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Ask the Author: Rachel Hore
Answered Questions (8)
Rachel Hore
My most recent book is The House on Bellevue Gardens. Set in London, it is about a house of sanctuary for people who are going through a period of difficulty in their lives when they need somewhere to stay. I started to think about the idea when I was reading The L-Shaped Room by Lynn Reid Banks, which was published over 50 years ago. I wondered what a modern version of the story might be.
Rachel Hore
Hello, I have only just seen your message about receiving the wrong book. I'm afraid I don't know anything about the lottery or which book you should have received and I'm not sure whom you should contact. Apologies for not being much use here.
Very best
Rachel
Very best
Rachel
Rachel Hore
I try to if I can. If I only write about it in the past then I usually research it through books and film. In A A Gathering Storm, for instance, there was a little bit towards the end set in Marseille and the Carmargue, and I used what I had read to imagine those places. In A Week In Paris, I wrote about the Paris I knew from visits over the years as well as the one I read about.
Rachel Hore
All I need is a little thing to spark my interest and then I begin to explore it by thinking, reading and researching. Quite often it's a place and an atmosphere that starts me off, or an object, or a name on a war memorial. There's a great deal of digging about that is simply work, not inspiration at all.
Rachel Hore
I have started another novel about the Second World War. My parents and grandparents were marked by that war, so there is a personal interest from my point of view, and the war casts a long shadow still. This one is set in the Norfolk countryside and in Italy.
Rachel Hore
Write and read. Write about what interests you. Read contemporary authors you love with an eye to how they achieve their effects.
Rachel Hore
Freedom to create. There are days when writing is hard work, but there are also glorious days when the ideas flow and the words practically write themselves. There might need to be editing, but getting down the bones can be joyous.
Rachel Hore
I know it sounds a bit superficial, but keep writing. Give yourself permission to write complete rubbish, if necessary, stream of consciousness stuff. Exercising the writer's 'muscle' like this can help. During a bad point a year ago I kept a notebook by my bed and first thing in the morning, when I was still in that half-dream state, I would write for ten minutes whatever came into my head. By the time I was up and having breakfast I was ready to give my novel a go.
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