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Interview Author Lucinda Riley + Giveaway
Filed in Blodeuedd , Giveaways , Interview , Lucinda Riley , The Geeky Lover Posted on November 1, 2011 @ 6:00 am
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We are happy to welcome the international bestselling Author Lucinda Riley. Lucinda was an actress, previously published novels under her pen name Lucinda Edmonds and had a huge success with her novel the Hothouse Flower. Her newestst novel, The Girl on the Cliff (you can go and read Blodeuedd’s review here) was released last week and today she is here to tell us a bit about her books. Please give Lucinda and Blodeuedd (our guest interviewer) a warm welcome and be sure to take you chance to win The Girl on the Cliff.
Blodeuedd: Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your previous published novels?
Lucinda: I wrote my first novel at 22, wrote seven more, then had four children and decided something had to give. ‘Hothouse Flower’ was my first novel under ‘Lucinda Riley’. To my complete amazement, it’s become an international bestseller, published in the next year in 18 different countries, including the USA on Valentines Day – my birthday!! It’s sold three quarters of a million copies so far, just… amazing!
Blodeuedd: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?
Lucinda: Neither. When I’m dictating the first draft, using a rubbish and ancient tape-recorder, I strap it on, with no idea where the story is going, and let the characters lead me until I fall over from exhaustion.
Blodeuedd: What do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?
Lucinda: Well, I can’t ever go to sleep, no matter how tired, without reading at least a few words of my current book. If I haven’t got one with me, I go into meltdown. I simply can’t go a day without reading. A ‘reader’ is my husband, who only grabs a book when on holiday.
Blodeuedd: There are different stories being told in your new book, The Girl on the Cliff. From where did the inspiration for the book come?
Lucinda: I always start with an evocative location which inspires me. I set the ‘time period’ and begin. I make no notes or ‘plan’, I just let it flow. Luckily at the end, it all seems to make sense!
Blodeuedd: Is it difficult writing this kind of family saga? The plot needs to move forward, people need to be born and so on…
Lucinda: As I’ve said above, the characters ‘lead’ me. To be honest, it doesn’t feel difficult at all. I live it and love it!
Blodeuedd: I liked the ballet theme in the story. Like some people are just born to dance. Do you like ballet?
Lucinda: Oh yes! I was obsessive about ballet when I was growing up. My Godfather was chief lighting designer at Covent Garden so I got to see all the greats, such as Margot Fonteyn and Nureyev. I trained very hard but then, like Aurora, I became very sick and was bedridden. And had to learn to ‘talk with my mind, not my body’. It was terrible – still is, but I still manage to dance round my kitchen. My kids call me ‘the fairy’! My feet are never very firmly on the ground… hmmnn… who does this sound like?!
Blodeuedd: There are a lot of secrets in this book as the story of the past slowly emerges. I enjoyed how you kept the tension up and did not tell all at once. But was it hard not make Kathleen tell those things to Grania?
Lucinda: Kathleen can hardly bear to bring back the past and is only forced to do so because of Grania’s relationship with Aurora. She wants to protect herself and, of course her daughter. Confronting one’s past is always painful, but actually, through the process, Kathleen, in particular, is set free.
Blodeuedd: I am not sure if Aurora really saw something or not, but do you believe in ghosts?
Lucinda: Not sure I’d call them ‘ghosts’ – that conjures up floating white bed-sheets making silly noises! But yes, I absolutely, completely believe in ‘spirits’ and ‘angels’ – I’ve been lucky enough to actually see them too. And when I did, it was so unlike the ‘blinding flash’ everyone seems to describe – they were actually there for hours before I recognised what the ‘white shapes’ actually were! Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it’s true.
And as Aurora says, there’s no proof either way. The US dollar bill has ‘In God We Trust’ written on it… yet, to my knowledge, no-one has ever managed to take a photograph or interview him! I’m not into organised religion, by the way, I just believe in a power higher than us humans and humble enough to realise there is so much we can never understand. Who/what energy created the Big Bang in the first place…? No-one knows.
Blodeuedd: This book is a mix of heartache, historical fiction, secrets and romance. Who would you recommend it to?
Lucinda: I get e mails from women (and some men) of 20 to 80 years old. I think they appeal across the board to anyone who enjoys what I hope is a well-written story, containing an underlying moral code. However, my books are not for ‘cynics’, who believe the world is a bad place. As Aurora says, I believe the human race are intrinsically ‘good’, that redemption and some level of forgiveness is always a possibility, if not an actuality in some cases. And that is the rock-bed from which my stories and characters come.
Blodeuedd: Personally I liked Mary’s story the best. Who was your favorite character or story?
Lucinda: Ahem! You may have noticed how many times quotes from Aurora have popped up… she is the closest I’ve ever come to putting myself down on paper. So scary… the rejection level if readers don’t like her will be huge. She is who I aspire to be – so brave, even through terrible loss and pain, and still hopeful right to the end. But yes, I love Mary too. Stoic, strong, kind… I cried when she lost Jeremy… such a waste.
Blodeuedd: What is next up for you? Any new projects?
Lucinda: The Light Behind the Window is now finished and in to my publishers and I’m going to be spending a lot of next year travelling round the world as the books are published. It’s great as new places and culture and people feed my imagination. I also have the next book to write…
Blodeuedd: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?
Lucinda: Ughh… er… because they’re about the same price as a mag but will last much longer..?! Seriously, that the reader might read something which might enlighten them both historically and emotionally, allowing them to reflect on their own lives and look at what they have, not what they don’t. And that being transported into a different world and out of one’s own can be the next best thing to therapy and far cheaper!
Blodeuedd: Can you summarize The Girl on the Cliff for us twitterstyle (140 characters or less)?
Lucinda: No!!
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~*~*Giveaway*~*~
Thanks to Penguin UK we have a papeback copy of The Girl on the Cliff for one lucky commenter!
All you have to do is leave a question for Lucinda or meaningful comment about the interview
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)
Please leave us a way to contact you.
(Email or twitter name – no way to contact you -> no entry).
This giveaway is open worldwide!
Giveaway ends on 12 November and we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good luck!
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You are a new athor for me but i really liked this interview. Thanks for for the international opportunity to discover your books
isabelle(dot)frisch(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks for the interview ladies, it was very interesting to read. And I do imagine it is difficult to put so much of yourself in one character. I am slowly changing my mind about reading this book, I did like those kinds of generational books in my youth (thinking Barbara Taylor Bradford).
I believe in ghosts although I have never encountered one. I like stories with old secrets and span many decades, they are the ones most intriguing. Thank you for the interview.
Cambonified[at]yahoo[dot]com
I love your story about the success of Hothouse Flower. It's so cool that you stuck with it and found that magic moment. As far as the ghosts, I do believe there is something out there but I don't think the floating white sheets are quite it! Thanks for the giveaway.
jepebATverizonDOTnet
I like the part of the interview about ghosts, angels, and spirits 😀
email: cruz042 at csusm dot edu
Thanks for the wonderful interview! I find it great that your book isn't just for one particular age group, but for a diverse readership that consists of women who enjoy the story as such. I always believed that timeless stories are the best – those are what will one day become classics!
danaan at gmx dot at
I particularly liked your comment about the fact that a book is comparable to a magazine in price, but it is something you may want to keep always.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Great interview! First just want to mention, I love the name Aurora–we almost went with it for our youngest daughter (would have called her Rori). I have often wondered how much an author puts themselves into their characters vs how much the reader ‘thinks’ the author does.
Laura Kay
anovelreview(@)yahoo(.)com