It’s fair to say that Clive Harvey is pretty multi-faceted. A former lawyer, a passionate musician and guitar teacher – flamenco in particular is his speciality – he’s also now written two books – on two very different subject matters.
The first, Yang’s War, is a historical fiction novel based on the Chinese labour corps who were drafted in for the first World War while the second one, which was recently published, is entitled Mouse Trap and follows the story of a forest mouse who escapes his stifling and secretive home life in pursuit of freedom – but with big consequences.
‘Once I removed humankind from the equation, everything, for me, became possible. What if all creatures had been left to evolve fully?’
So far, so different then but Clive’s eclecticism doesn’t end there as the Horsmonden-based author has also created a special soundtrack to accompany his new book which can be cleverly accessed via the numerous QR codes embedded within the pages of the 250page plus book.
“Mouse Trap gave me the idea and the opportunity to combine my two disciplines and create something unique,” explains Clive.
“I have embedded five QR codes linking each stage in the story to bespoke songs from my website. I have long agonised about how I might present my work interactively. I commissioned my website, Music4art a good while back, to try and achieve just this, but only now, with this new novel, do I feel I have finally got there.”
Clive has also commissioned local artist Stephen Rose to do all the amazing illustrations in the book which he says is dubbed ‘a cautionary guide to survival’ and also draws many parallels with human society when it comes to heritage, social exclusion and ideologies.
It’s even had the thumbs up from Tunbridge Wells comedian and Clive’s good friend Jo Brand who says she greatly enjoyed reading it.
“I thought it was absolutely charming, engrossing and somewhat chilling,” Jo says. “Congratulations. It’s a huge effort to finish a book, and I can tell it’s a labour of love.”
So how did Clive go from practicing law to penning stories about the Great War and a mouse called Tobias in pursuit of freedom and answers to big questions?
“I have always had a passion for writing and as different as the two books are in terms of their subject matter in a way they are linked in some way given that the reader goes on a journey of sorts in each one.”
Clive says that his mother was a huge influence on him growing up, especially telling stories.
“She could make you drift off to sleep with her spontaneous short stories – or inspire you to make up your own. So I did this from a very young age. Then, as chance would have it, the best teacher at my secondary school happened to take me for English, so my journey as a writer found its future path.”
‘The Horsmonden-based author has also created a unique soundtrack to accompany his new book’
Although Mouse Trap is the second book he has had published, Clive reveals that it was actually the first one he started writing before he got sidetracked.
“I was well on my way to completing Mouse Trap when another, more time-sensitive opportunity interrupted my writing. On one of my many trips to the World War 1 cemeteries of Northern France, I stumbled on a conundrum. Every now and then I noticed some Chinese head stones. Experts there just couldn’t offer a satisfactory answer as to why any Chinese people were out there in France at all, and I couldn’t recall any mention of them in any history lesson or any books.
“Once I realised they were there as a result of a secret recruiting campaign, I rushed out Yang’s War to record this fascinating story.” The book, adds Clive, has proved to be very popular and copies of it are now being sold in China and also Japan.
Clive goes on to explain that Mouse Trap was originally inspired by one of his favourite childhood books: Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
“It was the first book I read, cover-to-cover. I was about 10 years old and it captured my imagination. But as I got older, its simple naivety seemed an opportunity wasted. Although it was perfect for its time, I started to imagine bolder ways of using animal characters to parallel human experiences.
“Once I removed humankind from the equation, everything, for me, became possible. What if all creatures had been left to evolve fully? Would bravery and heroism play their part?
Would superior and inferior ideologies corrupt this non-human world toward social exclusion, discrimination and bullying to the point where one species holds sway over all others?”
Clive states that his aforementioned passion for flamenco doesn’t just stop at playing and composing it. In fact, it has been an influential and informative guide for his writing too.
In addition to the QR codes dotted around the pages of Clive’s new book there are also powerful illustrations which help enhance the tale. The author commissioned artist Stephen Rose after meeting him at the Spa Art Gallery in The Pantiles.
“The moment I described my project to Stephen, a local and widely acclaimed visionary artist, he threw together some initial sketches which caught the mood perfectly. We have colloborated ever since.”
Without giving too much away in terms of the plot, Clive says that he deliberately left Mouse Trap ‘hanging’ in order to allow a sequel.
“I’m pleased to report that one is already well underway,” he smiles. “My collaboration with Stephen Rose has continued and we are working toward an eye-catching image for the next front cover. With such disturbing world events constantly dominating the news, there are lots of influences to draw from as the turbulent mission for Tobias’s continues…”
Mouse Trap, is published by Menin House and priced £11.99 and is available from all good bookshops. For more information on Clive Harvey visit music4art.co.uk
