Jon Haylett blog

The hero of ‘Black Mongoose’ is an ex-Royal Marine commando. I knew precious little about the marines when I started writing the novel – I hadn’t fully appreciated that they are a section of the Navy, not the Army – but it was essential that my man had certain military skills which he puts to good use in the book, and the marines are one group which specialises in them. So I had to rely on someone else to help me when I wrote about Johnny Strowger’s earlier exploits. In this I was fortunate as an ex-pupil of mine has been in the Royal Marine Reserve ever since he left school.

Last September he went out to Afghanistan. As a Reservist he didn’t have to go, he chose to, and I admire him for doing it. He left his job, his family, his life in London and, after some additional training, was posted to Helmand Province. It’s not the first time he’s volunteered: a couple of years ago he did six months in Basra. Last week we all breathed a sigh of relief: he’s back, safe and well.

Johnny Strowger was involved in Operation Telic as part of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. One of the difficult things I have tried to capture in the book is the mental state of a man who, as part of such operations, has killed, clinically, frequently and up close and nastily.

As an author, I feel more comfortable writing about things I have experienced, but I’ve always believed that it’s the acid test of a writer’s skill when he/she attempts to write outside his/her field. For all the research (and the internet is a wonderful thing), for all the talking to other people, in the end it comes down to imagination, whether the writer can put him/herself into the boots of the person portrayed and ‘see’ what they would think, feel and do.

I found writing about Johnny rather frightening, particularly as I know that many servicemen and women experience considerable difficulty in adjusting to civilian life. I admire those who succeed; I worry for those who, like Johnny, struggle.

Jon