So, no better way to celebrate this than by interviewing an author whose books I have greatly enjoyed, Alice Peterson.
I recently read Ten Years On and loved it. What gave you the idea of removing one of the key characters so early on and was this always the way you intended to start it?
Firstly, thank you Sooz!
I’m so glad you loved Ten Years On.
Yes, I always intended to
remove one of the characters earlier on, although his presence remains in the
book throughout, if that makes sense! Ten
Years On deals with many themes, including grief and a love triangle.
Interestingly I think that the love triangle,
where one of the male characters dies, actually makes him much more of an
obstacle to the two left, than if he were still alive.
You keep us guessing for
about 70% of the way through re why the three friends lost touch. Did you
employ any particular devices to keep the momentum going whilst keeping us in
suspense?
I love keeping the reader
in suspense for as long as I can and the way I did it was to give a little away
often, so there’s enough to keep the momentum going, but the reader is
hopefully always wanting more! I really enjoy returning to the past and feeding
information about the characters and their motivations. My novels usually flick
between past and present.
Guilt plays a large part in
the novel. How did you decide who would feel guilty in which way?
Everyone feels guilt in
this novel, but most of all our central character, Rebecca – Becca for short.
Becca feels guilty when she meets Joe, her old college friend who she hasn’t
seen for ten years. Joe was also best friend to Olly, her husband. She kept
things from both of them, and seeing Joe again reminds her of her past and
their guilty secret. She also feels guilty being a burden to her parents when
she moves home after the sudden death of Olly. Finally she feels guilty when
she falls in love again, especially when it’s with Joe. She feels as if she’s
betraying Olly all over again.
Olly also has a secret, but
again, this isn’t revealed until much later, simply alluded to. Did you ever
think about making his secret a big bad one, rather than the much softer one
than the other two’s transgressions?
It did occur to me that
maybe Olly should have had an affair but each time I went down that road, I
retreated. It would have been so hard to root for him and enjoy his presence in
the book. I know it sounds complicated, since Olly died so early on, but his
voice is in the book throughout in a moving and humorous way and I think it
comes across just how much he and Becca loved one another, and I didn’t want
anything to ruin that.
I loved the dynamic with
the old lady who got a slot on the wine course. How important is writing minor
characters to you and was she also your favourite in the novel, or was it
someone else? If so, who?
I loved Janet! My
grandmother, who was an incredible person with so much wisdom, life experience
and a great sense of humour, inspired her. Like Janet, she also had this lovely
outrageous laugh. I think minor characters are so important to novels. They add
touches and depth. Makes me think of Judy Dench winning an Oscar for best
supporting role in Shakespeare in Love, when she was only on screen for eight
minutes. My favourite wasn’t Janet though – it’s tough to beat Joe, the hero!
I’d already read Monday to
Friday Man a few years ago and was drawn to it initially by the cover. I loved
this, too. Which of your novels is your favourite and why?
Oh, I can’t answer this.
Each novel is special to me in different ways. Monday to Friday Man will always be close to my heart since it was
inspired by my own dog, Mr Darcy – and I love the romance, the
light-heartedness, the colourful dog walking world and the little sister,
Megan, who gives it an extra depth.
Ten Years On is set in my hometown, Winchester, so I really enjoyed writing
about the area, and I also fell in love with the idea that you can find true love
twice.
Perhaps By My Side might be the favourite, in
that it’s a love story again, but with a big difference. I’ll talk about it in
the next question…
Can you tell us a little about your other novels and the
genre(s) they fall into? I have already downloaded By My Side (one of my World
Book Day purchases)
Most of my books fall into
the romantic comedy genre – but each story does tackle a theme, which is often
disability. In Letters From My Sister,
one of the characters, Bells, is born with a cleft lip and palate. In You, Me & Him, a six year old boy
has ADHD. In my latest novel, By My Side,
my heroine, Cass, is in a wheelchair following a road accident, but with the
help of a beautiful golden Labrador assistance dog called Ticket slowly she
rebuilds her life. She also meets the lovely Charlie Bell on a skiing holiday
and it’s the beginning of realising there is life and love after her injury.
I believe it’s important to
represent people with disability in fiction, not make them worthy or angelic,
but real characters. Jojo Moye’s novel, Me Before You, is a great example of
this. I completely fell for Will, and soon forgot he was in a wheelchair, he
was just Will and I was rooting for him all the way. My novels, especially By My Side tackle darker themes of
pain, loss, disability and overcoming adversity partly due to my own life
experience of living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), which I wrote about in my
autobiography, A Will to Win, now
republished as Another Alice. Aged 18
I was on the verge of going to America on a tennis scholarship when I was
diagnosed with RA. Overnight my life changed, and I couldn’t play tennis again,
a sadness that will always be with me. I have put all these experiences into my
writing.
How did you go about
tackling the serious subject of grief in the novel and how affects people in
different ways?
Research – I talk to as
many people as possible about their experiences. I’m always honest, saying I’m
writing a book and I make sure people feel comfortable sharing their stories
and memories. If I am tackling a different subject I must do it justice. It’s
interesting talking to a variety of people because, while I don’t write their
stories, I usually notice a pattern of emotions. My next novel is about
addiction, and it’s the same; very different people, completely different
stories but similar emotion.
I’ve compared Ten Years On,
to Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You, not because it dealt with euthanasia, but because
it dealt with serious topics, eg grief and wasn’t only about falling in love,
handbags and cupcakes! If you had to align it with another novel, which would
you choose?
That is such a compliment!
Thank you. I love Jojo Moyes’s writing and couldn’t put Me Before You down! Ten
Years On has been compared to PS I
love you and it’s also been compared to One Day – but in the reverse! I rather like that… so I’ll go with One Day!
The relationship with Becca
and her family, especially her sister is pretty fraught. I wanted to bash
Becca’s sister’s head in for her insensitivity and selfishness, but yet she
still had redeeming qualities. What can you tell us about the familial
relationship and why you set it as you did?
I wanted to make Becca’s
return to her childhood home uneasy to build drama into the story. You’re
right, Becca’s sister, Pippa, is selfish. She’s used to having all the
attention and her mother on tap for babysitting, so I thought it’d be
interesting to then see how she reacts when focus is shifted on to a grieving
Becca. Of course it’s going to bring up all kinds of problems – the most
obvious being jealousy, but as the reader delves more deeply we see that Pippa
is a rather sad and lonely figure. She’s also very proud, wanting to give off
the impression that all is well in her marriage and motherhood, and I think
often women see it as a weakness admitting that perhaps things are not quite as
they seem. In the end we soften towards Pippa as finally she sees things from
Becca’s side, and is also honest about how unhappy she has been for many years.
Fun
stuff
Who’s your Rupert Penry
Jones? (everyone knows I am mad about him!)
I love Jim Sturgess (Dexter
in One Day) – also love Wentworth
Miller off Prison Break! Good choice
by the way re RPJ – wouldn’t kick him out either!
If one of your books had to be made into a
movie, which one would you like it to be and why?
By My Side - because it’s the most powerful and romantic, and it’s a real
tear jerker too. That would be a dream
come true.
Which book would you most
like to turn into a movie which isn’t yours!?
I loved My Lover’s Lover, by Maggie O’Farrell
and can really see that as a film – lots of suspense and romance.
What genres do you read and
who are your favourite authors?
I read mainly the same
genre that I write, although I do like thrillers too – I’ve really enjoyed
books by William Boyd. My current favourite is Jojo Moyes and right now I’m
reading, ‘The Girl You Left Behind’. I also love rereading Jane Austen.
Fave clothes type?
Love accessories – scarves,
earrings with sparkle – I am girly girl – love all things pretty!
Best holiday destination
ever (visited and also yet to visit)
Italy – I fell in love with
Florence. I’m hoping to go on a cooking holiday in Tuscany (all good writing
material!)
Pet person - yes or no? If
yes, details pls!
Yes! I LOVE dogs and Mr Darcy, my Lucas Terrier,
is in the inspiration behind Monday to
Friday Man. I would not be without him – he’s the best.
Townie or country girl?
Both – couldn’t live in
town all the time, or live in the country all the time. I love being a writer
as I can take my laptop and go and stay with parents or sister in the country,
and then come home to London.
Most romantic city in the
world in your opinion?
Paris.
Do you do anything special
for Easter?
This year I am staying in
London, seeing friends, eating out for lunch, taking Darcy for a long walk
after indulging in lots of chocolate…
Final Note – thank you so
much Sooz for having me on your blog.
Final final note from Sooz - Alice's latest book, By My Side is out in paperback on July 18th
Final final note from Sooz - Alice's latest book, By My Side is out in paperback on July 18th
You can catch up
with Alice on her website - www.alicepeterson.co.uk
on Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlicePeterson1
and on Facebook
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alice-Peterson/206854859340940?sk=info
Books/ebooks are
available from the following sources:-
https://play.google.com/store/books
as well as the
usual Amazon links - Ten Years On - http://amzn.to/WAZzLV (UK) & http://amzn.to/15XPFGW (US)
