loving the ending statement: ‘Western bull in a Japanese teahouse’! Similar to when I talk about how some buildings are structured with such lean materials it is like hearing through Shoji screens! I love how you built Father Mateo out of your research but also, endeared us to seeing portions of yourself through his eyes and his heart. It brings a new kind of enlightenment of understanding more than we might have first realised as we reflect upon the series.
Converse via: #HiroHattori + #HistoricalMystery or #HistMyst
This is how I signed off my ruminations for KOYA:
In true fashion of our beloved heroes within the series, Father Mateo & Hiro Hattori were very matter-of-fact upon closure of this mysterious crime! They set their mind to righting a new wrong whilst setting their will to embrace the difficulty of its execution – for these men do not traverse through passages of ease, they tread where few others would dare lay their own feet!
I cannot wait to hear snippets of the next installment – as I am once again in a fever of joy of having re-stepped through this portal into the 16th Century of Feudal Japan; I pray, my next re-entry will not be too far off in the future. I do fear, the closer we get to understanding the wider breadth of where the series is leading us – the more chilling the truths will be to swallow, especially as we still are in the dark about whose benefaction is aiding the journey of Father Mateo under Hiro’s watchful protection!
After my conversation with Ms Spann as shared with you today, I can positively say I’m wicked thrilled to bits there will be a chillingly suspenseful ‘ghost story’ arriving *July 2019!* as the seventh novel of #HiroHattori releases! This conversation certainly whet a thirst of interest & intrigue in me – what about you!?
This interview was happily showcased & featured
whilst participating on the lovely blog tour:
Remember to visit my full ruminations about KOYA before you leave!
I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!
I can’t wait to hear your reactions to our conversation – especially if you have a particular Q you would like to ask Ms Spann? She will be chattering with readers via #HistFicChat on Thursday, the 23rd of August! She was meant to chat on the 2nd of AUG but due to technical difficulties was not able to attend. Therefore, you have a second chance to tweeting/convo’ing Ms Spann this month! Follow @VivWrites for updates and be sure to have the tag #HistFicChat on your tweets to stream into the convo!
{SOURCES: Cover art for “Trial on Mount Koya”, book synopsis and blog tour banner were provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and are used with permission. Cover art of “Betrayal at Iga” and series synopsis were provided by the publisher Seventh Street Press (via Prometheus Books) and are used with permission. Cover art of “Claws of the Cat”, “Blade of the Samauri”, “Flask of the Drunken Master” and “The Ninja’s Daughter”, the author’s photograph of Susan Spann and author biography were provided by the author Susan Spann on previous blog tours and used with permission. Photographs shared on this interview are © Susan Spann and were given to me by the author to share on this post. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.
I’m a social reader | I love sharing my reading life
FYI: Susan Spann is being feat. on #JLASblog!😁
Come to #histficchat TODAY, visit https://t.co/2cv2gDLiN1 tomorrow! I delve into a lot of lovely topical insights into #HiroHattori & Ms Spann's #writinglife as she is #amwriting this #HistoricalMystery! #HistFic💜
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
She's been sharing heaps about #100Summits on her IG account!? Have you browsed it? It is a full compliment to her Ninja #Blog – let me share the links for #histficchat:
📷https://t.co/NZsOHH8tpJ
✍️https://t.co/4K42CICyLWBe sure to comment fast on her blog, she closes them😁
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
I bring up Ana in my #interview tomorrow via #JLASblog!! :) Ever since The Ninja's Daughter, I've started to appreciate Ana in a new light! I have good news to share about her on this interview, too! Lots of lovely insights are revealled in our convo! #histfictchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
#amediting | my lovely convo feat. #HiroHattori series by #HistoricalMystery novelist Susan Spann!😊I personally💜how this post is knitting together! Insights about her #writinglife, her journey for #100Summits and trivia about the series! Plus 📸! Eek. #sohappy
Posting FRI morn
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 3, 2018
.@SusanSpann feat. on https://t.co/2cv2gDLiN1! 🙌
Lively interview about #HiroHattori, #amwriting #historicalmysteries & our mutual love of Japan & Japanese History Come for the convo, enjoy the photos!
🦋https://t.co/v2LIUHSJW9@SeventhStBooks | @VivWrites @HFVBT #bookblogger pic.twitter.com/o3NYD7RJNe
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 3, 2018
A snapshot of the convo I enjoyed from #HistFicChat on 2nd of August, 2018 wherein we were discussing what we loved about #HiroHattori and Japan:
Prior to #reading @SusanSpann's series, I would have instantly thought of my Japanese friends & the stories they shared w/ me of their lives; as well as WWII as I read a lot of war dramas inasmuch as I love #manga, healthier foods & Japanese art/culture #histficchat *so much to💜
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
I also study Eastern religions and martial arts – Japan has a lot of #history for those of us who love #amreading about the historical past whilst they have a lovely living lifeblood of living history as well. Japan brings a lot of JOY to ponder & research #histficchat
— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter ?? (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
I prefer cooked (fish) sushi which isn't traditional (of course) but of the traditional kinds, I really love the veggie versions! I'm insanely addicted to🥑& seaweed plus sticky rice! Give me a broth bowl w/ tofu & veg, a side of 🍣& hot tea = I'm set! 🙌#histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
I practice a variant of Tai Chi both for the moving mediation and the self-defence aspects of it whilst I also am a newer student of Kung Fu – both disciplines have a lot of cross-relatable aspects to them which is why I gravitated to them #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
This is a bit of trivia I hadn't learnt about the cover! :) I've been interviewing her since I first started reading her series (next one is tomorrow on my blog) but I have so much I want to ask, I keep forgetting the hidden secrets of her #bookcovers! lol #awesome #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
Thank you so much! It's my goal to take readers into each new setting with as much realistic detail as possible (without sacrificing the plot or pace). #histficchat
— Susan Spann (@SusanSpann) August 2, 2018
I love being able to introduce readers to realistic but unexpected female characters – women filled some surprising roles in 16th century Japan, and I plan to include as many as possible over the course of the series. #histficchat
— Susan Spann (@SusanSpann) August 2, 2018
Happily these are the characters who delight my curiosity the most; not just for the fact they are so vividly brought back to life & how your back-stories on their behalf re-ground us in both their century & the histories of women in Japan but for how well they 'fit' #histficchat
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 2, 2018
Ana is one of my favorite characters. She started off (in the initial outline for CLAWS) as a plot device – purely a foil for Hiro – but as the books reveal, Ana has very strong opinions about her role, and nobody – not even the writer – stops her. #histficchat
— Susan Spann (@SusanSpann) August 2, 2018
Lovely comments about this interview via Twitter:
I 💜that you LOVE this #SusanSpann interview!😉
Never had the proper chance to say how much #awesomesauce #randomJOY you brought me by sending me this reaction!! Definitely the kind of reaction I was aiming for and here you were exclaiming it! #Blessed🙌😌#HistFic rocks my world https://t.co/W5pDlenZtQ
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 6, 2018
#Blessed by your lovely note of gratitude!🙌
I had heaps of #JOY bringing this #interview to my #JLASblog readers!!😁Thank you for giving me such a big SMILE of happiness seeing your reaction! Weren't those wicked AWESOME? I was itching to share this: for the convo & the photos!
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 6, 2018
You're wicked welcome, Ms Spann!😉
I had a heap of fun assembling the collage celebrating the 6th #HiroHattori release & our lovely convo all about #Japan + the characters which have given me such a lot of #bookJOY to be #amreading these past years! Thrilled to bits you💜the Qs!
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 6, 2018
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