NK Chats To… Leon Mitchell

Hi Leon. It’s wonderful to be welcoming you back to Novel Kicks. Can you tell us about your latest book, The One True Empress and what inspired it?

It is brilliant to be back on Novel Kicks, thank you for having me. The One True Empress is a project that bridges my dual passions for historical narrative and cinematic documentary. It focuses on the life of Empress Matilda, a 12th-century leader whose profound impact has frequently been overlooked. I was inspired by the sheer gravity of her lived experience. I have been fortunate to collaborate closely with the brilliant historian Sharon Bennett Connolly on the research for this. Together, we are ensuring the project captures not only the historical truth, but the deeply complex psychological architecture of a woman fighting for her rightful place.

What attracted you to this genre?

As a director too, I am naturally drawn to stories that play out vividly in the mind—what I call the “Internal Cinema.” Historical fiction provides a masterclass in exploring narrative identity, and I love my psychological depth. You are taking real, breathing people and examining the psychological weight of their choices. Coming from writing science fiction like Lords and mysteries for younger readers, tackling the 12th century offered a fascinating journey to ground my cinematic style in absolute, gritty reality.

In your opinion, what elements make up a good story?

For me, and especially when writing a book like “The One True Empress” a truly resonant story needs a relatable psychological foundation, it needs connection. It is never just about the plot mechanics, but how the protagonist’s internal compass aligns or clashes with the external world. When an author successfully projects their ‘internal cinema’ onto the page, the reader feels it viscerally. There are no cheap tricks required—just an honest reflection of the human condition.

How long does it take you to write a novel?

It varies significantly, especially when balancing writing with directing and my psychological research. Typically, a novel takes anywhere from eight months to 3 years from the initial concept to a polished draft. The One True Empress has been a uniquely immersive project because of the parallel cinematic documentary development and the extensive historical fact-checking required to do the era justice. The One True Empress is now in it’s second year and we are finally very close to it being released.

Which fictional character would you like to meet and what’s the one question you’d like to ask them?

I would be fascinated to sit down with Sherlock Holmes. Given my background in psychology, I’d want to ask him some deep questions: “How much of your deductive reasoning is a conscious act of will, and how much is an involuntary firing of your Default Mode Network?” I would love to dissect whether he views his own brilliant mind as a gift or an inescapable cage. I would also love to go back in time and meet Marty Mcfly, because I love Back to the Future and all things 80’s.

When did you consider yourself a writer?

It was a gradual evolution professionally. But you could say it was from a very young age. I started writing music at the age of 12, before that I was writing short stories and poetry. It feels like I’ve always been a writer in some sense.

Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. The way she constructs Thomas Cromwell’s internal landscape is masterful. The perspective is so incredibly tight, so phenomenologically immediate, it feels exactly like peering directly through his eyes. To experience that specific structural revelation for the first time again would be a genuine privilege. That or Game of Thrones, this was an incredible series.

Do you have any advice to overcome writer’s block?

I firmly believe that writer’s block is often a symptom of avoiding ‘productive struggle.’ When you hit a wall, it usually means your internal cinema has lost its focus. My advice is to stop forcing the scene on the screen, or the writing on the page, and shift your modality. Speak the text aloud. My close friend and collaborator Peter Darne’s, who narrates my audiobooks, and I often discuss how hearing the words physically changes your relationship to the narrative. If that fails, step away and let your Default Mode Network (Day Dreams) take over. Take a long walk without your phone. The brain is incredibly adept at solving the problem in the background if you give it the space to work.

What comes first for you, plot or characters?

Character, without question. Before I outline any major events, I need to know the protagonist’s identity—what stories they fundamentally tell themselves about who they are. Once I understand their internal compass, the plot organically forms around the specific challenges required to either shatter or solidify that identity. I always create and write with  relevant ambient music on, but it can’t have any lyrics. Just the music that represents the scene I am writing.

What type of scene do you find hardest to write?

Scenes where characters are entirely static physically, but must undergo a massive internal paradigm shift. Directing a high-stakes sequence with massive moving parts—like the planetary collision and alien arrival in my sci-fi novel Lords—has a natural momentum to carry it forward. But writing a quiet scene where two people are simply sitting in a room, and one of them realises their entire worldview is fundamentally flawed, requires absolute exactitude. You have to convey profound psychological movement without relying on a single physical action.