AUTHOR INTERVIEW
I have another treat
for you this month, my first historical fiction. It’s a fantastic find and it’s
not just me who thinks so, but more about that later! For now, let’s meet
author Virginia Crow and I asked her to
tell us a bit about herself.
‘I live in the far-flung corner of Scotland known as Caithness,
where my life is dominated by my spaniels, Orlando and Jess. Since writing is
not a reliable income, I also have a job as a private music teacher which I
absolutely love. History has always been a passion of mine and I returned to
university a few years back to bag my MLitt in History of the Highlands and
Islands.
I also co-own a publishing company, Crowvus, not surprising as I
come from a family of creatives!’
She mainly writes historical
fiction, although she has also penned a Christian thriller. Her first book was
published in 2017 and she says, ‘I’ve published
seven books, my latest is “Haunting Whispers of Highland Waters” (published
April 2022). “The Year We Lived” was published April 2021. It’s not part of a
series as such, but part of something much bigger… You’ll understand when you
read it!’
And what inspired her
to write this book?
‘Randomly, it was actually a dream. I remember waking up and
thinking, “Wow, that would be an awesome story!” I did a quick check to make
sure I hadn’t dreamed it because I’d come across it already, a bit like Paul
McCartney with “Yesterday”. When I realised this really was my idea, I
naturally obsessed over it for days on end (like I do!), until the whole thing
came together. And the rest, as they say, is history!’
I love it when
inspiration comes from a dream! It makes me hope that I’m not the only person
with a notepad beside their bed, waiting for their ‘Yesterday’ moment 🤔🤣
There’s a fair amount
of historical detail in the story, which greatly adds to the richness of the
text. It’s obvious Virginia’s completed a huge amount of research so I asked her
about this element of her writing.
‘I absolutely adore research! I remember sharing a festival session
with someone who said they did the bare minimum of historical research, and my
jaw dropped! To me, it is a part of the writing process.
Like most people (if they're honest!) I start at Wikipedia, get
ideas, then check that everything I want to use comes from a reliable source.
Then I flick through whichever book it referenced on Google Books, or - in a
lot of cases - Masters and PhD theses.
When I was writing The Year We Lived, I was also doing my Masters,
so I had access to jstor, which was fantastic for research. I keep everything
open on tabs in a Chrome window and every time I start writing, these are
reopened before I even open my Scrivener window! I have to put in a good word
for Scrivener, too, because there's loads of space to store random facts!’
Wow, there’s some
great tips there, but I wondered if Virginia feel pressure to get the details absolutely
accurate or whether a bit of creative licence is acceptable?
‘I am a stickler for the rules! My books slot characters in around
pre-existing events and attitudes. I often research far wider than what is
detailed in them. These have included 18th Century lunar eclipses, 17th Century
duelling etiquette, and 1st Century BC body painting!
Researching The Year We Lived was incredible. By far the most
intriguing aspect was uniting the society with their customs and beliefs in
folklore. It was such a part of life back then! The only thing I overlook is
the way people spoke. Keeping the characters relatable is more important to me
than delving into Old English, but I've taken care to make sure there are no
words which wouldn't have had at least a vague translation into their
contemporary speech. Every character has a backstory - most of them involving
real people of the 11th Century.’
My goodness! It's at
times like this that I realise I will never write a historical piece – I definitely
don’t have the patience! Now I have a slight spoiler so if you don’t want to know, please ignore this
next highlighted paragraph.
Virginia had told me there’s a big plot twist at the
end but I wondered if evolved as she wrote the novel, or whether she always
knew it was going to be there?
‘As it came from my
dream, it was centred on the plot twist. I really wanted to know if I could
make it work, and I get such a buzz when I see reviews which make reference to
the twist being a surprise! I wrote it for my sister's Christmas present. She's
very used to my plots and characters and I was sure she'd suss it out in the
first few pages. So, when she came into the room at 11 o'clock at night having
just read ‘October’ and told me she'd worked out the twist, I felt pretty
confident that it would be enough of a revelation for others readers too! I
love that this aspect of the book seems to stick with people long after they've
read it, and it's great to hear about how they reacted to such a twist!’
What a wonderful
payback for all that hard work! But one of her most exciting moments must be
when The Year We Lived was shortlisted for the Rubery Book Award last
month. I asked her to tell us more about it:
‘Actually The Year We Lived has now been shortlisted for three book
awards: The Chanticleer Chaucer Awards; The Rubery Book Prize; and I’ve just
found out The Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award too.’
OMG, that’s amazing 🥳🎉 but
then the book is incredible so it’s not really that surprising! She continues,
‘Awards are such a great way of widening a book's horizon. It can be
a bit tough getting indie books in front of an audience, but book awards are a
great way of doing it. But more than that, it is so rewarding to see my little
book sitting alongside some of the biggest books in the independently published
catalogue. I loved the feedback which came with The Rubery Book Prize and, I
have to be honest, when I've felt a bit down about my writing over the summer,
I've gone back to their page and re-read the feedback to remind myself I'm
capable of this. It's been an incredible confidence boost!’
I’m gobsmacked she
feels that way but I guess we all doubt ourselves at times. If you’d like to
read the awards feedback too and see the full shortlist, you can find it here https://www.ruberybookaward.com/2022-winners.html
BREAKING NEWS! Virginia has just found out that she's won the Gold
Medal in The Coffee Pot Book Club (Supernatural Historical Fiction) Award 🍾🎉
I'm sure you'll join me in sending
a huge congratulations to her, what an achievement (and hopefully those doubts
will now be in the rear-view mirror!)
So back to our interview- how does Virginia
select the names of her characters?
‘Although she’s the main character, Edith was the last person I
named. I knew I wanted her name to be something I could shorten so it would add
a mutual intimacy between her and her brother, but for a long time she was
simply called “Little Sis”. Because of the nature of historical fiction,
looking at the names of that time is really important. But it wasn’t just the
case of opening a history book, each one was carefully researched for their
class and background. No one’s name is there by accident!’
And again, such
dedication, I’m in awe! What does she enjoy the most about writing?
‘I love sharing the adventures of my characters and, when I’m
writing, these characters become my friends. I’ve spent my entire life
surrounded by books (we have a library of literally thousands!) and in my
childhood imagination was something which not only existed but it was actively
encouraged. Engaging with that imagination was so much a part of our growing up
that every single one of us (my brother and four sisters and I) are all
writers. I can’t imagine ever NOT writing.’
I bet I’m not the only
one who would love a good ferret through their library! What does she find the
most challenging aspect of publishing?
‘Definitely advertising. I am useless at promoting myself as a
brand, something authors are actively encouraged to do. I know my books speak
for themselves, but getting them out to an audience is a nightmare!’
Oh dear, this is the
same thing I keep hearing but at least we can all play our part by letting
others know and, of course, leaving reviews of the books we’ve read. And
talking of which, does she read reviews of her books and how does she cope with
them?
‘I read all my reviews. I love getting feedback and, I’m not going
to lie, of course I prefer the five-star ones! But my favourite ones,
irrespective of stars, are the ones where I can see the reader got really
involved with the book. I love to know who their favourite character was, when
they solved the twist, even if they had any aspects they would have changed
themselves. Feedback and reviews are what the writer in me lives for!’
She goes onto say, ‘Please leave a review! I have my author email printed in every one
of my books in the hope that someone will write and tell me what they thought…
I love when they do, but it doesn’t happen as often as I hoped it would.’
And in case you’re not
sure where to start with review writing (and you don’t have to be a wordsmith
to do it, honestly!), please see my post with hints and tips about how to do it (press here).
But back to Virginia – what’s her favourite
novel and why?
‘The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. It has everything a book
should have. Adventure, love, brotherhood, and utter loss and heartbreak… but
it also has a happy ending. I’m a firm believer in happy endings, even though I
write about some pretty brutal stuff. Not necessarily a textbook happy ending,
but an ending full of hope. Without it, you might as well read the news rather
than a novel!’
Too true! With the
interview ending, I asked Virginia for a tweetable synopsis of her book (click here):
‘It is 1074, eight years after the Battle of Hastings changed the
cultural & physical landscape of the country forever. But England is about
to be shaped by another legacy: one which is truly immortal.’
And I also asked for a
tweetable-sized favourite extract from the book too (tweet here):
‘It continued to hold his gaze before it gave a low, booming roar
and trotted into the forest. The wound did not hinder it, and nor did the
hunter.’
BOOK REVIEW
Virginia has set her
novel after the Battle of Hastings and tensions are still running high. We
follow Anglo-Saxon Robert, who is being hunted by a Norman Lord, Henry de Bois.
Robert is the master of the lea and his priority is keeping his community safe
in a hidden Hall. The story starts with his young sister venturing outside the
village on her own (and a great backstory explains why), forcing Robert to send
out 20 of his men to search for her.
14-year-old sister
Edith is kind and naïve, but she’s lonely and this leads to her befriending a
stranger, Dunstan, in the woods. He’s a changeling, a race that’s feared and
distrusted by the villagers, so when her sister-in-law dies in childbirth,
Edith is banned from leaving the Hall. Even though her brother believes this is
best for her, her misery grows and eventually her pleading pays off. She’s
allowed to visit Dunstan again, to set up a meeting with Robert, after which she’s
allowed to visit him as long as two guards accompany her for safety.
Robert’s fears are
realised when, on one such visit, Edith’s guards are killed and she’s kidnapped.
She’s taken to the garrison where Lord de Bois takes advantage of her and her
subsequent pregnancy leads to Bishop de Bois (the Lord’s brother) telling her, “A child outside the sacrament of marriage is a sin, my child. God
will not look upon your offspring with kindness at His coming”, so she is coerced into
a deeply unhappy marriage.
This is the setup of
the story and I really don’t want to give away any more - it’s best you read it
for yourself! What I will say is that it unfolds at a great pace, but
Virginia’s style is also lyrical and it’s a great combination. Here’s an early
description experienced by Edith:
‘She watched the rafters above her, huge beams from the trees of the
landscape around them, as small beetles scuttled from one hole into another.
There was a large spider which occupied the joist a little further into the
room, which would occasionally labour out of its cocooned existence before
wrapping itself once more in its hibernation.’
The characters are
complex and likeable, except for de Bois of course - although I do like a
baddie to be bad and he is really horrible! Here’s an example of how he treats
his new wife, when her brother (the Saxon) arrives:
“Hold her inside the gates. If the Saxon brings harm, or the threat
of harm, to any of my men, I want her throat slit and her hung from the wall.”
I think I’d like that
done to him!
SPOILER ALERT (highlighted text only): Virginia had warned me there was a
massive plot twist at the end, so I went into the novel looking for clues and
I’m chuffed to say I worked it out! Even so, it was still enjoyable and if I
hadn’t been forewarned, I’m not sure I would have spotted it.
It’s a great book,
clever and intelligent, with lots of historical information giving an authentic
feel without disrupting the story flow. I’d recommend The Year We Lived to
anyone who loves historical novels but more than that, it’s a darned good read (which
is why it’s been shortlisted for so many awards and just won one!). So why not try it and
support a great up-and-coming indie author!
Please visit Virginia’s links to
find out more:
LISA THOMAS
