Author Interview | Talking with British Women’s Fiction novelist Helen Pollard of #Bookouture!

This has truly been a delight of mine to feature author after author from Bookouture – whose inspiring responses to my questions pertaining to their latest releases has truly warmed my heart! It is such a great pleasure on my behalf to feature their conversations because they gave me so much to work with as far as knitting a conversation together for my readers, I am forever grateful my path crossed with this UK Publisher. I have a propensity to seek out UK authors and UK publishers – as I love Modern British writing styles and I’m an Anglophile to book with a British Irish Scot background to boot! Having a keen eye developed on stories originating out of the UK was such a natural progression – it began as a young girl caught up inside the lovely Cosies of Dame Agatha Christie and forthwith forward has come to have such a hearty rounding of selections across genres and literary dimensions to tickle my readerly bliss!

Being a writer myself – it’s a pleasure to showcase fellow writers, who are in their Publishing Season – as it’s such a close-knit community here in the book blogosphere and the twitterverse! It’s a lovely exchange of thoughts, bookish inclinations and the joy of simply being captured by a writer’s story – such an epic age to be a blogger whose appreciative of the opportunities to reach out to her peers and draw a well of insight into how they are approaching their writerly careers, their methodology for writing and little snippets of insights into the central heart of their stories.

Stories are such powerful vessels of thought and imagination – they can truly allow us to step outside ourselves, hugging close to a character who is as real as any 3-Dimensional composite to lend us the impression of how they internalise their life inasmuch as how much they choose to grow as their path develops in and out of the story at hand. Reading for me is a way to time travel through the historic past and to deepen my empathy for people living lives so very different from my own. Even being graced by the pleasure of reading a story set in a land not so very far-off from here, is a gift because it gives us all the chance to see how ‘life is lived’ just across the Pond!

And, what could be more brilliant than that!?

So you see – I’ve had the greatest joy during these conversations – I’ve had the happy delight in rooting out the key points of each author’s individual story whilst getting to know them on a personal level as well as I draw out their personalities and writerly spirits!

Today I am featuring an author whose story had me at ‘hallo’ a bit because of the premise being so ingenious – how to change your stars on the fly when an unexpected right turn impedes your progress – you can choose your attitude how to go through a conflict and you can elect to take a path which is still being defined by your choices – what a lovely depth of centreing for a character! Join me whilst I’m conversing about a woman struck by a ‘lift shift’ moment of opportunity!

To gain a bit of a back-story on how I came to host Bookouture authors,

please visit my first conversation I featured with this publisher with Teresa Driscoll!

Sun, croissants and fine wine. Nothing can spoil the perfect holiday. Or can it?

When Emmy Jamieson arrives at La Cour des Roses, a beautiful guesthouse in the French countryside, she can’t wait to spend two weeks relaxing with boyfriend Nathan. Their relationship needs a little TLC and Emmy is certain this holiday will do the trick. But they’ve barely unpacked before he scarpers with Gloria, the guesthouse owner’s cougar wife. 

Rupert, the ailing guesthouse owner, is shell-shocked. Feeling somewhat responsible, and rather generous after a bottle (or so) of wine, heartbroken Emmy offers to help. Changing sheets in the gîtes will help keep her mind off her misery. 

Thrust into the heart of the local community, Emmy suddenly finds herself surrounded by new friends. And with sizzling hot gardener Ryan and the infuriating (if gorgeous) accountant Alain providing welcome distractions, Nathan is fast becoming a distant memory. 

Fresh coffee and croissants for breakfast, feeding the hens in the warm evening light; Emmy starts to feel quite at home. But it would be madness to walk away from her friends, family, and everything she’s ever worked for, to take a chance on a place she fell for on holiday – wouldn’t it? 

Your mantra of stating “Feel Good Contemporary Romance with Humour and Heart” strikes a certain fancy for stories you can curl up inside which will not only tickle out a laugh but give you a happy read. How did you find this best applies to the stories you’re attempting to tell?

Pollard responds: I struggled long and hard with that line! My previous two books, as ‘sweet’ romances, were probably more heart than humour, but even so, I made sure I wove a little humour through – romance shouldn’t be too serious, after all!

In my latest book, The Little French Guesthouse, I’ve had the scope to let humour play a much bigger part, which was fun – but I didn’t want that to be at the cost of the “heart”. I can only write characters I really care about, so I hope that comes across to the reader. And there will always be the element of romance in what I write.

I love how you’ve self-identified yourself whilst giving you the leeway to choose how to explore your personal themes inside your stories! I love humour in Rom but I also like Rom to be a bit serious – which is why I’m keen on Romantic Suspense & Romantic Dramas – sometimes perhaps at the forsaking of the RomComs – which is something I am actively reminding myself of! lol I do have the tendency to seek out the dramas but when it comes to Women’s Fiction & Contemporary Rom as a whole – I like cheeky humour sliced inside the heartier bits. I am not sure when the last time I read a light-hearted Rom where the tone was less dramatic than it was humourous! I think it’s brilliant all your stories have an element of a romance – it’s such a happy part of literature for me to be reading!

You’re story “The Little French Guesthouse” tackles the unexpected ways a relationship can unravell and become a bit disconnected – how did you set the backdrop to such a lovely community where people are welcoming and understanding? What inspired the towne?

Pollard responds: I’d had the opening scene in my mind for years at a point in my life when I wasn’t writing (young family – no time and too tired!) One year on holiday, we were self-catering in a gîte in France and I thought, ‘This is it! This is where it happens!’ Once I had it in my mind, it was like opening the floodgates. I developed the setting in my imagination into a guesthouse with gîtes and gardens, to fit better with what I needed for my story. The imaginary local town in the book, Pierre-la-Fontaine, is loosely based on a town in the Loire region that we visited several times and loved, a proper French town that isn’t too touristy.

I love finding those hidden niches of local culture and ambiance – where tourists do not tend to tread because they’re too keen on rooting out the ‘quick look-see’ before they hop a flight home. Not all tourists mind you – but most I think are looking for the ‘everyman experience’ where everyone takes the same tour route and sees all the same fixtures of that country’s particular ‘must sees’. To step outside that sphere and truly see a place for it’s authentic appeal and appetite of genuineness is the best way to travel! Likewise, I can dearly see why you felt as inspired as you did – one of those moments where everything clicks and bolts together in harmony!

Emmy gets a crash course in learning the trials of not realising your trusting the wrong bloke of whom you had intended to find longevity; how did you enter her emotional state but humble her to accept a secondary path?

Pollard responds: Emmy knows her relationship with Nathan has become stale and they are in a rut – indeed, her whole life is in a bit of a rut. That was the easy part – I think we’ve all been there at some point in our lives! My thought for the opening of the book was – what would happen if you caught your boyfriend with an older woman rather than the usual scenario of a younger woman? How would that make you feel? Emmy is only in her early thirties – she would be indignant and bewildered.

I wanted Emmy to deal with this unexpected turn of events on foreign soil with pragmatism; for her to find an inner strength she’s forgotten she has. By choosing to stay and help Rupert, the guesthouse owner whose wife Nathan runs off with and who is in temporarily poor health, Emmy develops unexpected friendships and finds the determination to get her life in order; to rethink what she wants or expects from her future.

I must say – it’s such an unusual twist of a turn, it caught my eye! This is in-part what drew me to want to read this story outright – due to how it’s flipping the coin on the old standby! I loved how you used a traditional catalyst to focus on one woman’s life shift but then, granted her full licence to use this time to truly take full stock of where she was and what she truly wanted next!

Did your personal travels to France inspire this story or have you always had a strong appreciation for small French townes full of personality and intrigue?

Pollard responds: When the kids were younger, we used to go camping in France nearly every summer – Normandy, Brittany and the Loire region, mainly – and when we’d had enough of the trailer tent, we started to stay in gîtes instead.

I’ve always loved the small towns we visited or passed through – the sense of community and tradition, and the existence of individually-owned shops rather than the chain stores we see across towns in Britain today. Who could fail to be impressed by those fabulous pâtisseries and boulangeries?!

I completely agree with you – there is an endless see of national chains over on this side of the Pond, too! They have encroached on the individual businesses and they have taken away a piece of our traditional lives – the one where commerce was localised and built out of community love and pride. I love visiting cities and townes who are re-setting the clock and gainfully giving back to the tides of change where what was once lost is now being redeveloped and strengthened. The “Indies” across Industries are picking up speed and giving us a slower paced approach to our everyday lives where customers can relax and realise their not wrong anymore! Giving back to local economies translates world-wide where entrepreneurs are keen to carry on their legacies.

Emmy is seen at a cross-roads in her life where she has to choose which avenue she wants to tread down – how did you settle on this angle to highlight out of the shattering of her heart breaking?

Pollard responds: Emmy has known for some time that she was heading for a crossroads but tried to ignore it. Nathan’s infidelity simply acts as a catalyst, forcing her to decide how to move forwards, and his desertion gives her the freedom to think about herself and what she wants for a change.

You’re writing honest Women’s Fiction with a twist, where the situations make take readers by surprise and give them something to consider they hadn’t originally. What do you find grounds your writerly heart to writing this kind of Women’s Fiction?

Pollard responds: I like to really get inside someone’s head – I’m very keen on characterisation to draw the reader in, so I think through all the whys and wherefores and motivation. I need to understand my characters’ feelings so I can decide how they will act and react.

I love those kinds of characters, too! Even if they give me a proper think about their choices and the manner in which they go about moving on with their lives – even challenging characters can tell us something! Although, the best characters are the ones who have this journey to take us through and of whom linger so very lovingly in our hearts. Love the layers you can see inside a character – to get inside their internal thoughts and see everything from the inside-out is luxury as a reader because those characters breathe their breath into their stories! So very tangibly enjoyable to watch their growth and their development!

Is it true this will be a three book series – a proper trilogy? How did you conceive the fuller concept of the story to expand out of its premise? Will secondary characters step forward next or will the series stay focused on Emmy?

Pollard responds: Yes, it is intended as a three-book series. When I approached the publisher, Bookouture, I mentioned that I had ideas for a sequel, and between us we decided that three books would be the best way to tell Emmy’s story and bring it to a natural conclusion. I love being in Emmy’s head, and with so many wonderful characters to play with, there is plenty of scope! As it is written in first person, the series will very much stay focused on Emmy. Some secondary characters will take a back seat, some will play more of a role  . . . I haven’t finished writing it yet, and since the characters seem to take on a life of their own, who knows?

Ooh, how delightful – a tease of a spin-off or two? I have seen authors do this in the past – where secondary characters start to vie for their own stories to be pursued – one author in particular who did this across three individual trilogies is Julie Lessman (who writes INSPY Historical Fiction with strong women and a family centred core) — I am digging back inside her novels lateron this year, as I never had the pleasure of finishing them. However, what I wanted to say is that it’s such a blessing for me – as there are so many characters who stir your heart inside her stories, you itch to see what will happen next – anytime a writer can find new ways to re-define the niche they’ve created is a treat to the readers! Go you!

What do you love best – one-off standalones or serial fiction? What do you feel is the most challenging to write and why?

Pollard responds: As a reader, I think there is a place for both.

As a writer? My previous two books were standalones and there was something satisfying in concentrating on one story and bringing it neatly to a close.

This is the first time I’ve written a series, and it’s certainly more challenging! It’s lovely to know I have the time and space to develop my characters and plot, but of course there is a lot more planning involved. Everything I write has to be thought about carefully in case it affects something later on that I might not have envisaged yet. Sometimes my head spins with all the different characters and sub-plots!

I have such a tendency to have a heart-preference for serials – as I love the extra bits of time I have with lead and secondary characters – even minor characters step out of the shadows and can lead a story onward – with one-offs or even duologies the ending notes are fixed and it’s not as easy to leave those worlds – to finalise a good-bye with characters you’ve become so entranced by and dearly want to continue to read about – yet, as you said – there is a time and place for both to be explored. I read both styles regularly – but ooh! Serials have such a special draw! I do find my own inclinations lie in serials – (as a writer) as like you said – your mind doesn’t stop creating simply because one story is resolved.

What do you love most about those 80s crime dramas on television? What renews your interest to continue to watch them?

Pollard responds: I think I enjoy watching them because they take me back to a less complicated time in my teen hood when there was less technology and life seemed simpler. We had no video, so you watched what was on. My dad used to go out on a Friday night, so my mum and I would curl up and watch Hawaii Five-O, Petrocelli, Quincy . . . I was madly in love with Starsky and Hutch, and later Magnum P.I. So nowadays I enjoy being taken back briefly to that era for just 45 minutes.

This is quite a true statement – about the simplicities of life not even 20 years past (or 30!) wherein we all approached our lives with a different mind-set. I think part of our growing years are warranted to be re-brought forward – to where not everything can be instantly given and taken, and where communication does not always evolve out of a ready click but takes time to curate. I still love finding Classic Crime Dramas on television – two of which I’ve grown fond of recently are: The Rookies and Emergency! whilst appreciating CHiPs as well! What I found most interesting is that Emergency! is more of a docudrama about how EMS and Medics became a fixture of American life – how emergency medical procedures were prompted into action and how the lead actor (Randolph Mantooth) had a secondary career as a motivational guest speaker on the history he learnt whilst he lived in on the series. So much still to learn, even about our living history not so far removed from today! PS. Quincy is my first favourite ME on television, closely followed by Abby & Duckie (NCIS) and Jordan on ‘Crossing Jordan’. Less is always ‘more’ visually!

Have you ever thought to create a cat based on your own for one of your character’s to embrace? As it appears you have a good foundation for a cheeky cat someone would love despite his split personality?

Pollard responds: I hadn’t thought of that, but I would definitely have quite a few cat stories to tell! There is a dog in the sequel to The Little French Guesthouse . . .

Have you gone on retreats to B&Bs (Bed & Breakfast’s), Guest Houses and/or Inns where you felt you could properly unwind from your regular life and simply relax inside somewhere ‘else’ for a spell? If so, what did you appreciate the most with your visit(s)?

Pollard responds: There is a guesthouse in Arnside in Cumbria in the north of England where my husband and I occasionally spend a night. I love it, as there are some lovely walks in the vicinity – and it’s nice to get away, just the two of us, even if it’s only for 36 hours!

What drew your eye to approach Bookouture as a writer who wanted her story to take flight with an Indie Publisher?

Pollard responds: The Little French Guesthouse is a story that I’m particularly fond of, and so I wanted to find the right home for it. I approached Bookouture as I’d heard that they are a very dynamic digital publisher and their authors speak highly of them. When they said they would like to publish the book, I was thrilled that they had such confidence in my story – and they are indeed lovely to deal with.

I’ve enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Bookouture – and one of the reasons I wanted to broach the choices behind using them from the writers’ perspective during this series of interviews, is to help introduce the publisher to my readers and to those who might not have heard of them properly over here! Sounds to me they are as enjoyable to be an author of as ChocLitUK – of whom I have known about longer than Bookouture – of whom also offer Digital First publishing followed by more formats such as my favourite (print) and audio!

How do you renew your spirit when you’re not researching and writing?

Pollard responds: When the kids were little and my writing went by the wayside, I discovered scrapbooking, which was a good visual creative outlet. Unfortunately, now I’m writing again, I don’t have the time, but I’d like to get back into it eventually. I don’t read as much as I should nowadays, as my eyes are often too tired after staring at a screen all day. I don’t watch much TV either – but I do find that a really good programme or movie provides an escape from the constant thoughts whirling in my brain. I try to go for a short walk once a day for fresh air, and I particularly enjoy meeting up with friends for coffee and a chat. And of course I love just chilling with my husband and kids if they’re around.

Thank you so much for having me as a guest!

I’d like to thank Ms Pollard for giving me such a hearty glimpse inside her writer’s head and heart – whilst endearing me with a proper first impression of her characters ahead of reading them! What joy! It’s wicked brilliant to have such stimulating conversations with fellow writers and I must admit, I am enjoying this series of interviews I am hosting on behalf of the authors of #Bookouture!

Converse via: #WomensFiction & #Bookouture

This author interview is courtesy of Bookouture!

Site | Blog | @bookouture

I have a full line-up of engaging conversations by this Indie Pub across the pond who is starting to make a bit of a splash stateside! It’s my honour and pleasure to bring these conversations to my readers, whilst helping to expand our knowledge of wicked awesome writers of Women’s Fiction or Historical Fiction whose stories are full of heart and soul; just the way I love the genres to be! They are focusing on guttingly brilliant dramatic story-lines, whose fusion of realism and the introspective focus on a woman’s journey is not only pro-positive but inspiring to find.

I will be featuring a bloke whose writing spell-binding Thrillers which sound as if they leave you breathless for the dramatic climaxes but eager to solve the mystery inside his stories whilst you root for his characters! I’m referring to British Thriller writer Tom Bale – look for his conversation on 6th May!

The reason I chose the authors I have to interview is because if their books were readily at hand, I know I’d be lost inside them! I always interview authors (or offer guest posts) of whom I’d genuinely and earnestly want to read; it’s a precursor to the day when I can read their stories and a lovely interlude for my readers to find #newtomeauthors they might not have discovered either!

In case you’ve missed my previous interviews feat. #Bookouture authors:

• Teresa Driscoll | Last Kiss Goodnight
• Natalie Meg Evans | A Gown of Thorns
• Renita D’ Silva | A Mother’s Secret
• Debbie Rix | Daughters of the Silk Road
• Kerry Fisher | After the Lie

Let’s celebrate bookish conversations & the stories behind them!

Kindly leave your comments, thoughts and musings about this interview for Ms Pollard in the comment threads below! I welcome your commentary! Esp if you are a regular reader of Women’s Fiction where strong story-lines empower your readerly experiences!

A #newbook of #womensfiction which gives one woman the chance to change her life! Read the convo Share on X

Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.

{SOURCES: Book Cover Art for “The Little French Guesthouse”, author photograph of Helen Pollard, author biography and book synopsis were provided by the publisher Bookouture and used with permission. Conversations with the Bookish Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Blog dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com. Comment banner created by Jorie in Canva. Tweets are embedded due to codes via Twitter.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.

Comments via Twitter:

.@bookouture Convo w/@helenpollard147#WomensFiction novelist The Little #French Guesthousehttps://t.co/9NPOKjxLWG pic.twitter.com/Z4tuLBKBs7

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) April 30, 2016