My EXCLUSIVE Interview of Author Allen Woods, writer of The Sword & Scabbard: Thieves and Thugs

Jay: First of all, the idea of the pub atmosphere during those turbulent times was an excellent idea. Will the pub proprietors, Nick and Maggie, move around for future books or will the books center around Boston?

The action revolving around a tavern was natural for several reasons. First, taverns were central to colonial life, both in cities like Boston and in the country side. In general, they served as community meeting places where people (mostly men) could keep up on events through newspapers and first- and second- hand accounts, talk about politics or other issues, and spread the word about things. They were the "grapevine" of America's early days (as in "I heard it through the grapevine").

Some, like the Green Dragon and the Bunch of Grapes, were famous as the meeting places for the Sons of Liberty, the Loyal Nine, and other anti-British groups. Taverns were also places where criminal activity was common, especially along the waterfronts through Europe and America. In future books, I see Nicholas and Maggie staying connected with the Sword tavern in Boston, but events will also intervene, including the British occupation of Boston in the early Revolutionary years. Nicholas couldn't remain in Boston without being arrested or attacked during that time, so he will need to be somewhere else. He will be involved in the War, but I'm not quite sure where or how yet.

Jay: What are your thoughts on the similarities to the Sons of Liberty as you wrote about, and the current Tea Party thought processes? Nowadays we again (still?) have taxation that is out of control, wars ending but not really ending, riots in the streets, etc.

Allen: I guess that resistance to paying taxes to what people see as an unresponsive government is a common thread between then and now. However, I'm not a modern Tea Party supporter at all. I find the federal, state, and local governments as extremely helpful in many ways, providing basic services and protections that many of us take for granted. Of course, there are many extreme abuses of government power as well, and I find the divide between the economic middle-class and lower-class of today as just as severe and unbalanced as that between British lords and the British and American people of the 1700s.

The 1770s tax on tea was a lame attempt to allow the foundering, government-supported East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. Although that tea party is often referred to as a tax revolt, it was actually more resistance to an arrogant government that saw the American colonies as a possible revenue source rather than a vibrant and vigorous people eager to form their own communities and governments.

Jay: Have you encountered any negative feedback stemming from your research into actual events vs what the history books/History Channel reports as “real history?” To elaborate, history books seem to portray Americans always in a good light, I am retired law enforcement so I know what “as seen on TV,” is most often not the real deal.

Allen: History books generally present a sanitized and shallow view of events throughout history, not just during the Revolutionary period. The History Channel is another thing entirely, embarking on a completely transparent attempt to capitalize on Americans interest in their own history by essentially presenting a cartoon view of the period. Their "Sons of Liberty" series in early 2015 sent me on a rare tirade when it opened with Samuel Adams as a young, virile action figure jumping over rooftops to evade capture and continued on with ridiculous events and portrayals from there.

I haven't received any direct opposition to my work, although one person commented that I was "a little hard on Sam Adams" in the book. I haven't had any success with one Boston historical group that I thought would be a big supporter, but they are also very closely tied to Sam Adams beer whose trademark is a false image of Adams and who implicitly suggest that Adams was a successful brewer while my book accurately notes that he was actually a failure.

Jay: Kingston Harbor plays a small role in The Sword and the Scabbard: Thieves and Thugs and the Bloody Massacre in Boston, I love the town of Kingston, Canada. Do you have any plans to revisit the area or is it a “lets see what happens” type thing?

Allen: I don't have my books planned out in detail yet. I know that the actual events of the Revolutionary period will guide and influence some of their actions, but I do feel like the characters have "a life of their own" once I begin writing. So far, the story, including the locations, isn't established. I do believe that Nicholas will be involved somehow in transporting the cannons captured at Fort Ticonderoga in northern New York in 1775 to Boston during that winter.

Jay: After seeing a street rendition of Oliver Twist, I have often wondered about the “little people,” meaning not the rich or famous folks from American history. I then wonder what history books will say about people in our era, both famous and not so famous. Did you start out with these same thoughts about people or did it all come naturally as you started writing? To elaborate, while the Revolutionaries were plotting a revolt, what was the street sweeper thinking, other than will I make enough money to feed my family tonight?

Allen: One of my early influences in writing was an oral history compiled by Studs Terkel in 1974 walled Working. It celebrates the voices of what some call "the common people" and their wisdom, especially as it relates to the relationships between owners and workers. I have read the formal speeches and written statements of the famous leaders of the Revolutionary period, but it was a movement fueled by "people in the streets," not the upper class. These are the stories and people that interest me, especially since they were the ones willing to pay the price of a violent struggle. The victims of the Boston Massacre weren't educated, scholarly thinkers, but most were men angry with the status quo.

Jay: I haven’t noted any public negative reviews, have you received any unjustified reviews directly because you dared shake up the status quo on these figures?

Allen: Not so far, but as the book gains more readers, I may. Samuel Adams was one of the most effective community organizers in history, and heroic in many ways, but he was a failure as brewer and very willing to use violent and anti-democratic tactics to achieve his ends. John Hancock certainly had economic motives driving his support of the movement, as well as possibly more idealistic ones. At some point, these facts may prove uncomfortable to certain people and spark a reaction.

Jay: As a fledgling writer, I was wondering what thoughts you may have had about self-publishing your debut novel?

Allen: It is my first published book, but I have been involved in the business of writing full-time for more than 30 years. Currently, the publishing industry is in a state of chaos with the advent of self-published books and e-books. No one is sure what a book should even cost, with many people offering books online for free or 99 cents. The standard publishing houses are still only interested in blockbusters with little or no room for what were formerly called "mid-list" books and authors. Currently, estimates suggest that there are more than 4,000 books published EVERY DAY! This means that within a week of my book's publication, I was competing with over 25,000 other new books for attention. It certainly makes it hard to stand out, regardless of the quality or interest of your book.

Self-publishing generally requires a writer to take on an entirely new role that is completely different from creating a quality book. Self-promotion isn't a comfortable role for me, although I love talking about my book and the writing process if someone is interested. It is creating that interest to begin with that is very hard, and hiring a publicist isn't cheap.

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In every basic U.S. History class, children and teenagers learn about the American Revolution and how the colonists came together to fight unfair taxation by their British counterparts, creating a country founded on the values of freedom, liberty and justice. One of the most notorious events leading up to this revolution was the Boston Massacre, which helped light the spark that fueled a rebellion. But what do we know about the events the paved the way to this historic moment?

The Sword & Scabbard: Thieves and Thugs and the Bloody Massacre in Boston by Allen Woods is the first in a series of novels that answers this question, weaving a story of crime, intrigue and politics to look at an unexplored section of history in a compelling new way.

The streets and taverns of Boston prior to 'The Bloody Massacre' were filled with brawls and scrapes, hot words and cold calculations. Nicholas Gray and Maggie Magowan run The Sword and Scabbard, a tavern that is the center of both criminal and political scheming. Each is a fugitive from a dangerous past and their relationship grows fitfully in the midst of historic events. The pair remain suspicious of politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, but are eventually caught in a world where politics and crime meet.

In this thrilling, yet in-depth look at life in the colonies and the onset of the American Revolution, The Sword & Scabbard reveals that:

· Samuel Adams and other leaders saw themselves at war long before bullets flew, and they were willing to use physical intimidation and threats by gangs of unemployed sailors and dockworkers to further their goals.

· The Sons of Liberty had no belief in freedom of the press if someone published information harmful to their cause

· Revolutionary Boston was a city in turmoil, not a mythical place of pure and uniform Revolutionary ideals, and was filled with both self-serving and heroic people, as well as many others who just wished they could be left alone.

· Resistance to the taxes of the Stamp Act (which led to the Massacre and eventually the Revolution) through an import boycott helped John Hancock and other large merchants run smaller competitors out of business.

Direct Links to purchase the book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sword-Scabbard-Thieves-Massacre/dp/0990884104

http://www.lulu.com/shop/allen-woods/the-sword-and-scabbard-thieves-and-thugs-and-the-bloody-massacre-in-boston/paperback/product-21978907.html

http://www.goodreads.com/book/24173461/get_a_copy