It's Publication Day for Elaine Roberts and The Foyles Bookshop Girls

I’m delighted to welcome friend, Elaine Roberts, to the blog to celebrate the publication today of her debut novel, The Foyles Bookshop Girls. Congratulations, Elaine, and thank you for answering my questions:

Every unpublished writer dreams of that offer of a contract. But for you it was like the proverbial bus. You wait an age for one and then three come along at the same time! Fantastic – but what did it feel like?

The day I received the email, I was in a bit of an emotional state and I was talking to my husband, Dave, about giving up writing. He went to answer a knock at the front door and by the time he got back, an email had arrived from Aria saying how they loved my book and wanted to publish it. To be honest it didn’t really register at first. I showed it to Dave and he was thrilled. I believe I said something along the lines of “I don’t know if I want it now”, to which he replied rather incredulously, “You’re having a laugh, aren’t you. You’ve worked so hard for this.” As I’m sure you can guess, it was a strange feeling. I think, within half an hour, I’d had two emails, a phone call and a contract to sign, so after years of waiting for this moment to arrive, it all seemed to happen very quickly. I’m obviously thrilled to have a three-book contract, but it still feels rather surreal and of course I am now on a steep learning curve on marketing and promotion.

Alice, Victoria and Molly are very different characters. What is it that binds them together?

They have a history together that goes back to their childhood, before they were aware of life’s protocols. Originally, circumstances brought Molly and Alice together, but more of that is revealed in The Foyles Girls at War. They also have their love of books, which is what brings them to Foyles Bookshop. The trials that the Great War forces on them binds them together, creating a bond that can’t be broken.

Many people find unknown depths in times of adversity. What does Alice learn about herself in these terrible times?

Alice was always the peacemaker, never wanting to rock the boat. She believed in the suffragette movement, but she never wanted to upset her father and be forced into a marriage she didn’t want. She felt she could pave the way for her younger sister, Lily, to have more freedom, by doing things slowly and quietly. During this first novel, she realises she’s stronger and more capable than she ever realised. She faces difficult situations, some of which she totally mishandles. She doesn’t understand why her actions are misunderstood, but she comes to realise that being the eldest didn’t necessarily mean she knew best. 

As a writer I know how one’s characters become real. Which is your favourite, and why?

You are right, they do become very real and part of your life. You ride the wave of emotions they are on. I love them all for very different reasons, but if I had to choose one, it would have to be Lily, Alice’s sister. She’s not afraid to take on the world and she’s all about justice and not afraid to speak out, even if it’s not the right time to do so. Haha, she sounds a bit like me - now that’s rather worrying!

What is it about saga writing that made it your chosen genre?

As you know, I started writing contemporary women’s fiction. I believe it was a conversation we had when we were going to a Romantic Novelists Association London Chapter meeting. We were sitting in a cafe when I spoke about maybe trying to write something in the Victorian era and you told me I should give it a go. I was full of insecurities of whether I could do all the research, as well as plan and write 100,000 words, but I gave it a go. Once I put my fear behind me and realised I had nothing to lose, I thoroughly enjoyed creating the fictional story to weave around the historical facts. After the Historical Novelist Society conference, I was then encouraged to write a World War One novel and that turned out to be The Foyles Bookshop Girls.

Setting your novel in what is perhaps the most famous bookshop in the world seems inspired to me but what, in today’s context, does Foyles mean to you?

Ask any writer and they will say they love a bookshop, whether a big named store like Foyles or a small second hand one. I wanted one of my characters to work or own a bookshop and originally that was my male lead character, but as always it evolved in the planning.

Foyles in Charing Cross Road held Discovery Days where authors could have a one to one with an agent. I remember rehearsing my thirty-second pitch over and over again and memorising the premise of my story, which was a modern one the first time I attended, and then the Victorian one, the second time. I remember everyone was so nervous, and yet there was a real camaraderie as we waited in line for our moment. Foyles is books, books are authors and the Discovery Days they held were all about encouraging talent to rise to the surface. I came away with their motivational words ringing in my ears. Those days gave me the belief that I could actually write a book and be published.

Could we have a little background information please? Have you always been a writer, or an aspiring one? Tell us about your journey?

I have always kept diaries and, as I got older, journals. When I was in my twenties, I wrote a modern love story and sent it to Mills and Boon. They sent me a very nice rejection, which said they would have taken it, but they were in the process of changing their image, and it wouldn’t fit in with them going forward. This gave me encouragement, but life got in the way and I didn’t write anything else for several years. I think it wasn’t my time then, but I took it up again about eight years ago. Thanks to my son, I joined The Write Place Creative Writing School and was encouraged to join organisations like The Romantic Novelists Association New Writers Scheme, which I would definitely recommend. I wrote and submitted short stories, which is a real lesson on word choice and writing to a word count. I was thrilled when I sold my first short story and couldn’t believe someone wanted to buy a story I had written. All the time I was doing that, I was still working on my novel. Joining a class and an organisation tells you you’re not alone and everything that is happening to you has happened to others. That is very encouraging to know.

With the publication today of The Foyles Bookshop Girls, promotion is already in place for this three book series. How far are you into the writing process for the next two?

My second book, The Foyles Girls at War is finished and waiting for a final edit, before being printed off for a final read through, in case there are any glaring errors.

The third one, Christmas at the Foyles Bookshop, is planned and the historical timeline is written. I’ve written one chapter at the moment so that is definitely a moving storyline.

I have also written an idea down for the book after that, but I’m not saying anymore than that at the moment.

It’s obvious from your previous answer what is next for Elaine Roberts on the writing front. When you’re not creating other worlds, what do you do for your own pleasure?

My life outside of writing is about my family; I’m at my happiest when I’m spending time with them. When Dave and I aren’t on babysitting duties, we will book a few days away, but my laptop always goes with me, as you never know when an idea will come and the urge to write will take over. I obviously love to read and still write short stories, although not as many as I used to. I enjoy playing Sudoko and doing crosswords, if they aren’t too difficult. I love spending time with my friends and going to the theatre, which is something I do more and more.

Thank you for inviting me onto your blog, Natalie.

It's been a pleasure.

The Blurb:

London, 1914: one ordinary day, three girls arrive for work at London's renowned Foyles bookshop. But when war with Germany is declared their lives will never be the same again... 

Alice has always been the 'sensible' one in her family – especially in comparison with her suffrage-supporting sister! But decidedly against her father's wishes, she accepts a job at Foyles Bookshop; and for bookworm Alice it's a dream come true. 

But with the country at war, Alice's happy world is shattered in an instant. Determined to do what she can, Alice works in the bookshop by day, and risks her own life driving an ambulance around bomb-ravaged London by night. But however busy she keeps herself, she can't help but think of the constant danger those she loves are facing on the frontline... 

Alice, Victoria and Molly couldn't be more different and yet they share a friendship that stems back to their childhood – a friendship that provides everyday solace from the tribulations and heartbreak of war. 

Amazon Link:                The Foyles Bookshop Girls

Kobo Link:                     The Foyles Bookshop Girls

Facebook Author Page:   Elaine Roberts Facebook Author Page

Twitter:                         @RobertsElaine11

Retreat to Advance

The title of this blog is not to suggest I am a military tactician but to establish how much progress a writer can make by removing her/himself from the ‘normal’ world.

For this year’s annual writing retreat, Elaine Everest, Elaine Roberts, Francesca Capaldi Burgess and I chose Ramsgate on the Kent coast. For one week we lived and worked in a delightful house overlooking the beach and the harbour. We all had different aims but the ambition of each was to focus on our work away from the distractions of everyday life. There was a level of concentration that was impossible to maintain every waking hour so I make no apology for admitting that we sampled many of the diversions on offer – and the ice-cream was delicious.

I asked each of my companions to tell me about their week.

Elaine Everest

I like to plan what I'll be working on while on a writing retreat. Clear the decks so I'm not working on admin or blogging if at all possible and stick to my writing. This year the sun has been out most days and our lovely four-bedroomed house overlooks the sea. There's a buzz from cafes and the harbour nearby which can make it extremely hard to concentrate on words. Worse still was waiting on news from my publisher with the Nielsen Bookscan results for The Woolworths Girls. Tuesday started with much chewing of fingernails and ended with ice cream and bubbly when I learned The Woolworths Girls was number 15 in the Sunday Times Bestsellers chart. Apart from that I wrote around 2.000 words before moving onto edits for my second book The Butlins Girls. With a fair wind behind me and not too much sun to distract me I should have cleared the track changes and possibly even written another short scene before we head for home on Saturday.

Elaine Roberts

Left to Right
Elaine R, Francesca, Natalie and Elaine E
in Corby's Tearooms

The week before the writing retreat, I made a plan and chapter breakdown of my new novel. In my mind, I thought I’d write around 10,000 words; the final figure was 6,335. No, I am not disappointed; tiredness got the better of me. I lost two days writing, one travelling to the RNA Summer Party, which was great, and the following day. Wine, travelling and lack of sleep did play its part for me.

The week did bring lots of writerly discussions. We celebrated Elaine Everest’s success with excessive ice cream and champagne, not at the same time. An afternoon coming up with book titles caused a lot of laughter as we sat near the marina; we got some funny looks from people sitting close by.

It was a good week of sea and sun, with lots of food and wine, even if my word count was down.

Francesca Capaldi Burgess

View from our balcony

A week away to write, research and edit the second part of my serial for People's Friend was what I was hoping to achieve during our week in Ramsgate. Happily, I can report I managed it. I'm sure I'll do a couple more edits, but it's more or less ready to send off. A retreat is a good way to escape the everyday stresses and have some dedicated writing time. It's also valuable having other writers to hand as you can throw ideas around and get feedback. Not all the ideas are sensible but they are fun! I find that our down time, sharing meals etc, is an important component of the week as it refreshes us and sets us up for the next bout of work.

Natalie Kleinman

For a while there I felt as if I was in no man’s land. I had not yet engaged with my new novel and I was waiting for track changes to arrive from my agent, Lisa Eveleigh. Arrive they did and I set to with a will.

We took a day out to get the train to London for the RNA Summer Party, arriving back at the house in Ramsgate close to midnight. We walked each day, on the promenade, on the beach, inland, exploring this lovely seaside town which I had never before visited. We ate a lot. We drank…some. And we worked!

Edits were resumed. They are time-consuming and require much concentration, but are very rewarding. I still have a lot to do but at least I can now foresee the time (I hope) when my book will be ready to submit to publishers. So let’s return to the title of this post. Retreat to Advance. It is unlikely that I would have achieved as much had I remained at home. Every writing retreat I’ve been to has pushed my work forward, given me the time and space to focus on the job in hand. Though the edits are not finished they are well in advance of where they would have been. So, here’s to next year’s retreat. To more eating, drinking, walking and exploration. And above all, to more writing.

My thanks to Elaine E, Elaine R and Francesca for their contributions. 

Retreat and Advance

We arrived in Whitstable on Saturday afternoon in glorious sunshine, four writers away for a week with the aim of leaving distractions behind and getting on with it. Entering into the spirit of the thing did we begin working immediately? Of course not. Instead we walked along the front and drank in the atmosphere, going out in the evening for a first class meal at the Samphire prior to starting work in earnest on Sunday morning…and start we did.

This isn’t the first retreat I’ve been on and I’m well aware of the benefits of dedicating time to a particular project, and we all have one of those. With a study, lounge, conservatory and large kitchen accommodating a large table, all inter-connected, we sat, each of us, in a different part of the house and all that could be heard was the clicking of keys as Elaine Everest, Francesca Capaldi Burgess, Elaine Roberts and I lost ourselves in our own little world. A new novel was begun, the first three chapters of another finely tuned and a third, at something over ten thousand words in, expanded upon. My own work in progress is a first draft and I am hoping to use the time to develop my characters, maybe to introduce a new sub-plot and generally to complete the first edit, though I have no expectation of finishing it in the time available. That said, it’s amazing how much can be achieved in a morning when the phone isn’t ringing or, with one designated coffee break, one isn’t jumping up to make a drink or feed the cat or, well, anything other than writing.

I looked up at one point to see the other three in rapt concentration and I realised that I had no idea what they were seeing or where they were. In this country? In Australia or the US? Our stories would all be different, the only similarity being that they would all have an element of romance. We are, after all, romantic fiction writers.

I know crabs walk sideways
but this is ridiculous

Whitstable is a quaint seaside town, one we’ve all visited before.

Having satisfied ourselves that we’d used the morning wisely we set out to explore the High Street, not populated by chains but with individual shops carrying individual wares. We indulged in a little window shopping. Back at our holiday home (holiday?) we resumed our positions and that is where I am now, writing this ready to post tomorrow morning so that the rest of the week can be dedicated to what I came here to do – to work. Tonight though we will of course be watching the final episode of Poldark!

Let no-one underestimate the potential of taking this time out to get away from it all. From past experience I know that by the end of the week we will have achieved far more than had we been at home. We will have worked together, eaten some fine meals together, drunk a glass or two of wine and, by next weekend, will I am sure have formed the intention of doing the same again at the earliest opportunity. If you have the opportunity try it. I can’t recommend the experience too highly.