NarniaFans.com: Tell us a bit about yourself, for our readers that might not know much about you.
David C. Downing: I am a professor of creative and professional writing at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I attended a small college in Santa Barbara, CA, and then earned my Ph.D. in English at UCLA. I have written four non-fiction books on C. S. Lewis, and about a dozen articles on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.
NarniaFans.com: Can you give us a quick teaser for LOOKING FOR THE KING that will give us an idea of what we’re in for?
David C. Downing: The story is set in 1940, after the beginning of World War 2 in Europe, but before the United States has entered the conflict. Two young Americans, Tom McCord and Laura Hartman, begin to suspect that the Spear of Destiny, the fabled lance that pierced the side of Christ on the cross, is hidden somewhere in England. Hitler has acquired a spear called the Holy Lance, which he believes will make his armies invincible. But he is not certain this is the authentic Spear of Destiny, so he has agents in England looking for this ancient, mystical, and priceless artifact. In their quest to find the Spear, Tom and Laura meet and get to know C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and their friends, who offer valuable guidance on their quest. But Lewis, Tolkien, and others who call their circle “the Inklings,” suggest that Tom and Laura may need to set out on an even more profound quest than their search for the Spear.
NarniaFans.com: What were your inspirations for the story of LOOKING FOR THE KING?
David C. Downing: My wife and I visited Somerset and Cornwall in 2005, and we were fascinated by all the legends that Joseph of Arimathea (the rich merchant mentioned in the Gospels) had traveled all the way to England in the first century, perhaps bringing with him the Holy Grail and the Spear of Longinus (the traditional name of the Roman soldier who thrust his lance into Christ’s side). Around Glastonbury, one meets people who talk about “Old Joe” or “Big Joe” as if they just spoken with Joseph of Arimathea in a pub last week!
That same summer I was re-reading the letters of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, and thinking how often their perceptive observations and witty remarks in their correspondence would make for great dialog in a novel. Soon afterwards, I read Matthew Pearl’s literary detective novel, THE DANTE CLUB, in which a circle of American poets and scholars (Longfellow, Holmes, and Lowell) help the local police solve a series of Dante-esque murders occurring in 19th century Boston. I enjoyed the unusual combination of mystery and literary biography, and I thought the Inklings would make an even livelier group to help some young adventurers on their quest. So my interest in the Spear and my interest in the Inklings merged into one storyline.
NarniaFans.com: What themes did you try to convey in the story?
David C. Downing: I tried to suggest that we are often confused about what things in life truly make us feel contented and fulfilled. My young American, Tom McCord, is seeking fame and fortune, first by trying to discover the historical King Arthur, then by trying to locate the Spear. He wants very badly to be “somebody,” to escape anonymity. But when he meets Lewis, Tolkien, and their friends, he sees how much they value simple things–faith, friendship, their shared enthusiasm for storytelling. Neither Lewis nor Tolkien actively sought out fame or fortune. (Lewis had to repeatedly cajole Tolkien to finish “The Lord of the Rings” and submit it for publication!) Lewis, Tolkien,and their companions simply pursued the things they valued most–good stories and good company. They didn’t strive for worldwide renown; it came and found them.
NarniaFans.com: How did you come up with the title?
David C. Downing: The title actually refers to three kings (though not the ones in the Christmas carol!). Tom McCord is in England seeking to prove there really was a historical King Arthur. Laura McCord is seeking to discover the identity of a sleeping king she keeps seeing in her visionary dreams. I leave it to readers to discover who is the third king.
NarniaFans.com: Are any of the experiences in the book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
David C. Downing: A great answer would be that I once bought a rusty spear at a yard sale for 99 cents, which turned out to be the Spear of Destiny. But I have had no such luck. But my wife and I have been to England many times, and we have visited all the locations described in the novel. And we have met locals, especially around Glastonbury, who firmly believe that there are legendary biblical treasures, perhaps the Holy Grail and the Spear of Destiny, hidden someone in Glastonbury or Malmesbury.
NarniaFans.com: Who designed the cover art?
David C. Downing: The cover art and book design were created by the very gifted John Herreid at Ignatius Press in San Francisco. I thought he captured perfectly the spirit of the novel. He is currently designing a companion website, www.lookingfortheking.com, and I am very much looking forward to seeing it in a few weeks.
NarniaFans.com: What was the hardest part of writing LOOKING FOR THE KING?
David C. Downing: The biggest challenge was getting all the historical details right, especially when there are so many fans who know the minute facts of Lewis’s and Tolkien’s lives so well. I had to visit all the Inklings’ favorite pubs in Oxford (no great chore, I must admit!) and to comb through all the biographies and letters to discover where Tolkien stored his favorite pipes, Lewis’s eccentric table manners, and Charles Williams’ personal theories about the true meaning of the Grail. (It’s too bad Dan Brown didn’t read more of Charles Williams. Among its many other errors, THE DA VINCI CODE’s “cutting edge” theories about the Holy Grail were already discredited back in the 1940s.)
NarniaFans.com: Did you learn anything from writing LOOKING FOR THE KING? What did you learn?
David C. Downing: I have written four books and dozens of articles about Lewis and Tolkien, but I was usually focusing on them as thinkers and writers, not simply as people. It was fascinating to re-read all the primary materials looking for personal details. Who knew that Tolkien had been an expert horseman in his youth, breaking untamed horses that no one else was willing to mount? (No wonder he shows such sympathy for the Riders of Rohan!) And who remembers witty one-liners from Lewis, such as that he would never move somewhere just for the climate–unless he were a vegetable? Doing research for the novel helped me get re-acquainted all over again with people whom I already thought I knew.
NarniaFans.com: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
David C. Downing: When I was a sophomore in college, I wrote a paper about spiritual themes in C. S. Lewis’s planetary trilogy. My professor liked the essay so much he suggested I submit it for publication, which I did. It was accepted by Christianity Today, and I earned the princely sum of $75. At the time, that was about a month’s wages waiting tables or mowing lawns, so I was ecstatic. It didn’t occur to me till later that I could sell a $75 article every week for a year straight and still be eligible for food stamps . . .
NarniaFans.com: What inspired you to write your first book?
David C. Downing: When I was in graduate school at UCLA, I complained to a sympathetic professor, Georg Tennyson, that I thought the canon of “respected” fiction was too narrow, that fantasy writers such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien should be taken seriously as literary artists. (Ironically, Lewis and Tolkien argued the same thing in their own lifetime about the fantasy writers they enjoyed.) My professor challenged me to write my own book to demonstrate my case. Eventually I did so, publishing PLANETS IN PERIL: A CRITICAL STUDY OF C. S. LEWIS’S RANSOM TRILOGY (University of Massachusetts Press, 1992).
NarniaFans.com: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
David C. Downing: At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, I would have to say C. S. Lewis. But I have also learned a great deal from some classic non-fiction writers, especially Bruce Catton’s Civil War books, Alfred Lansing’s ENDURANCE, a riveting account of the Ernest Shakelton expedition to Antarctica, as well as the Winston Churchill’s eloquent memoirs of World War 2. (People forget that, among his many other accomplishments, Churchill was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature.)
NarniaFans.com: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
David C. Downing: “New” is a relative term, and what is “new” to me may be considered ancient to some of your readers! But about once a year I re-read Michael Shaara’s KILLER ANGELS (1974), about the battle of Gettysburg, and Leif Enger’s PEACE LIKE A RIVER (2001), a quirky tale that is part J. D. Salinger, part Garrison Keillor, and part King James Bible!
NarniaFans.com: What are your current projects?
NarniaFans.com: Last summer, I completed a contemporary novel, SHINE AND SHADOW, about a young man who suffers a severe head injury and wakes up to discover he can see an extra dimension of reality, a titanic battle among spiritual forces all around us that we ordinarily ignore or don’t even believe in.
I also have in mind a sequel to LOOKING FOR THE KING , a story in which Tom and Laura are reunited in Oxford, but are again attacked by sinister and secretive foes. Once again they must enlist the aid and counsel of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. I just discovered recently that, on rare occasions, female students were invited to Thursday evening Inklings meetings to hear Tolkien read aloud his work in progress, “The Lord of the Rings.” I am very optimistic that Laura Hartman will be granted that privilege!
NarniaFans.com: Do you have any advice for other writers?
David C. Downing: I would say that if you believe in your work, then develop a thick skin and persevere in seeking publication. I once wrote a modest little book, a mnemonic approach to improving your spelling. It was rejected by over 40 publishers, several with snarky comments, before finally being accepted by a publisher in Chicago I had never heard of (National Textbook). Later it was picked up by a subsidiary of Random House. Now, 20 years later, that little book that was rejected over 40 times in still in print and I’m still earning royalties from a project I nearly gave up on a dozen times.
NarniaFans.com: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
David C. Downing: I would say that the best way to train yourself as a writer is not to read how-to books, but to immerse yourself in the kinds of books you enjoy reading–and the kinds of books you might want to write yourself someday. Lewis and Tolkien both delighted in fantasy writers such as George McDonald and Rider Haggard. Back in the 1930s, Lewis turned to Tolkien one day and said something like, “Tollers, there just aren’t enough books around these days of the sort we like reading. I suppose we’ll have to do it ourselves.” From that friendly challenge eventually emerged Lewis’s planetary trilogy and his Narnia Chronicles, as well as Tolkien’s fantasy epic, Lord of the Rings. So if you aren’t finding the sorts of books today that you enjoy reading, maybe it is time for you to sit down and write your own!