Hi Adrienne! It’s so nice to welcome you back to my Saturday feature and have you take the time to share more about you and your latest release LOVE IN THE TIME OF WAR which I have added to my ‘to be read’ list! Let’s get started with my questions…
Do you use pictures as inspiration at that start of a book?
Yes! For Love in a Time of War I was inspired by old black and white pictures of my grandmother, Edith Fry Chinn, and my two great-aunts, Jessie and Ettie Chinn, from the years just before and during the First World War. They were all in their twenties during the war, were active suffragists, and ending up living lives that would never have been conceived of prior to the war.
What is your favourite period drama?
I love anything set in the first 65 years of the twentieth century when so much changed for women. I can’t imagine another period of time in history where so much changed in such a short period of time.
Having said that, Gone With the Wind is my favourite book. I’ve read it more times than I can count. It’s definitely been a big influence on my writing.
Are the titles of your books important?
Yes! But I’m terrible at choosing titles. All my titles have come via my editor.
I write my novels under “working titles”, and my editor and I then mull over options once I hand the first draft in.
If you’re struggling with a scene or difficult character, what methods help you through it?
I don’t always write in sequence, although I do take some time to work out a detailed chapter list. So, if I’m struggling with a scene, I’ll set it aside and write a scene that does inspire me at that moment. This way I stay productive, rather than hitting a block. I’ll go back to the “difficult” scene, when I’m feeling ready to.
Sometimes I spend an hour researching the location, or the politics happening in the location at the time, or what the top films/books/music was … all this helps unblock stubborn scenes for me. It I can stimulate my imagination, the words start to come.
Before starting writing a novel, I spend a couple of weeks creating a character folder, which include photographs of actors/actresses or simply inspiring faces that help me visualise what my characters look like. Then I write a paragraph about each of them — their birthday, hair and eye colour, where they were educated, what their hobbies are, what their favourite foods are, who their best friend is, etc. This is incredibly helpful when I’m writing as I never really have any difficulty writing my characters. The thing I really need to spend time on is the plotting and the story arcs.
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Neither. I’m a 10:30am to 5pm person. It takes me a while to get into gear in the morning, which often necessitates several cups of coffee, some morning yoga stretches, checking emails, Wordle, and Jewel Legend on my phone. I can’t write in the evening. After supper, I like to read, watch Netflix, or study my lines for a local theatre group. I’m tucked up in bed by 11pm.
Who’s your favourite author? Why?
I don’t have a favourite author. I read rather eclectically, and often absolutely love one novel by an author. Some books I’ve loved include Snow Falling on Cedars, Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Cold Mountain (there seems to be a theme there!), The Forbidden Dreams of Betsy Elliott, Vernon God Little, The Life of Pi, Rebecca (my top novel ever), Green Darkness by Anya Seton (one of my favourite romance novelists), The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende … Recently, I’ve loved The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, The Essex Serpent, and The Familiars.
I love books that convey a real sense of setting and which have beautifully rendered characters and dialogue. I don’t mind at all if a character is dislikeable — it makes the story more interesting! I don’t mind a meandering plot — I like a novel that takes its time. I don’t like to gallop along. I’m not a crime novel reader.
Do you have a pet peeve?
Yes. Characters that sound the same and/or all look similar. I want to be able to identify the characters by how they express themselves, and I want to be able to visualise them clearly, even down to their tics! For me novels are about story, and the story comes from the characters and how they deal with a given circumstance. If I can’t embrace the characters, warts and all, then I find it virtually impossible to engage in the story, no matter how will plotted.
Can you tell me a little about your next project?
Of course! I’m just now finishing the structural edit on Book 2 of The Three Fry Sisters series, which follows the sisters and their mother, Christina’s lives through the exuberant post-war years from 1919 to 1929, with cameos by F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Man Ray and Kiki de Montparnasse. A lot happens! Hold on to your hats! It’ll be published in 2023.
In March I’ll start writing the third and final book of the series, which will follow the sisters through the years 1936-1945, encompassing the Spanish Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II which is slotted for publication in 2024.
Three sisters
The Great War
The end of innocence…
In 1913, in a quiet corner of London, the three Fry sisters are coming of age, dreaming of all the possibilities the bright future offers. But when war erupts their innocence is shattered and a new era of uncertainty begins.
Cecelia loves Max but his soldier’s uniform is German, not British, and suddenly the one man she loves is the one man she can’t have.
Jessie enlists in the army as a nurse and finally finds the adventure she’s craved when she’s sent to Gallipoli and Egypt, but it comes with an unimaginable cost.
Etta elopes to Capri with her Italian love, Carlo, but though her growing bump is real, her marriage certificate is a lie.
As the three sisters embark on journeys they never could have imagined, their mother Christina worries about the harsh new realities they face, and what their exposure to the wider world means for the secrets she’s been keeping…
Adrienne is a novelist, speaker, teacher, interior designer as well as an avid traveller, photographer, flea market hunter, haiku poet and chocolate-eater.
A voracious reader and creative writer since she can remember, Adrienne always aspired to write novels, and, in 2011 joined Richard Skinner’s novel-writing class at the Faber Academy in London, something she would encourage any aspiring novelist to do. Her debut novel, The Lost Letter, was published in 2019, her second novel, the international best seller The English Wife, was published in 2020, and her third novel, Love in a Time of War, the first in The Three Fry Sisters series, was published in 2022.
