The Uffington White Horse

The Next Big Thing

THE NEXT BIG THING: AUTHORS TAGGING AUTHORS!

I am really pleased to be taking part in The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors!

I was tagged by my really good friend, author Judith Arnopp and it's my pleasure to keep this going.

So, what I have done is answer the questions below, tag a new set of authors, then they answer, tag authors, etc.  I’m answering questions about my next novel, ‘Victoria’s Link,’ which I am still working on and which I hope will be completed by the Spring.

 What is the working title of your book?

 The title ‘Victoria’s Link’ has arisen naturally because this book is a sequel to ‘The Chainmakers’, a book written a few years ago, and it continues the chainmaking theme.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

 So many people seemed to enjoy what happened to the family in The Chainmakers, and wanted to know what happened next.  On the last page of  ‘The Chainmakers’ Victoria is a new  baby, and so it seemed logical to explore her youth, as she would be 18 at the outbreak of the Second World War, and so lived through exciting times. I have long distance hopes that there may be a third book entitled ‘Final Forging’ set in the sixties...we shall see!

What genre does your book fall under?

It is Historical Fiction set in World War 11, with big dollops of romance and adventure.

What is the one sentence synopsis for the book?

Rich young woman, trapped in occupied Rome, is forced to question her values, but discovers only love can provide the answers.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I am still writing the first draft , but the research took about two years on and off. When the first draft is finished there will still be a lot of re-drafting and editing to do.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

 A movie! What a lovely thought. I am not very good at remembering the names of actors but I will give it a shot. Keira Knightley would make a lovely Victoria, beautiful but able to portray some true grit when required... and for her brother James (who is slightly flaky but decent underneath it all) I think Dan Stevens, who played Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey would be superb. I must have Colin Firth to play Guy, Victoria’s love interest and good egg, and there is an Italian Mafia character named Giorgio who is handsome but controlling, and I think Jason Isaacs would be brilliant in that role.  Pam Ferris (who plays Laura Thyme in Rosemary and Thyme) would be ideal as Victoria’s older friend Guiditta. My! What a sum all those names would cost! And what a movie they could make!

What other books would you compare this story to, in your genre?

I’m not sure.  There are lots of war books around, but the occupation of Italy isn’t covered particularly well, unless you count classics like Hemingway’s ‘A Farewell to Arms’, and that doesn’t really count because it is written from the male point of view, as indeed are most books about the War. Louis de Berniere’s  lovely ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ deals with the effects of occupation in the island of Cephallonia, but I would not put myself in such august company as these!

What else about the book might pique the readers’ interest?

I think there has been very little written about the occupation of Rome, and one incident there (the Ardeantine Cave massacre) is very little known outside Italy, largely because when it happened was also the time of the Normandy landings, and so there was little newspaper coverage at the time.

I would also hope the privations endured in Rome during the occupation would be of interest, and the wonderful work of the doctors and medics to repatriate the wounded Allied soldiers. The book moves to New York for the second half, and explores the society there as the war comes to an end and the soldiers come home.