R: First of all, I'd love to know... What was your first job? Did you like or
dislike it?
A: My first job was working in a wooden toy shop in the shadow of York Minster. I loved it. This was the mid-eighties when pretty much everything was plastic so wooden toys were a real treat. I was fifteen, inhabiting the not-quite-a-grown up but no longer a child years. Working in the shop I felt all grown up behind the counter but still had the fun of demonstrating the toys to customers. As York is a tourist city, the customers were from a huge variety of countries and that was an amazing education in itself as I was meeting people from America, Australia, Japan and all across Europe.
R: How wonderful! Do you have a pet peeve? If so what is it?
A: I get quite worked up about people messing about with Jane Austen. I love Austen and in my opinion her work is practically perfect (with the exception of Fanny Price who is too perfect!). I found the recent Netflix version of Persuasion particularly painful. Had they read the book? Anne Elliot is not some Regency version of Bridget Jones. I realise the Bridgerton effect probably influenced this adaptation and while I love Bridgerton, I wish they’d leave Jane alone.
R: Do you spend more time researching or writing?
A: I really love the research phase and have to rein myself in because otherwise I never get down to the hard work of actually writing the book. I heard a quote from Agatha Christie which went something along the lines of ‘once I’ve got the plot then I’ve got to write the damned thing’ and I can definitely relate to that. I write pretty slowly. I’m always sneaking in bits of ‘plug the gaps’ research while I’m writing which doesn’t get the words on the page any faster.
R: I'm the opposite - althought I'm a plotter through and through, it never gets any easier! I'm much happier once I'm writing. Tell me about your book The Hollywood Governess and the inspiration behind it?
A: The book is set in the Golden Age of Hollywood when an English governess travels to Hollywood to educate the daughter of a widowed movie star. It is essentially Top Hat meets Jane Eyre. The idea came to me during the Pandemic when I was watching Top Hat with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and thought ‘Why aren’t there more books set during Hollywood in the Thirties?’ Around the same time I’d been talking to a young lady who was setting up as a modern-day governess and when I put the two thoughts together I had the inspiration for The Hollywood Governess.
R: How much of your book is realistic?
A: I did an awful lot of research into the history of Hollywood and discovered a lot of pretty dark secrets about the way the big movie studios operated. They controlled every aspect of their star’s lives and careers and women were particularly badly treated which made me quite cross. I poured that into the book so it’s a pretty realistic picture of the experience of being a star in Hollywood at that time.
R: I cannot wait to read it! Sounds exactly my sort of thing.
What are your future ambitions for your writing career?
A: I just want to keep on writing. I’m loving my journey with Boldwood Books and the support they’ve given me. I’ll be happy if I get to keep on telling stories of incredible women from the past.
R: Do you admire anyone? If yes, who and why?
I really admire Audrey Hepburn. I’m a big fan of her movies (Roman Holiday is one of my all-time favourite films) but she also seems like someone who remained essentially herself despite being a big star. Hollywood didn’t change her and I think that’s very admirable. There’s a wonderful story of her early days in the movie business when she cycled to the studios. This was in the Fifties when the car was king and I just love the image of her cycling along, probably looking very chic, as everyone else whizzed past in enormous automobiles.
R: I love Audrey Hepburn and Roman Holiday is one of my favourites, too! Also love Breakfast at Tiffany's, of coruse.
Share one fact about yourself that would surprise people.
A: I am
a solicitor as well as a writer. I wanted to write from an early age but my
parents thought (rightly as it turned out) that it was an insecure profession
and I should get a more reliable job. During my twenties and thirties, I did
the corporate thing, wore my suit to work and tried to fit in but I always felt
like there was another more creative side to me that was going unused.
The
winter before I turned forty, I decided I didn’t want to still be saying, ‘I’ve
always wanted to write a novel’ when I reached that significant birthday. I tried to write novels before and always
given up on chapter three but this time I stuck with it. It took me three years to write my first
novel, Beltane which I published under the pen name Alys West.
I still do some legal work alongside my writing but these days I work freelance from home which suits me just fine (and doesn’t require me to put on a suit!)
Thank you so much for inviting me to take part in Friday Chat & Drinks. My tipple of choice these days is more likely to be a cup of tea than a glass of wine but it’s always a joy to chat about books. It’s been great fun answering your questions.
Alexandra
is the author of three historical novels set in Golden Age Hollywood.
The Hollywood Governess is currently free to read with Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited and £2.99 to buy the e-book.
Here's the blurb & buy link:
Hollywood, 1937
Hester Carlyle has no wish to look after the pampered offspring of the rich anymore, in spite of being a highly sought-after governess. But with her elderly father frail, and the roof of their rundown cottage in dreary Yorkshire falling in, she has no choice but to accept a dazzling new placement.
Movie star Aidan Neil is box office gold, but after the tragic death of his wife Dinah Doyle, he needs Hester’s help to raise their young daughter Erin. Aidan and Dinah were once the perfect Hollywood couple, but stars don’t shine forever…
At Aidan’s glittering Hollywood mansion, Hester finds a family struggling with their grief. Hester knows she can help little Erin, but Aidan’s torment is palpable. Brooding and reclusive, he is far from the picture-perfect hero Hester's seen in films. There’s an edge to him that makes Hester wonder if he’s hiding a dark secret of his own....
Was the marriage between Aidan and Dinah as perfect as it appeared to be? Was Dinah’s death really a tragic accident?
When it finally comes, the truth is more shocking than Hester could ever have imagined. And she knows that if revealed, it will destroy the family she has grown to love and ruin Aidan's Hollywood dream forever...
A sweeping new story from a talented new voice. Perfect for Fans of Taylor Jenkins Read, Wendy Holden and Natasha Lester.
LINK: https://geni.us/3WH1t1
Wishing you and all your readers a very happy weekend!
Thanks for visiting with me, Alexandra!
Rachel x
No comments
Post a Comment