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A Man and his Empire:
Interview with Michael Bergen
By Carin Chea
It is difficult – no, impossible – to label Michael Bergen. He is a former member of the Royal Canadian Navy. He is also a former business professional.
But, how do you describe an individual who has traversed over 44 countries, 300 cities, and an innumerable amount of townships in between? “Adventurous” sounds too broad, and “ambitious” appears reductive since Bergen’s driving force is ravenous curiosity, not the desire to succeed.
However, in recent years, Bergen has adopted one title, that of author. Unlike other burgeoning authors, Bergen’s entrance is nothing short of commanding and downright impressive: He has made his literary debut by publishing an entire historical fiction book series, with the fourth book currently in the editing process.
The Rutherford Chronicles, based on his family’s presence in various wars, spans generations and explores a tale of true grit.
Despite having a life that has spanned continents, Bergen admits that working on The Rutherford Chronicles has been a lonely journey.
In his online journal, he reflects: “I’ve written four historical fiction novels over the past dozen years. I have worked alone, with only occasional comments from one or two friends.” What a treat it is, then, to have the author present for this interview, a glimpse into his deeply immersive writer’s mind.
You’ve always had a passion for storytelling. After working on your books for so long, why publish now?
I had a bit of a hiatus because of the situation I was in in South Africa. But now, I’m on the cusp of publishing my fourth book, which is my memoir; it’s also known as The Cold War memoir. I’m quite deep into my fifth book, which is a history of Scotland and the clans I’m involved with.
My background are the clans of MacCrae and Rutherford, and that’s basically the core of my fifth book. It brings in some of the Celtic heroes and fantasy. Also, I only retired a couple of years ago, so I’ve just managed to recently finish my books.
Now, I’m very serious about my writing and about marketing. Historical fiction requires a lot of research and detail, so I’m not dashing a country western novel or anything like that. It takes me a good year or more of hard work to get a book out.
What is one place you’d love to visit, maybe even live in, again?
I’ve lived in so many places. New Zealand possibly because of its natural beauty. That’s also what I love about Scotland and Canada.
Tell us about The Rutherford Chronicles and what inspired it.
I’ve always wanted to write, ever since I was at university in Montreal. I never got a chance to do it except for writing business documents. About a dozen years ago, I got interested in my genealogy and stated looking at my family and where they came from.
I was born in England, my mother was Rutherford and father was Bergen, but his mother was a MacCrae and she came from eastern Quebec.
My British grandpa fought in the Anglo World War in South Africa. I looked into and found an interesting story. He went onto India afterwards. All of that is in Empire Discovered, the first book in the series.
In the second book (Empire and War) my grandpa was held prisoner in German war camps. I did a lot of research; nobody knew what camps he had been in. I had discovered that he had been in three camps. I found out how they lived, their food rations, their daily routine.
The third book, Empire and Tyranny, is about World War II and I researched my father’s and my grandfather’s involvements.
The fourth book is called Empire Lost and is my own personal experience in the Cold War and how it came into being.
I was in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, directly at sea, checking for soviet submarines and missiles.
I was also involved in the search for the USS Thresher, the US’ most advanced nuclear submarine of the era. Then, I was involved in NATO exercises.
It then goes onto my life in university when the Vietnam War was going on and explains the whole scene in the US and Canada
Then, I moved to Europe and experienced the border between divided Germany. I went to Berlin twice: The first time was the year they put it up, and then ten years later.
After that, I moved to South Africa when The Struggle started, the battle of the blacks trying to get their independence and create a majority government that they have now. The whole battle in South Africa for independence was Soviet backed which, in my mind, made it part of the Cold War.
At times, it was very scary. I don’t know if you’ve ever lived in an area where they’re blowing up bars and pubs and postage boxes and all that. That all came to end in 1994 with Mandela’s election.
You’ve described your writer’s journey as “lonely.” Care to share more about that experience?
It’s a very lonely occupation. You can talk about the subject with people, but most of it you have to do completely on your own. I’ve used editors before. But, I’ve found that they sometimes don’t do a good job.
The mainstream publishers have a whole army of editors so they do a much more thorough job of it. I started out very simply and published the first three books, went back and did some more edits and published it again.
I don’t know what to compare it to. I guess a painter is the same. But, a painter can put his work in a gallery and get a reaction immediately. A writer can’t do that. You have to finish the book completely, publish it, and only then do you get feedback on the book.
Are there any upcoming projects you’d like us to know about?
My next project, which I’m already well into with a draft manuscript, is the history of Scotland and the history of two or three clans. I’m very excited about that.
Some of the heroes in the book are Celtic heroes. Before Christianity took over, they worshipped Celtic heroes. I follow my ancestors through until they came to Canada.
It’s also my first time bringing fantasy into the story with these ancient heroes.
Who would you cast as your grandfather if Rutherford Chronicles were made into an epic mini-series?
Ewan McGregor. I’m a big fan.
Is there a message you’d say you’re trying to convey through your books?
The theme that runs through all of my books is anti-war. What upsets me is that in all of these wars, and every war I’ve studied, it’s always the young men (17, 18, 19) who are enthusiastic about joining the army, traveling, making money, going overseas, and they get killed or maimed.
This is the story that gets repeated over and over again. Why do we allow our leaders to lead us into war, and why do the youth rush to make themselves available to fight and die in these wars? How do all these lessons learned from the 20th century wars relate to the wars we create today?
But, it’s important to note that I also bring in all the progress we’ve made despite all these wars. Far fewer people are dying of starvation compared to the beginning of the 20th century. More people are literate now.
I mention these positive changes, and more, in the epilogue.
I think it’s best summed up in a quote from George Santayana who said, “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”
For more information, please visit MichaelGBergen.com.
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