Thursday 18 June 2020

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

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
Twitter: @FCapaldiBurgess
Instagram: Francesca.Capaldi.Burgess






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