I am pleased to introduce you today to Mary Hooper. She is the author of historical fiction novels such as At The Sign Of A Sugared Plum and Fallen Grace but has also a contemporary series called Megan about a teenage girl that becomes pregnant.
Why are you drawn to writing historical fiction?
I just find it so much more interesting: highwaymen, king’s mistresses and lost inheritances over i-phones, texting and Facebook.
Can you tell us a bit about your newest book “Fallen Grace”?
It’s about a girl – Grace – who goes to work for a firm of Undertakers. It is set in Victorian times and also involves a lost sister, a baby and a vast inheritance.
Do you read children and young adult novels to help you with the target audience?
I write the sorts of stories I like to read; I don’t have to think about the age group.
What encouraged you to write for children and young adults?
Books are shorter, for a start!
Who was your favourite author as a child and who is your favourite author at present?
Richmal Crompton (she wrote the JUST WILLIAM books) was always my favourite as a child. Now I change my favourites from week to week. At the moment I’m reading Philip Pulman’s Sally Lockhart stories and loving them.
Did you always love writing or did you discover your passion later on in life?
I have always loved writing and started off by doing lots of magazine short stories. Later I wrote serials and then tackled a whole book.
Do you have to do research for your books since they are historical fiction?
Certainly – and research is the very best part of writing. It’s where you find all the interesting little things which will make your book come to life.
Do you read books whilst you are writing a novel or do you feel it hinders your work?
I am always reading. I need a break from writing!
Are you working on any new novels at this time?
I’ve just finished a book called VELVET, which is about a girl who goes to work for a fraudulent medium. It’s set a little later than FALLEN GRACE, in the year when Queen Victoria dies.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Make sure you add some of Mary Hooper's novels to your TBR piles today! Her latest novel
Fallen Grace is out now!
The book I've chosen to highlight for my Read, Review, Recommend post is Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James. I read this book last year, and it became an instant favourite of mine. If you haven't already read it, do so now! It's a wonderful psychological thriller of toxic friendships and deep rooted secrets that come back to haunt the characters here. There was a lot of hype surrounding this book and it's author, and in my opinion, the book totally lives up to the hype. I often find that when books are very buzzed about, they are a let down for me, but not this one! This was also the first Aussie YA books I read, and since then I've been wanting to find out about more Aussie YA titles. Recently that's been happening a lot since I found out about some great Australian book blogs.
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If you are frequent viewer of my blog you probably know I'm hardcover whore. I will admit it. I have no shame. I will willingly pay £10 for a hardcover book because it is pretty. I love looking underneath the dust jacket and feel that smooth hardcover. I love the shiny font on the spine and the sometimes embossed covers. What I love even more is when they aren't black underneath. Anna and the French Kiss is a beautiful royal purple and Unearthly is a gorgeous grey with gorgeous font.
surely. I used to be a paperback girl. Cheap and cheerful. I have become much more stuck up. Much more snobby. Much more shallow. I know. Shoot me. I'm a sucker for a hardcover. They remind me of my mum's classics. Just hardbacks, no photos or cartoons. Just simple, old fashioned books! May I just throw in the fact that my mum is in New Zealand right now and is bringing me back some of these beauties here. Gorgeous pretty classics! Score!
Title: Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance
Old Magic by Marianne Curley
