In 1910, no one believed there would ever be a war with Germany. Safe in her affluent middle-class life, the rumors held no significance for Victoria either. It was her father’s decision to enroll her at university that began to change all that. There she befriends the rebellious and outspoken Beryl Whittaker, an emergent suffragette, but it is her love for Gerald Avery, a talented young poet from a neighboring university that sets the seal on her future.
After a clandestine romance, they marry in January 1914, but with the outbreak of the First World War, Gerald volunteers and within months has gone missing on the Western Front. Convinced that he is still alive, Victoria’s initial attempts to discover what has become of him, implicate her in a murderous assault on Lord Kitchener, resulting in her being interrogated as a spy and later tempted to adultery.
Now, virtually destitute, Victoria is reduced to finding work as a common laborer on a rundown farm, where she discovers a world of unimaginable ignorance and poverty. It is only her conviction that Gerald will one day return that sustains her through the dark days of of hardship and privation, as her life becomes a battle of faith against adversity.
Where are you from? Tell us a little about yourself!
I was born in Edmonton, London, in 1951. I spent several of my formative years living in Cornwall where I developed a life long love of nature and the rural way of life. I began writing in my early teens and much of my short romantic fiction was subsequently published in various national periodicals, including “Red Letter”, “Secrets” and “The People’s Friend”.
I was never one to let the necessity of earning a living get in the way of my writing and have written for the best part of my life whilst holding down a succession of jobs which have included Health Food Shop Manager, Typewriter Mechanic and Taxidermist – Yes, you read that correctly.
My passion for the history of the early twentieth century is second only to my love of writing. It was whilst researching for another project that I came across the letters and diaries of some women who had lived through the trauma of the Great War. What I read in them inspired me to write my debut novel “Dance The Moon Down” and the rest, as they say, is history.
I’m single and now live and write in Hertfordshire.
Tell us about your book? How did it get started?
Dance The Moon Down is an historical drama set against the background of the First World War. The novel attempts a new slant on an old theme by focusing on the lives of the women left behind. The central character, Victoria, has been married for barely a year when her poet husband, Gerald volunteers to fight and then goes missing on the Western Front, leaving her to fend for herself in a male dominated society. Her struggle to survive and her refusal to give up hope that her husband will one day return give the story, I feel, a uniquely poignant flavor.
It was the title that triggered everything off. I read an article in “The Nation”, a now obsolete periodical, for June 1914 written by John Galsworthy the author of the Forsyte Saga. Basically it was a critique of the younger generation, of who he wrote “they had been born to dance the moon down to ragtime” With the benefit of hindsight we now know that they in fact fought the bloodiest conflict of the twentieth century and paid a terrible price. The irony of his statement made such an impression on me that I decided to use it as the title of my book.
A vast amount of fiction has been written about the Great war, mainly about the men and even the animals that fought on the front line, but very little, I discovered, about the people, most particularly the women, who had been left behind. I hope that this novel will do something to redress the balance.
How do you create your characters?
As 75% of my novel is based on actual events, many of the characters in it are based on real people. The central characters are a pastiche of people I’ve met over the years. The spirit of the novel tends to dictate the kind of characters I need. Then I take the quirks and foibles from a number of individuals and marry them together until I have the person I want. It would be nice if we could do that in real life, wouldn’t it?
What inspires and what got you started in writing?
As a teen I read, what I considered to be, an extremely good book and thought “I’d like to do that. A week later I read an extremely bad book and thought “I can do better than that”. I’ve been writing ever since.
What I love about writing is that you can reach out and touch people in a way that would be impossible face to face. Story telling is a universal language that makes friends out of strangers and unites people thousands of miles apart so that the world stretches out before them in a landscape of endless adventures.
Where do you write? Is there something you need in order to
write (music, drinks?)
In the dining room at the dining room table, next to a window that looks out on to my large secluded garden, my muse lives there. I prefer to write at night, from about 11pm to 3 am, it’s quieter then and I can hear my thoughts. I’m fuelled entirely by tea and cigarettes, they help me concentrate. Happily, I’ve managed to cut down on the cigarettes, but I’d die without tea.
How do you get your ideas for writing?
My ideas can come from anywhere, a fragment of conversation, a line from a song ,or even a newspaper article. For me the richest source of inspiration comes from human emotion, it’s the strongest force I know.
What do you like to read?
I’m a very eclectic reader. I like the novels of Henry James, Ernest Hemmingway and Herman Melville. I also have a taste for ghost stories.
What would your advice to be for authors or aspiring in regards to writing?
Write for the love of writing. Believe in yourself and never give up. It’s a tough world to be recognized in, but there’s always a place for a good story.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’ve begun work on a new novel. It’s set against the background of the American Civil War. As with Dance The Moon Down, I think I’ve found a new slant on an old theme. This one also has a female central character (my favorite) and before you ask, no, it won’t be anything like Gone With The Wind, but that’s all I’m saying for now.