1--What is the title of your latest release?
THAT SUMMER IN BERLIN
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Viviane Alden is a young Englishwoman who gets an unexpected invitation to visit Germany for the dazzling Berlin Olympics in the summer of 1936, but all is not as peaceful as it seems. Behind the scenes, the Nazis are already secretly preparing for another war. Paired with a handsome British Reporter, Viviane is asked to use her skills as a photographer to look past the spectacle of the games and find evidence of what’s really going on in Germany. If she succeeds, her photos could possibly prevent another war, but the Nazis will stop at nothing to protect their secrets, and if Viviane is caught, the consequences will be deadly.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Berlin was the world’s most exotic, cosmopolitan, and quirky city between the wars, and it became the most tragic and terrifying place under Nazi rule. When I read that the British upper classes routinely sent their young debutantes to Germany for a bit of continental polish and the possibility of marrying into the German aristocracy, I was intrigued about how that experience might feel to an impressionable young woman. Add to that one of the most famous Olympiads in history (this was Jesse Owens’ Olympics), and I was completely hooked and knew I wanted to set the story there.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
True confession: My heroines always include some tiny part of the real me. Even though I have always wanted to be a writer, when I was a teenager, I worked in a camera store and I thought that photojournalism would be the perfect career. The best part of being a writer is the chance to step into different lives and careers. Yes, I would definitely hang out with Viviane—perhaps a day out together, taking photos?
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Viviane is smart, bold, and a trifle reckless.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
The Nazis actually invented a number of the Olympic traditions we still use today. For example, the torch relay, carrying the Olympic flame from Greece to the host city, is one of the most famous rituals of the Olympics. The Nazis wanted to pointedly illustrate their racial superiority by emphasizing the connection between modern Germans and the ancient Greeks.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I usually plot out each chapter (loosely, leaving room for the characters and the story to surprise me). I usually write each chapter in order until I hit a place a snag, a place where the story no longer moves forward. When that happens, I tend to go back to the beginning, edit, refine and rewrite, and that usually lets me move past the sticky spot and carry on.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
This is a hard question, but let’s just say that if I found myself all alone in the middle of the night, and there just happened to be a layer cake with lots of buttercream frosting hanging around unattended in the fridge, it would probably not be there in the morning.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I write in my dining room, which is set up with a desk, computer, bookcases, and a comfy chair, which is the favorite perch for Otis, one of my cats. Since there are five cats in the family, there are two other beds in here as well, usually full. My dog Andy sleeps on the rug outside the door. I have pictures of family on the walls, photographs my son has taken on his travels around the world, and a few framed postcards. Unfortunately, the room is an alcove that’s open to the rest of the house. My whole family (four adults), all work from home, so it can get very noisy. I am in the process of shopping for a modern French door with soundproof glass so I can keep an eye on all those pets, but still shut when I need blissful silence and solitude.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Writing a book is a very hard thing to do. Making it look easy is an add-on gift to talent. I have heard Bernard Cornwell (the author of the Sharpe novels and many others) interviewed a number of times. I love his books and the Sharpe movies, and he’s also fascinating to listen to. When I am asked to do interviews, I send up a wish that I might sound even half as polished and charming as he does!
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I fell in love with the King Arthur legend when I was young. I once saw an older girl reading The Romance of Tristan and Iseult, and when she returned it to the library, I was the next borrower (I must confess I still have that book). From there, I read every book I could find about King Arthur, including The Mists of Avalon and The Once and Future King. I am thrilled to tell you that I got to use a lot of the symbolism from the King Arthur legends in THAT SUMMER IN BERLIN.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Just before THAT SUMMER IN BERLIN, I wrote THE WOMAN AT THE FRONT, which was the book my agent was pitching to potential editors in the summer of 2018. I was in the produce section of the grocery store when my agent called me with the news that one wonderful editor loved the book and had made a ‘pre-empt’ offer to buy it at once. I’ve never looked at kiwis and bananas the same way since!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read mostly history, both fiction and non-fiction. I must admit I also (still, always) have a soft spot for romance!
14--What’s your favorite movie?
This may be a bit of a surprise, but I love The Godfather!
15--What is your favorite season?
I love the fall - especially after a summer that’s been full of nothing but extreme heat warnings!
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Quietly, with cake. Presents are optional.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’m hooked on an old BBC TV show called “Time Team”, which follows a group of quirky archeologists on 3-day digs in Britain. Did I mention that archeology was something else I once wanted to do as a career?
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
My family loves exploring cuisines from around the world, and we have so many cookbooks. One of my favorites is The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love working in my garden, knitting (badly), baking, and doing a variety of crafts. I also volunteer at a local museum.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I am in the “magpie” phase of writing my next book—that’s where I read everything in search of a great idea, a historical moment, or a person that speaks to my heart, and I can build a book around. The magpie phase is followed by the ‘wormhole’ phase, where research takes writers deep into a labyrinth of facts and sidetracks that lead to fascinating bits of information, not all of which are useful. Last of all comes the ‘Aha!’ phase, where one idea, one shiny perfect fact, or one imagined scene jumps out, and everything comes together into a workable story. Writers live for those ‘aha’ moments.
German power is rising again, threatening a war that will be even worse than the last one. The English aristocracy turns to an age-old institution to stave off war and strengthen political bonds—marriage. Debutantes flock to Germany, including Viviane Alden. On holiday with her sister during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Viviane’s true purpose is more clandestine. While many in England want to appease Hitler, others seek to prove Germany is rearming. But they need evidence, photographs to tell the tale, and Viviane is a genius with her trusty Leica. And who would suspect a pretty, young tourist taking holiday snaps of being a spy?
Viviane expects to find hatred and injustice, but during the Olympics, with the world watching, Germany is on its best behavior, graciously welcoming tourists to a festival of peace and goodwill. But first impressions can be deceiving, and it’s up to Viviane and the journalist she’s paired with—a daring man with a guarded heart—to reveal the truth.
But others have their own reasons for befriending Viviane, and her adventure takes a darker turn. Suddenly Viviane finds herself caught in a web of far more deadly games—and closer than she ever imagined to the brink of war.
Women's Fiction Historical [Berkley, On Sale: October 11, 2022, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593197943 / eISBN: 9780593197950]
Lecia Cornwall lives and writes in Calgary, Canada, amid the beautiful foothills of the Canadian Rockies, with four cats, two teenagers, a crazy chocolate Lab, and one very patient husband. She is hard at work on her next book.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy