INTERVIEW: Historical Fiction Author Nils Visser

Nils Visser

Brighton, East Sussex

United Kingdom 

 

Good morning, Nils, and welcome to Vision and Verse. What have you written?

Seven novels and five novellas, some of them taking place in the same worlds, such as my Sussex smugglers series or the paranormal Wyrde Woods series. Added to that, a myriad of historical magazine articles and more short stories than you can shake a stick at. 

 

What is your favorite genre to write?

A commonality is historical fantasy. The fantasy elements tend to be subtle. I like grounding the stories in nitty-gritty reality, using well-researched historical or socio-cultural contexts. I prefer hinting at fantastical elements, trusting readers to decide for themselves if certain matters were real or part of the protagonist’s imagination. That fits within the magical realism tradition.

 

How old were you when you started writing?

 

I gave it a shot in my early twenties but looking back I didn’t have much of a clue as to what I was doing. It’d be best if that early stuff never saw the light of day again. Much later, when I was 39, I started writing articles for historical magazines. These did well, they were published in the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Having done that for five years, I picked up the old dream of writing fiction again in 2014, aged 44. Been at that for ten years now and it’s unlikely I'll stop anytime soon. 

 

What motivated you to start writing fiction?

 

I was in a rough place, really struggling with my mental health. I wasn't getting any help that I trusted in, so literally wrote myself out of it. A matter of control, possibly? There wasn’t much I could control in the real world at that time, but there were worlds where I was master and commander for a brief time. 

 

Where do you get your inspiration?

It’s a fusion of things. Rottingdean Rhyme, for example, originated during a walk in Rottingdean with former resident Rudyard Kipling’s A Smuggler's Song dancing about in my mind. 

 

Five and twenty ponies, trotting through the dark, brandy for the Parson, ‘baccy for the Clerk, laces for a lady; letters for a spy...

 

Add visits to tiny museums in small seaside towns and local folklore, and presto, a smuggler's tale is born. Or reborn. Folklore, to my mind, is a living, breathing thing, forever developing. Not something etched in stone. I’ll happily beg, borrow, or steal, and then refashion, adding to the tradition.  

 

How about inspiration for your latest work, The Flying Dutchman: Bleak Future? That involved a bit of stealing, didn't it?

 

Indeed! Five years ago I discovered that my great-grand-uncle, Piet Visser, was aprolific Dutch writer, penning 21 books between 1900 and 1930. That was a special moment to be sure, it felt like receiving a legacy, a literary inheritance as it were. I really felt I had to do something with that. But I write in English and a great many of his books covered iconic Dutch history, unlikely to be recognised outside of the Netherlands. His De Vliegende Hollander, however, offered perspective. Who hasn’t heard of the Flying Dutchman? 

 

Captain van der Dekken, howling defiance at the Almighty and sailing into a storm, wasn’t it?

 

Ah, but that’s the English tradition, more recently hijacked by Hollywood for the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Visser’s captain was Peter Haelen. The tale has quite a pedigree that starts with Dutch Captain Bontekoe’s ship’s journal that was published in 1646 and was a bestseller at the time, being reprinted no less than 70 times. The journal saw a revival in the mid-1850s. Amongst others, Alexandre Dumas (of The Three Musketeers fame), wrote a novella called Bontekoe that was published in his Les Drames de la Mer in 1852. 

 

Another author fascinated by Bontekoe was the German author Philipp Korber. Heused his knowledge of the 1646 journal to write a novel called Der Fliegende Hollander that was published in 1849. It’s quite possible that Korber was also cashing in on the enormous popularity of Richard Wagner’s Flying Dutchman opera, which premiered in 1843. Korber’s book was translated into Dutch in the 1870s.Around 1900 my great-grand-uncle was asked to rewrite Korber’s story for a Dutch audience. His De Vliegende Hollander was first published in 1901, with reprints in 1910, 1918 and 1927. I read both Korber and Visser’s books in 2018 and thought another rewrite was in order. That turned into a trilogy, the first part of which, BleakFuture, was published in 2022.

 

That is a lot of history!

 

Aye, indeed. I’d apologise for the deluge of information, but I’m rather proud of being at the tail end of a long tradition. It’s a story that’s been 376 years in the making!

 

Why did you think a rewrite was in order? Did you change a lot? 

 

I liked the concept introduced by Korber and further expanded by Visser, namely that of Peter Haelen as a misunderstood genius, whose exceptional shipbuilding skills were mocked and scorned, driving him to insanity. I think the frustration of being misunderstood is something most people can identify with. But to a modern reader the books seem hopelessly old-fashioned. The first fifth of Visser’s book, a humongous first chapter, is an info dump relating Peter Haelen’s background story. Visser collected all the information relayed by Korber and then elaborated on it. The story proper doesn’t really start until the second chapter. I’ve read both works and it’s obvious where Visser is retelling the Korber part, and where he’s off on his own. In the latter case the story becomes far more readable, but there are two very distinctive and contrasting author voices at work. 

 

There are other shortcomings. To begin with, men and boys weren’t expected to experience or show emotions back in 1901. Peter Haelen’s descent from sanity to insanity is dealt with in one brief sentence. And then he went completely insane. Just like that, a total reversal of character without further ado. I suspect that a sharp decline in mental health, and the process leading to that, is precisely the sort of psychological content a modern reader would be interested in.

 

To continue with gender constrictions, there are barely any females in the book. There’s an innkeeper, Greet Kals, who’s cliché but truly a delightful gem. You’ve probably met her, as she’s a spitting image of Madame Thenardier from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. Visser was a shameless thief, it turns out, making it far easier for me to justify stealing his work! The only other female is a young girl, Peter Haelen’s cousin Lotje, who’s not otherwise described or given an age. She appears on a handful of pages only. Her sole role is to revive her father with smelling salts and to cry out: “How fortunate we are that a manly hero has come to save us!” She’s duly saved by Peter and then simply disappears out of the story.

 

An old-fashioned damsel-in-distress.

 

Indeed, but saviour of an author-in-distress! I seized upon Piet Visser’s lack of interest in the cousin and the fact that she was a blank page, open to (re)invention. In Bleak Future, Lotje becomes Liselotte and her application of smelling salts becomes an intuitive understanding of healing skills. Her appropriation of the primary protagonist’s role allows me to leave Korber and Visser’s Peter Haelen as intact as possible, his backstory one to be discovered by Liselotte, and his mental demise a process she observes (and tries to halt).

 

So she’s yours?

 

If I tried to make such a claim, she’d either shoot me with her crossbow or stab me with her Javanese dagger.

 

Feisty, is she?

 

I hesitate to use that description, because to me that suggests the creation of a strong female protagonist simply by dressing a woman in breeches and attributing a lot of traditionally male characteristics. Liselotte starts out very vulnerable and unsure of herself, painfully aware that 17th century society doesn’t have a high opinion of women. Legally, she’s the possession of her father or senior male family members until a husband becomes her owner. That offers immediate friction and conflict to work with. Circumstances then force her into a position where she has to repeatedly rise to the occasion, and to her own surprise she’s remarkably good at it. She’s far more confident at the end of the book, but once she’s made it out of an unpredictable warzone, back to safety, she’s expected to conform to society’s restraints again. Will she? You’ll have to read Bleak Future to find out.

 

And more on the way?

 

Part Two is called Malign Shadows, which I’m working on now. The third part will be called Infernal Fate. As for the end, well, everyone knows what happened to the ship that is to become The Flying Dutchman. The question is, how did they get there? Similarly, the fate of Peter Haelen, as captain of the phantom ship, can be confidently guessed at. But how will the curse impact on Liselotte? 

 

Why did you choose to include illustrations in Bleak Future? Those tend to be associated with children’s books.

 

Yes, they do and Bleak Future is not intended for young readers, but this is my Tevye the Milkman moment where I fling my arms in the air and holler ‘Tradition!’Bontekoe’s journal had illustrations. Alexandre Dumas’s Bontekoe had illustrations. Korber’s Der Fliegende Hollander had illustrations. Piet Visser’s De Vliegende Hollander had illustrations. It seemed apt to continue with that tradition. I was very lucky that Hastings based artist Julie Gorringe was willing to provide them. We arranged that she would read the chapters one by one and that she, not I, would decide what to illustrate. I very much came to look forward to receiving new ones, not knowing what Julie had chosen to illustrate. Moreover, being only a few chapters ahead of her at the best of times, her illustrations really helped shape story and characters as it grew. By now, I consult her frequently for Malign Shadows, absorbing (stealing!) her ideas as well as mine. 

 

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life

the most and why?

 

My mother. She taught me to love books and the need for meaningful female protagonists in a world full of male heroes. 

 

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE

person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and

why?

 

Piet Visser. It would be fascinating to exchange ideas with him, though we would probably argue. 

If it could be two, then Philipp Korber as well. He got my respect with the opening sentence of Der Fliegende Hollander. In defiance of convention, he starts with It was a dark and stormy morning. I might have to steal that. 

 

Do you listen to music when you write? What?

 

My preference is to play live concerts by Mark Knopfler, there’s a bunch of them on YouTube. They set a certain mood I like, and because I listen to them so often they fade into the background when I need to focus on the story. I prefer classical music for editing. Preferably Mozart, there’s a subtle precision to his work that helps me concentrate. 

 

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a

writer?

 

For one, you’re never too old to start. I've helped folk in their sixties and seventies pick up that dream and realise it. Secondly, though talent helps, good writing doesn’t just drop onto your lap. You need to practice, edit, practice, rewrite, practice,refashion, prune, and then practice some more. This can be frustrating, just don’t give up. Persevere. 

 

Where could potential readers find Bleak Future, or other books of yours?

 

The best starting point would be my Amazon author page. Be aware that I sometimes write as Nils Visser, Nisse Visser, or Nils Nisse Visser. It made a lot of sense at the time, but now just causes mystery and confusion.

 

I’m adding the UK link as it’s more extensive for some reason, although Bleak Future isn’t registered because I confused Amazon by also listing Julie Gorringe as contributor, but if you search for The Flying Dutchman Bleak Future it’ll pop up.

 

With regard to Bleak Future, I commissioned a professional narrator to record a few chapters, so it’s entirely possible to meet Liselotte on YouTube without any further obligations. There’s also a video with an overview of illustrations from 1646 to 2022. Do give it a try! 

 

Do you have some links for us to follow you? 

Amazon Author Page: Amazon.co.uk: Nils Nisse Visser: books, biography, latest update

 

Sample chapters Bleak Future: THE DROWNED LAND OF REIMERSWAAL (Flying Dutchman Trilogy by Nils Visser. Ft. Yvette Boertje) (youtube.com)

 

Overview illustrations 1646 to 2022: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN LEGACY (Vliegende Hollander Fliegende Holländer Vaisseau Fantôme) (youtube.com)

 

 

 

 

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