Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Publishing 15th October 2013
Do our actions and
decisions mark us and stay with us for the rest of our lives? Gracie has her
life before her as the dark clouds of the Second World War gather.
Though she and her family
cope well with the stresses on the home front, Gracie's transformation to
adulthood is swifter and more brutal than she could have ever imagined.
Gracie meets Tony, who
arouses such feelings in her that she has never experienced before - not with
Joe her regular beau who considers her his girl. Then, one night, one mistake,
and she realises she is carrying Joe's child.
And now Tony has gone to
war.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
JB:
Why did you decide to write about this particular period in history?
ELAINE: I grew up hearing my parents
talk about the war years along with stories of family life ‘back then’. The
community I grew up in Slade Green, NW Kent was very close. These days it has
been swallowed up as part of outer London but even in the sixties it had a
village atmosphere where everyone looked out for the children and it was safe
to leave the door unlocked. Again, when I married and moved to nearby Erith in
the 70’s I knew many people and learned how my street has survived the war. In
fact Gracie’s friend Peggy lived in my own house in Alexandra Road. I knew and
loved the people as well as the area so it was an easy choice to set my story
there.
JB: Did Gracie’s character develop the
way you had originally plan or did she develop completely differently?
ELAINE: I knew Gracie as a young
woman. She was exactly as I had designed her. However, as the story grew darker
I was surprised how she coped when I threw danger in her path. But then she was
like many women at that time. They had to grow up quickly as the War took over
their lives.
JB: What sort of research did you have
to do for the book?
ELAINE: I needed to check local
history. I couldn’t rely completely on family stories. I found that reading the
BBC website containing war memories was very helpful as it gave me glimpses of
what people thought about, the weather the day war broke out and people who saw
the boats go off to take part in the relief of Dunkirk. I wanted to know about
real people and that’s where I found it. I also immersed myself in films set in
those years and played records from the war years. My mother was rescued from
the floods in 1953 only weeks before her wedding to my dad. Although she passed
away when I was 17 (she was 40) the stories she told me have stayed with me all
these years.
JB: From start to finish, how long did
it take to write the book?
ELAINE: The book went through the RNA
New Writers Scheme in 2012 and took around six months though it had been in my
head for a while until I was ready to write.
JB: You have written many short
stories throughout your writing career. Tell us a little bit more about the
process for writing a short story and how that differs from writing a full
length book?
ELAINE: I write short stories for women’s magazines
(womag) so my first ideas have to fit the right market. Not only the word
length but the style of that magazine and what the readers like to read. I have
to be able to sell the story to more than one market so I may have several
versions that also fit overseas magazines. I also have to write ahead all the
time so for some magazines I am writing Christmas stories in the summer months
which can be tricky. The difference between writing my short stories and novels
is that I have the luxury of more words to play with and being able to include
extra sub plots and in depth characters.
JB: Was the short story market a
difficult one to break into?
ELAINE: Yes, I had to learn my craft.
We wouldn’t expect a plumber to fix our loo on the first day at work and I didn’t
expect to sell stories straight away. However I did send some awful stories off
and thankfully they were rejected. It was all part of the learning process.
JB: You are involved in adult
education and founded The Write Place, a creative writing school. You must find this a very worthwhile venture.
Tell us a little bit more about how this came about.
ELAINE: I’m very proud of The Write
Place and have seen so many beginners not only enjoy their writing but succeed
in competitions and placing their stories in magazines. We run all classes
month by month so that no one has to fork out for six month terms like other
educational institutions. We are a very happy crowd and not at all stuffy. One
week we can be writing hints. Tips and fillers and the next family pieces for a
newspaper or a horror story for a competition. We like to try all kinds of
writing. We have classes for novel writing, womag writing and also a general
writing class. Cakes feature highly in our classes as we love to celebrate a
student’s success.
JB: Do you have any invaluable writing
tips?
ELAINE: Keep writing. It’s no good
thinking about starting to write. Just pick up a pen and do it. Also network as
much as possible and attend classes and talks. Many of my students are NWS
members and we attend the events together. We also trek off to the Writers
Holiday each year. I’m away soon with three writing friends for our annual
writing retreat in Whitstable. This needn’t cost a lot of money in fact we
often challenge students to sell hints and tips etc to fund their writing trips.
JB: Do you have any writing rituals
such as favourite music playing while you write?
ELAINE: When writing Gracie’s War I
did play music from that era but to be honest I’d stop writing to read the CD
covers and pick new songs. I can’t write in silence. I have the television
running all day long – although I have to switch over when Jeremy Kyle comes on
the screen. We’ve always had dogs in the house so my daily writing had to fit
around their needs. If I forget them too long they would come and tell me! We
only have the one young dog, a Polish Lowland Sheepdog at the moment. He does
like to stay with me when I write but has the annoying habit of shredding
pieces of paper. I must be the only writer who has one eye on the computer screen
and the other on the dog!
Thanks so much to Elaine for taking time out of her busy day to answer my questions.
About the Author
Elaine Everest is a freelance writer and lives in Swanley,
Kent with her husband Michael and Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Henry. She has
written over sixty short stories for women’s magazines worldwide. Her features
have appeared in publications ranging from The Guardian, The Daily Express and
the Daily Mail to My Weekly and Your Dog. Her opinion pieces have led to many
appearances on radio including chatting to Jenni Murray on Woman’s Hour about
having a husband under her feet all day long. Elaine has written numerous
columns for canine publications centred around her expertise in the world of
dogs. This has led to commissions to write three successful books for dog
owners.
Elaine’s successful writing life led her to become a
qualified teacher for adult education. Four years ago she founded The Write
Place creative writing school and holds regular classes at The Mick Jagger
Centre in Dartford Kent.
Elaine was BBC Radio Short Story Writer of the Year in 2003,
short listed for The Harry Bowling Prize in 2012, Short listed for The Festival
of Romance novel competition in 2012 and winner of the Myrmidon Books (Pulse
Romance) Write for Us competition in 2013.
Gracie’s War is her first published novel and is
set in North West Kent where she grew up. A member of the Romantic Novelist
Association, Elaine is a graduate of the RNA New Writers Scheme. Gracie’s War is short listed for their
Joan Hessayon Award in 2014.
Many thanks for featuring Gracie's War on your excellent blog.
Regards
Elaine
Its always interesting to read what inspires authors. Thanks for this interview with Elaine.
Oh, I just love your cover, Elaine, and the blurb! I also have one eye on the computer and one on the dog(s), particularly as one can't see his nose in front of him. Best of luck! Thanks for sharing, JB! :)
Great interview ladies.
JB, thank you for hosting Elaine on tour today.
Shaz
I'm in awe you can write with the telly on. Music, yes but the tv would drive me crackers!
Interesting interview, thanks for sharing. The book looks just up my street!
Lovely interview and insight into an authors life. Great tips too!
Steph Roundsmith