Author Interview | Sitting down with historical fiction author, Sandra Gulland {The Shadow Queen, author}

{: Sandra Gulland is welcomed to Jorie Loves A Story :}

{: conversing about her creative inspiration

and writing process :}

Sandra Gulland is the author of the Josephine B. Trilogy, internationally best-selling novels about Josephine Bonaparte which have been published in over seventeen countries. Her forth novel, Mistress of the Sun , set in the 17th-century court of the Sun King, was also a bestseller and published internationally. Her most recent novel is The Shadow Queen, also set in the era of the Sun King, published in April of 2014 by HarperCollins in Canada and Doubleday in the U.S.

Gulland split her novel into separate acts as though we were attending a large production set to stage rather than walking through a portal leading to the court in 17th Century Paris!  Her deft hand to illuminate the delicacy needed to make bold choices and daring a glimpse at the consequences, her story propels you forward into a world glinted by masquerade.The masks are both illusionary and tangibly real, as they belie the front of which the heart attempts to dis-sway.

The agility of theatre to be an elixir of reincarnated joy out of the sorrow acts of grief, and the metamorphosis of personality entertain the notion of not allowing our past to ever be a vindication of our future. The theatre heals the soul by igniting the spirit back into the caress of emotion and of humanity dignity. I found Claudette to be a woman who always tried to listen to her heart and to honour her family by standing by them at all costs. Her own life and dreams were put on hold in order to keep the balance. The position Athénaïs puts her in is not one that can be condoned because she was only thinking of her own selfish desires and not the welfare of her confidante. I applauded her small successes and moments of feeling truly free as herself, as she never could quite break out of the pattern her life had taken. The most happiness she always protected and yielded to were wrapped inside the cosy confines of family. As true freedom is always hinged to love and is set free on the wings of hope.

– quoted from my book review of The Shadow Queen

I am happy to welcome Ms. Gulland to my blog today, as I enjoyed reading her 17th Century historical fiction novel The Shadow Queen which not only introduced me to the theatre in the 1600s but gave me a strong impression about how the court and life outside court life is deeply disparaged. Gulland has a knack for writing a story which immerses you into the context of the story and gives the heart of the narrative wings to warm up to you as the characters take their queues from her as to best impart the story at hand. My pursuit of French Literature and stories set in France took me into a different part of French History in this novel and I was thankful for the opportunity to ask questions of the author!

Let me yield to the responses Ms. Gulland gave as I asked her my questions:

I had the true honour of attending your session of #LitChat on Wednesday, 23rd of April which coincidentally was the first anniversary of France Book Tours! I appreciated hearing that your an author who thrives on research as I am myself as part of the appeal to write for me was always digging below the surface whilst rooting out the hidden layers of where a story could take the reader. You mentioned that the hardest part of the three main components for you is the assemblage of readings, internet searches, travel destinations, and speaking to experts. How did you sort out the best way to compile the accumulated data without feeling as though you were snowed under?

Gulland responds:  “Snowed under”: that’s often the state of affairs, Jorie! It’s good to sort the research into events and background information (re. character, daily lives). I begin with events, and look for points that correspond to a story arc. (I favour the plot beats outlined in Blake Synder’s Save the Cat for an initial analysis.) Once I have a story arc roughly outlined, I look at the characters, and give some thought to what roles they play in the story (villain? mentor? heroine? etc.)—and then go back to the outline. And then back to the research. And then back to the outline (which grows and grows in depth). In this way a draft of a novel begins to grow.

I loved how you responded to the question pitched to you about why you became a writer: reading was a passion and as books were companions, you wanted to create one yourself. I find that most of us have a long history as readers before we turnt to the pen to create our own incantations of thought. Do you remember the first moment you realised you were a writer? When everything started to click together and you felt, this is who I am?

Gulland responds: I didn’t so much realize I was a writer as decide to write a book. But the first time I felt like a real writer was when I made the decision to cut my favourite chapter from a draft of the novel I was writing at the time. (It happened to be the first in the Josephine B. Trilogy.) At that point, I felt I had graduated in some significant way.

You had also mentioned you were a painter who had teachers inspire you to write. Did you find it difficult to segue from one creative field to another professionally or were you able to maintain fine art as you pursued writing?

Gulland responds: I stopped drawing and painting decades ago, and I was never a professional, but I often think now of drawing and painting. I think I should take a course to get back into it. I think the combination of art and writing would be wonderful for the creative spirit.

Is there a timescape of the historical past which intrigues you personally but one you are trepiderious to explore as a writer?

Gulland responds: I would be challenged going into ancient Roman, Greek or Biblical times … but then, I love a challenge!

Theatre in the 17th Century is lit alive in such a different context as the 20th & 21st Centuries, yet are there similarities to process in which the actors brought their characters alive on the stage? Did the methodologies change or did the way in which they were produced and accepted in society change?

Gulland responds: This is a big subject, and there is a great deal that’s not known. The idea of “verisimilitude” emerged gradually. For a long time there where poses struck to indicate a particular emotion. Alix, Claudette’s mother, was known for her natural style—but how far did she take this? If only we knew!

You have an element of ‘masks’ threaded throughout “The Shadow Queen”, both figuratively and literally. Do you think people oft choose to hide behind an illusionary mask out of self-preservation or to find a bold degree of strength to achieve something they would not have the confidence to do as themselves?

Gulland responds: Masks were used primarily for a practical reason: to preserve the skin from the sun. But roles were so prescribed, the idea of stepping out of character, out of class, had a decided appeal, and a masked ball was a great opportunity to do just that. Of course, too, if one were, in fact, doing something illegal, one would wear a mask, as criminals do today. Some characters are masked without wearing masks: the Sun King, for example, was rarely simply himself. He was born and raised on the stage of court life.

What do you feel is harder to convey in historical fiction: an imagined character or a character based on a historical living person whose life has been documented to a certain degree?

Gulland responds: I find it harder to convey an imagined character. I like to have some clues to go by, and from that a character emerges.

Was there a sequence from “The Shadow Queen” you edited out of the final draft that you later felt you should have kept in or once you make a final edit you own the story as it is without regrets? I have oft wondered how writers feel about the end product after spending so much time with their characters?

Gulland responds: There was a thread in The Shadow Queen that I was never able to work into the novel, so it only exists in my mind. Remember Madame Babette? And the one-eyed dwarf carriage driver? I always wanted to end up together — ♥♥♥ — but I couldn’t figure out how to work it in. In my mind, they are together and living happily ever after, perhaps even living in his carriage.

What surprised you about Claudette that you had not realised you would discover about her as you wrote the story?

Gulland responds: I knew very little about Claudette going in (in large part because there is so very little known): I knew she was responsible, and that she had a strong personality. But that’s about it! Everything else evolved from those scant clues.

My heart warmed as you were relaying instances of where readers had touched you heart with their hand-written letters and most of the ones you were highlighting were coming from people who were afflicted by adversity. As much as you gave a glimpse in how your novels are encouraging those who read YA fiction to pick up a historical fiction novel rather than carry-on with their regular fair. To me this speaks highly of a writer being able to connect directly into the human condition and lit such a connection into the center heart of her characters. Did you study sociology or is this an aspect which naturally rooted itself into your stories as you explored each character in depth?

Gulland responds: I never studied sociology, but I think every novelist is naturally empathetic to the feelings and situations of others. “To talk in another’s shoes” is something we do automatically. It’s part of the job!

I am always encouraged by writers who appreciate Indie bookshoppes and libraries as a lot of readers are attending events at both venues. What was one memory of an event where your spirit felt lifted by the reception you received?

Gulland responds: There have been many wonderful Indie and library events over the years, but one recent one sponsored by Bryan Prince books in Hamilton, Ontario, and held at the beautiful Hamilton public library, was extra special. An entire book club I had Skyped with was there, several Twitter and Facebook friends, one, Margaret Cook, who had written a wonderful review of The Shadow Queen for her blog, Just One More Chapter. A Facebook friend was there, someone who I’d known virtually for years and who had been one of the volunteers to help proofread my ebooks I published in the UK under my own imprint, Sandra Gulland INK. It was amazing!

And, the day before that, the event at the Toronto Public Library in Toronto brought me to tears: a cousin I rarely see was there, as well as a friend I also rarely see and who I met over 35 years ago, and a member of my very first writer group. Plus wonderful Facebook and Twitter friends. It’s such a treat!

How did you originally settle on writing about the French? And, specifically what led you to Josephine? As I know “The Shadow Queen” is a bit of a departure to explore a new vein of narrative in shadows of your trilogy.

Gulland responds: I will try to answer this briefly. Quite by accident I became fascinated by the life of Josephine B. and that led me, decades later, to write about her. In researching Josephine B., I learned about Louise de la Vallière, which led me to write Mistress of the Sun. And in researching that book, I learned about Claudette!

Can you expand on your plans to ‘write another novel set in the Court of the Sun King, about the women in Molière’s life’ as you briefly mentioned in #LitChat?

Gulland responds: I think this might be a novelette, told from the point of view of the different women in his life: his life and business partner, her much younger “sister” who was then revealed to be her daughter—and who became Molière’s wife. In spite of the complexities of these relationships, everything was played out on the stage: fascinating! Possibly it might even be a YA, I don’t know!

{- Author Connections -}

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Converse via: #TheShadowQueen & #FranceBT

I’d like to thank Ms. Gulland for taking the time to answer my questions and for being able to be featured for a second time during her blog tour on Jorie Loves A Story! I was thankful I had the opportunity to participate in her appearance during #LitChat which is an interactive forum on Twitter, where writers can engage directly with readers by following the hashtag #LitChat for special author appearances on Wednesdays at 4pm EST. If you were to find @LitChat on Twitter, you would stay in the know for all future engagements and appearances! I have come to appreciate #LitChat for opening doors to hearty conversations and literary enlightening topics! I implore everyone to duck in when they are able too! I also hope that throughout this Interview you have enjoyed getting to know Ms. Gulland’s writing style and approach to writing novels a bit better!

Virtual Road Map for “The Shadow Queen” Blog Tour:

Please take note of the Related Articles as they were hand selected due to being of cross-reference importance in relation to this book review. This applies to each post on my blog where you see Related Articles underneath the post. Be sure to take a moment to acknowledge the further readings which are offered.

Be sure to scope out upcoming tours I will be hosting with:

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Related Articles:

An Interview with Sandra Gulland, author of Mistress of the Sun – (blog.catherinedelors.com)

Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland: Interview & Review – (writingren.blogspot.com)

Interview with Sandra Gulland – (wendyjdunn.com)

Interview – Sandra Gulland – (myfrenchlife.org)

Thank you, Josephine an Interview – (sandragulland.com)

Sandra Gulland’s Daring Experiment – (sandragulland.com)