Much of August was taken up with a rather wonderful cruise around the Norwegian fjords. We went because I’d bought a lavish evening dress in 2022 and hadn’t had a chance to wear it. There was also the small matter of a 32nd wedding anniversary to celebrate. (Our 30th was a damp squib thanks to Covid.) I wasn’t entirely confident cruising was going to be our thing and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like on the ship – my nearest comparison was a shopping centre! I’m pleased to report P&O’s Aurora was a delightful place to spend time. Here are my top three highlights of the holiday:
Skjolden
After two days at sea looking out on nothing more than (thankfully) flat, grey water and the occasional cargo ship or off-shore wind farm, we woke up in Skjolden (otherwise known as the king of fjords). We went for a walk around a lake and admired the reflections in the water and strolled past a couple of dramatic waterfalls.
Visits to Norwegian towns
We docked at eight different places. Usually we could walk straight off the ship but on one occasion had to catch a tender. Most of the towns boasted churches, museums and riverside walks. I can’t say these brief visits really provided a sense of place but the beauty of the fjords in which they were nestled was undeniable.
Onboard activities
Each evening we were provided with a programme of events for the following day. During the cruise, I enjoyed lectures on art and Norwegian history, I joined line dancing and dance fit classes as well as regular sessions at the gym. I even attended a vocal workshop. We were allocated a dinner table in the restaurant at 8:30pm and found our travelling companions to be great fun. And, of course, there were two occasions when I got to wear the lavish green evening dress on formal nights. Thanks to plenty of exercise and portion control on restaurant servings, I avoided putting on any weight.
You may notice the lavish green dress matches the cover of The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell perfectly. From today for the whole month of September, you can buy a kindle copy for only 99p. Do check out the other suspense titles from Bloodhound Books, too.
It’s my pleasure to welcome Deborah Klée to The Writer is a Lonely Hunter on the publication day of her fourth novel The Last Act. I first met Deborah as a host and founder of #FriSalon, a weekly tweetchat held on Fridays at 4pm BST where writers come together to discuss a writing topic, share tips and resources. Since then, I’ve been a guest on her podcast The Mindful Writer where we explored the psychological and emotion journey to becoming a writer. These activities demonstrate how committed Deborah is to supporting the writing community and it’s a laudable endeavour. However, the purpose of this interview is to discover the inside story to her latest novel, The Last Act. Here’s the blurb to whet your appetite:
The Last Act
It is 1980 and Jojo Evans is living the dream. Perfect job, perfect man, perfect life – but is it all an illusion?
Jojo doesn’t think so – she cannot believe her good fortune, working as magician’s assistant to her charismatic boyfriend, The Incredible Nico, and sharing his luxurious flat is a far cry from her life in a squat working as a street performer.
Best friend, Annie Daley, isn’t so sure. Jojo seems bewitched by this new boyfriend, and Annie doesn’t trust him.
When Jojo receives an anonymous note warning her to keep away from Nico, the friends suspect it’s from a jealous fan. But the threats that follow cannot be so easily dismissed, and Jojo fears for her life. Annie volunteers to investigate, and enters the world of the Golden Globe Theatre, where nothing is as it seems.
As tensions mount to a career-making show finale, things spiral out of control. Will Jojo and Annie see through the smoke and mirrors in time to save their lives, or is this to be their last act?
With a story based in 1980 and an unusual setting, what was the inspiration behind this novel?
The inspiration was a writing prompt in a creative writing class fifteen years ago. The prompt was one word. Mirrors. We were asked to write 5k words and share 1k each time we met as a group. When I shared the 5k story, my tutor suggested it was the outline of a novel. It was the premise of this story that led me to write novels. I wrote several more novels and had three published before returning to this story. I kept the premise, characters and setting but changed the plot and set it in 1980.
1980 was a time of change. Woman were experiencing power in the workplace for the first time. The entertainment industry was being transformed with new-wave acts: Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Punk Rock. I experienced the 1980s in my teens and so it was fun to recollect those years.
JoJo and Annie are great characters. Did you set out to make female friendship significant in the story?
I don’t think I set out to write about female friendship, but it is important to me and therefore finds a way into most of my novels. Jojo and Annie’s friendship is challenged when their lives take different directions. The feelings of being left behind, envy, and bereavement are ones I’ve experienced at different stages of my life with close friendships. I wanted to explore that.
How do you decide on names and nicknames for your characters?
Sometimes I use a name generator on Google for suggestions. In The Last Act I chose the names early on, thinking I could change them later, but once I knew my characters I couldn’t – they are their names! Annie Apple-cheeks, Annabelle’s nickname, just came to me, as Jojo exclaimed it in my head. I imagine Annie with a pretty, round, and open face.
A girl I knew at college had a boyfriend called Nick and, wanting to sound Italian, he changed it to Nico. So, I borrowed from him.
The novel is written with two viewpoint characters (JoJo and Annie). Did you organise the changes of viewpoint at the planning stage?
I did. I grappled for a short while with whose story it was – Jojo’s or Annie’s. I decided it was about their friendship and they were equally important to the story. So, I gave them equal space. I love them both, Jojo for her energy and imagination, Annie for her loyalty and kindness.
Your prologue is particularly interesting as it includes interview quotes with staff from the Golden Globe following a fire at the Victorian theatre. Why did you decide on this format?
I start and finish with news reports. The Last Act is about performers at The Golden Globe Theatre competing for media attention in the hope it will launch them to stardom. Little Fires Everywhere and Big Little Lies use a similar technique in reporting an incident in the prologue. I wanted to create intrigue and focus the reader on the theatre’s big night when the last act would offer up the next big star in the world of magic.
Danger in the novel comes in many forms. Romantic relationships are complicated and add to the jeopardy. Was this your intention when you set out to write the book?
I started with the premise of the note: If you value your life, keep away from him. I realised that this could have two meanings. The threat could come from within the relationship or from outside of it.
What’s next for you Deborah?
I have just finished writing a dual timeline novel set in WWII and 1960s, The Evacuee’s Secret. A North Yorkshire village flooded in 1966 to create a reservoir inspired this novel. I would like to write more dual timeline stories and have a couple more in my head waiting to be written.
Thank you for joining me on The Writer is a Lonely Hunter, Deborah. It’s been great to find out more about you and your novel The Last Act.
About Deborah Klée
Deborah Klée is an award-winning author of page-turning, uplifting stories about friendship, community, and emotional courage. After a career in health and social care: an occupational therapist, health service manager, freelance journalist, and management consultant, she now enjoys writing happy endings for her protagonists.
Deborah lives on the Essex coast, where she loves to walk by the sea or the surrounding countryside filling her pockets with shells, and acorns, and her head with stories.
Book blogger Victoria Bucknell offers very thoughtful reviews (you can read her thoughts about The Secret Life of Carolyn Russellhere). When she approached me with an invitation for an interview, I was keen to accept. I’m pleased to share the Q&A through the link below. If you’re a writer and have a new release, you may be interested to know that Victoria is currently accepting review requests.
Reviews are so important to the success of a novel and it’s pleasing to see how The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell is being received by readers. Here is a thoughtful review from Lizanne Lloyd as part of her #TuesdayBookBlog posts (which are well worth reading). When posting on Amazon, reviews don’t have to be long, just a few words would be very welcome.
🇬🇧 http://loom.ly/N2ow-gU
🇺🇸http://loom.ly/3S3iqLc
A true-crime podcaster investigates a decades-old suspected abduction, in this powerful psychological suspense novel.
1979 Sixteen-year-old Carolyn Russell grows increasingly infatuated with her school mathematics teacher who is also giving her private lessons. Then she disappears.
2014 Struggling journalist Stephanie Brett creates a true-crime podcast focused on the disappearance of Carolyn Russell. By digging deep into this mysterious cold case, her confidence and flagging career are boosted. But after she confronts the suspects—and talks to a potential witness—the leads dry up. However, Stephanie refuses to let the story rest . . .
Can a small-time journalist with a shoestring podcast really hope to reconstruct the ultimate fate of Carolyn Russell after all these years, or are some secrets best left buried?
My Review
It is interesting to read a dual time novel where both times are familiar parts of your life. The disappearance of a 16-year-old girl in 1979 would…
As with many of the authors I’ve interviewed on The Writer is a Lonely Hunter, Alice and I first met on social media. We both commented on Tweets from the Women Writers Network account, and as I became more aware of Alice through her online presence, it was a delight to realise we had things in common including projects coming to fruition in July. While you don’t need to know anything more about The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell, I’m pleased to introduce Alice and her outstanding short story collection, The Truth Has Arms and Legs which will be released by Fly On The Wall Press on Friday 14 July 2023.
About Alice
Alice Fowler is an award-winning writer of short stories and longer fiction. She won the Historical Writers’ Association short story competition in 2020 and the Wells Festival of Literature short story competition in 2021. Other stories have been short- and long-listed in prizes and printed in anthologies. Her historical novel was longlisted for the 2021 Stylist Feminist Fiction Prize.
Alice has a degree in Human Sciences from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and worked as a national print journalist until 2006.
She lives in Surrey with her husband and teenage sons, and loves theatre, tennis and walking in the Surrey Hills.
About The Truth Has Arms And Legs
Delve into a world of change and reinvention. Where relationships are as delicate as turtle eggs, and just as easily smashed.
This poignant short story collection explores pivotal moments that transform our lives. Jenny, whose life is defined by small disasters, discovers a more generous version of herself. A traveller girl might just win her race and alter her life’s course. A widow, cut off in a riverside backwater, opens her heart to a stranger.
In this captivating collection, readers will be moved by the raw vulnerability of human connection, and the resilience that enables us to grow and thrive. In change, Alice Fowler’s characters find the ability to be truly free.
Q&A
The About Alice page on your website says you write short stories and longer fiction including work on a historical novel. What are the benefits of writing both short form and long pieces? Is your process for writing short fiction and longer fiction different?
Thanks so much for having me on your blog Gail! I particularly like this question as it really makes me think about my writing process. When I begin a short story, I often don’t know where it will end up. Or, if I do have an idea of the ending, I certainly don’t know how I’ll get there. I really enjoy that feeling of discovery. When it’s going well, writing can feel like painting: you add a dab of this colour, and a dab of that one, and then stand back to judge the overall effect.
For me, this approach works very well for short stories precisely because they’re short. You can throw all the plates up in the air and then (hopefully) catch them again. I write my stories from a place of pleasure, and I hope that readers sense that as they read.
With novel writing, this ‘pantser’ approach is riskier. I still like to write this way when I can, but it sometimes sends me off into blind alleys. Ideally when I begin a chapter in my novel I have more of plan – and stick to it! – while leaving enough unknown to make the writing process fun and interesting.
First there was my daughter’s wedding. Here is the gorgeous girl and her lovely husband.
I wrote a poem for the happy couple and read it at the service.
Then I was in a drama showcase where I performed in a scene from Ladies Day as Pearl, a fish packer from Hull. (I even managed to crack a northern accent.)
It’s taken three years from writing the very first line of The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell to arriving at publication day. There have been many ups and downs in reaching this point, but I’m proud of this story with its mystery and underlying messages that show changes in the moral code over thirty years and provide glimpses into racism in a rural setting. Book blogger, Linda Hill has posted an insightful review covering many of the elements I hoped to get across in her publication day review here.
If you’ve ever wondered how an author spends publication day, here’s my schedule:
7am: write a blog post and send (timing has slipped a bit here)
8am: join Writers’ Hour to finish a Q&A kindly offered by book blogger Victoria Bucknell
9am: check Amazon rankings to see if the novel has made a splash (repeat hourly every ten minutes)
On the evening before publication day, it’s such a thrill to receive this review of The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell which digs deep into the story and highlights important takeaways. Have a read and tell me what you think in the comments. Thanks!
So often I look back at my school days and wonder how on earth we used to accept certain behaviours as normal. From the teacher who would regularly hurl the wooden blackboard cleaner towards anyone misbehaving, to the poor souls spanked in assembly in front of the entire school, it was a whole different world to 2023. The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell by Gail Aldwin is partially set in the late 1970s and is a stark reminder of how life was so different for young girls back then. This is a clever, engaging and well-written mystery novel that will keep you guessing to the very end. It’s the perfect summer holiday read.
Our story is told by 2 similarly intriguing female protagonists. First we meet Stephanie, a small town journalist who is down on her luck – she’s just been made redundant and has had to rent out a…
Book bloggers do an amazing job of spreading the love for books and reading. Books by your Bedside is a fine example where Victoria shares perceptive and thought-provoking reviews. She’s written an outstanding post for ‘The Secret Life Of Carolyn Russell’ for which I’m very grateful. Why not hop over and take a look at Victoria’s reviews? You might find a little known title that you’ll love nestling there.
Published By: Bloodhound Books Pages: 310 Released On: 03/07/2023
A true-crime podcaster investigates a decades-old suspected abduction, in this powerful psychological suspense novel.
1979:Sixteen-year-old Carolyn Russell grows increasingly infatuated with her school mathematics teacher who is also giving her private lessons. Then she disappears.
2014: Struggling journalist Stephanie Brett creates a true-crime podcast focused on the disappearance of Carolyn Russell. By digging deep into this mysterious cold case, her confidence and flagging career are boosted. But after she confronts the suspects—and talks to a potential witness—the leads dry up. However, Stephanie refuses to let the story rest . . . Can a small-time journalist with a shoestring podcast really hope to reconstruct the ultimate fate of Carolyn Russell after all these years, or are some secrets best left buried?
*****
Thanks to Gail for gifting me an advanced copy of her new book in return for an honest review.
for the release of The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell
At two o’clock this afternoon Bloodhound Books officially revealed the cover of my new novel The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell. Doesn’t it look splendid? The pumps and tote bag give a distinctly 1970s vibe to the mystery while the rest of the branding suits the psychological suspense elements. To be honest, it’s a relief to have this off my desk and going out into the world in less than 4 weeks. The final stages of bringing a novel to publication is a mixture of joy and panic. Release day is Monday 3 July but if you’d like to get your UK copy organised early, here’s a Kindle pre-order link. (The paperback version should be available shortly.) My thanks go to Suzanne Goldring, Joanna Barnard and Jacquelyn Mitchard for the endorsements.
An enthusiastic early reader has posted a five-star review on Goodreads. It’s a real shot in the arm when someone who’s read my previous books says The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell is her favourite to date.
the writer is a lonely hunter 