Chatting with Francesca Capaldi

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome Francesca Capaldi to the blog for tea and a chat about her recently published saga, Heartbreak in the Valleys

Hello Natalie, and thank you for inviting me.

The biscuits are on that plate, Francesca, so help yourself and let’s begin.

What a mixed heritage you have. Your parents came from vastly different backgrounds. With Heartbreak in the Valleys you’ve obviously been pulled towards your mother’s homeland. I’m aware you grew up on the south coast of England so tell us, what is it about Wales that tugs at your heartstrings?

Wales is such a breathtakingly beautiful place. I've been visiting it since I was six years old, when we had cousins living in Merthyr Tydfil. They used to drive us through the sweeping valleys and around the verdant mountains, to visit the beauty spots. Although my mother was only eleven when she left, her heart always belonged to Wales, and she passed that affection for it onto me.

Your father was Italian. Have you had much opportunity in your own lifetime to return to his roots? Do you know what his childhood was like?

Although I've been to Italy a few times, I've never visited Picinisco in Lazio, where he came from. It was a place of mountains. There has been a family trip planned there for years, but we haven't quite got there yet. I know he was brought up between two farms, as both sides of his family owned them. One, or maybe both, had sheep. At least one of them had a vineyard and made their own wine. On one occasion, my dad was playing in the building where they were making wine and ended up drunk from the fumes. He talked of donkeys (which he was very fond of) and strawberries as large as apples. It sounded like a happy, carefree childhood, though his father was killed in World War 1 when he was only ten months old, so his mother was a widow.

Your readers will be delighted to know that there is a Book 2 in the series. Will Wales remain the focus of your writing after that, do you think, or will you change the setting and/or the time period, and will it be another saga?

I'm hoping to write another in the series, but that hasn't been decided yet. I have part of a World War 1 saga written that is set on the Sussex coast, which could be another series. There are several contemporary novels that I've written, one of which is set in West Wales, so at the moment I could go several ways.

As well as your sagas, you’ve also written several pocket novels and a great number of short stories. With such a varied output, do you have a favourite? Do you like the quick fix or do you prefer to be in it for the long haul?

Ooh, that's an interesting question. I'm not sure I have a favourite, though I do like to alternate novel writing with shorter pieces. Short stories require a different skill and it's good to keep my hand in, though I don’t write as many of them now as I'd like to.

Impossible to write a saga without doing a considerable amount of research. Is this something you enjoy or a chore that has to be done?

Not a chore at all – I love it! I particularly love primary record sources, like the census and newspapers from the time period. If anything, I love it too much as I could look through them all day and not get a word written!

And now, a little bit about Francesca Capaldi please. When you’re not writing, and when we’re not all stuck in lockdown, what best do you like to do?

I love being out visiting places, especially with friends and family. I enjoy a coffee out at the garden centre, or a visit to a National Trust property. I like going to the theatre. What I'm particularly missing at the moment are days out with the family, visiting places like museums or country parks, or simply having a meal. And I love having the grandchildren to stay, as we always have lots of fun.

Thank you for your questions, Natalie. 

It’s been a pleasure, Francesca. Thank you for joining me.

About Heartbreak in the Valley

The world was crumbling, but her love stayed strong

November 1915. For young housemaid, Anwen Rhys, life is hard in the Welsh mining village of Dorcalon, deep in the Rhymney Valley. She cares for her ill mother and beloved younger sister Sara, all while shielding them from her father's drunken, violent temper. Anwen comforts herself with her love for childhood sweetheart, Idris Hughes, away fighting in the Great War. 

Yet when Idris returns, he is a changed man; no longer the innocent boy she loved, he is harder, more distant, quickly breaking off their engagement. And when tragedy once again strikes her family, Anwen's heart is completely broken.

But when an explosion at the pit brings unimaginable heartache to Dorcalon, Anwen and Idris put their feelings aside to unite their mining community.

In the midst of despair, can Anwen find hope again? And will she ever find the happiness she deserves?

Book Links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XUSTyB

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2XZ0RGI

Apple: https://apple.co/2KsIfqJ

About the Author

Several years ago, Francesca Capaldi pursued a childhood dream and joined a creative writing class. Lots of published short stories, a serial, and three pocket novels later, she's now explored her mother's ancestral history for a novel set in a Welsh colliery village. A history graduate and former teacher, she hails from the Sussex coast but now lives in Kent with her family and a cat called Lando Calrissian

Social Media

Blog: https://writemindswriteplace.wordpress.com/

Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/FrancescaCapaldiAuthor/

Twitter: @FCapaldiBurgess

Instagram: Francesca.Capaldi.Burgess

Chatting with Ros Rendle

I'm delighted to welcome Ros today for tea and a chat, and to congratulate her on the publication of her latest book, Bird in the Hand
I love a chat about books at any time, and if there's tea involved too, then even better. Thank you for the invitation.

It seems to me that the beautiful cover of Bird in the Hand conceals a novel filled with a multitude of emotions, which begs the question, is your writing character or plot driven? Do you find yourself living in Charmian's skin? Does she take you on her journey or do you take her?
Many of my books have started with the main character, who I picture in great detail, both physically and emotionally, from the beginning. I could picture Charmian's wild curly hair and brown, long-limbed figure. I knew she was rebellious and restless. Having said that, more recently my books are concept driven. That is to say I have in mind a 'what if'. What if the girl has two people who wish to have a relationship with her but through a particular circumstance she decides to relinquish both? Or...what if the decisions she makes for her partner or are made for her by others case her intense difficulty then...the plot thickens. It's great fun whether it's character, plot or concept. 

You've written several books in different genres. Was that a deliberate choice or was each one a story demanding to be told?
My very first book, soon to be reissued with Sapere Books, demanded to be written. It was the one that released me. We all have those dramas in life at some point and people say to write it down can help. It's not my own story, I must emphasise, but it was useful. Then, each book since has come with its own clamour to be written. The 20th century historical series arose from family history delving and, living in the area of many WW1 battlefields at the time, the research was fascinating. Thus, three sisters and three times of major conflict of the last century were born. My contemporary novels are just fun to write, even though each has a serious social interaction or family drama at its heart. I do quite enjoy the difference in time periods and therefore different types of research.

I see you lived in France for ten years. Was that prior to your retirement and, if so, were you teaching in an English or a French school? Or something entirely different? Can you tell us something of your experiences there?
Both my husband and I took early retirement here, and that's when we went to live in France. He did work for a French builder and I did do some voluntary English teaching in our local primary school there, but really it was great to do very little in terms of work! That's when I took up writing. I had tried in my twenties, but 'life' got in the way. My mum, who was a published author, always encouraged me and I'm sorry she never knew of my more recent success.
We lived in a small village and had a good community of French and English friends. The language was not a problem for me, and my husband took a short course which gave him confidence to have a go. He was able to converse with lots of people using French and gesticulations. Getting into the bureaucracy of a foreign life was sometimes frustrating and often hilarious but people were always helpful. Life was calm but punctuated by parties and outings. We enjoyed it all.

As a head teacher you must have needed to be extremely organised in your working life. Is that a natural trait or an acquired one? Does it follow through to your writing?
Yes, that's very perceptive. My working life had to be highly organised, especially with family and children to sort out. Often I had evening meetings and long days, so I had to think ahead and write lots down. Nothing else is particularly so. Housework definitely got forgotten. I'm not an in-depth planner with my writing. I usually plan each of the first ten chapters but leave the next ten until I get there and so on. I do know at roughly what part major plot points will happen, though, just not the fine detail of how to get there.

Writing is a somewhat sedentary occupation but I notice from your biog that when you're not at your desk you are often indulging in some physically demanding activity. Do you, for instance, ever find a plot running around in your head when you're walking the dogs or is it a complete getaway for you?
I have plots and conversations running through my head all the time. Sometimes I must make myself concentrate on talk going on around me. However, when we're ballroom dancing, I need to focus closely so it's probably just as well to get away from novels for a while. Then an idea or a resolution will ping home when I least expect it, often in the middle of the night. 

It's been a real pleasure chatting with you, Ros. Let's do it again when your next book comes out. In the meantime, I wish you all the luck with Bird in the Hand. 

Blurb:

1970, the height of the sexual revolution and independence for young people. Set in Cornwall, Charmian is worried her future is mapped for her and repressive. She craves that freedom and excitement. That's not quite what she gets.

Bird in the Hand is a story of making decisions for others which reaps heartache. Charmian has two birds and a third on the way. What's a girl to do? Consequences can be tough. We cannot mould our children to fit our own expectations. Sometimes it's better to be the familiar stranger. Charmian and her family have much with which to come to terms but it's ultimately uplifting.

Live, laugh, cry with, and love these characters. Lose yourself in a feel-good holiday read.

Author biog:

Having worked as a head teacher, Ros has been used to writing policy documents, essays and stories to which young children enjoyed listening. Now she has taken up the much greater challenge of writing fiction for adults. She writes both historical sagas and contemporary romance; perfect for lying by a warm summer pool or curling up with on a cosy sofa

Ros is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, the Historical Novelists' Society and the Society of Authors.

She lived in France for ten years but has moved back to the UK with her husband and dogs. While there, she gained much information which has been of use in her books. They are thoroughly and accurately researched.

Ros enjoys ballroom or Latin dancing, and dog walking across the fields. She has been caught out a couple of times, but she and her husband don’t normally do both at the same moment. She is a committee member of for the Deepings Literary Festival. Two daughters, with their husbands, and four granddaughters live close by, with whom she shares many marvellously fun times.

Links:

www.rosrendleauthor.co.uk

www.Facebook.com/RosalindRendleAuthor

www.Twitter.com/ros_rendle

www.Instagram.com/ros_rendle

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