Interview with AnneMarie Brear, Author of WHERE DRAGONFLIES HOVER
Please join us in welcoming author AnneMarie Brear to Books & Benches for a 5 Question Q&A.
Where Dragonflies Hover is the latest novel from Anne, a prolific writer of sixteen novels and short stories.
"The book is written in such a way it made me feel as if I was in both time periods and could relate to the characters in more ways than one. I could not put this book down and love reading stories which pull me in so deeply. I did not want the story to end. "
—Amazon reviewer, UK
5 QUESTIONS FOR ANNEMARIE BREAR
In 250 words or less, what can you tell us about your newest release?
My latest release, Where Dragonflies Hover, is a split era story set in modern day England and World War I France.
In modern day, Lexi is unhappy with her marriage and seeks to change the rut she has developed in her life. She goes against her husband’s wishes and buys an old house. Within the grounds of the house she finds a diary written by an Australian WWI nurse, Allie. As Lexi’s marriage crumbles she finds comfort in reading the diary which journals Allie’s love affair with a Captain of the British Army and the horrendous conditions she suffers while nursing soldiers at the war front.
The story slips between Lexi’s modern problems and Allie’s anguish as she copes of being in love and serving her country during the war.
Where Dragonflies Hover has received some wonderful reviews.
What story are you working on next, and what inspired it?
I’ve just started writing a new story new set in the WWI era again. It is about the grandchildren of one of my previous books, Kitty McKenzie. Kitty’s grandsons join the war from Australia, and her granddaughter joins as a nurse, they travel from the quiet countryside of Australia and are thrust into the middle of the mayhem and carnage that is the First World War.
I am often asked by readers who have read Kitty McKenzie, and the sequel, Kitty McKenzie’s Land, as to whether I would write any more about the family, but I’ve had other stories I’ve wanted to write. Now, ten years later, I thought I’d give it a go. I’m hoping to have it finished by next year.
How much research do you do?
I do a lot of research as I enjoy it. However, the key is to not bog the story down with too much detail that slows the enjoyment of the reader. Novelists are story-tellers. We tell a story and we should try to get it as correct as possible, but, that said, we will make mistakes. We aren’t writing factual documentaries. I write historical novels, so I will research the era I’m writing in to the best of my ability, but I’m not an historian and I don’t claim to be. However, I do enjoy writing about my favourite eras such as Victorian, Edwardian and WWI so I will spend a lot of time researching to get the flavour of those times into my stories.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
My writing develops through the characters. I find it tough going to write to an outline or a plot written in advance. I have tried it in the past and not liked it. My characters tend to go off and do their own thing, I just go along for the ride. It is far more enjoyable for me as a writer to see where the story goes. I’m usually always surprised by the twists and turns my characters insist on happening.
What else have you written?
Kitty McKenzie - historical novel Kitty McKenizie's Land - historical novel To Gain What's Lost - historical novel Broken Hero - historical novel
Where Dragonflies Hover - spilt era novel
To Take Her Pride - historical novel The Gentle Winds Caress - historical novel The House of Women - historical novel The Day Embroidered - historical novel Long Distance Love - contemporary novel Hooked On You - contemporary novel "What He Taught Her"- short story "Art of Desire"- short story "A New Dawn" - short story "The Right Man" - short story New Beginnings: short story anthology
"I absolutely loved this book and spent two days of my holiday doing nothing else but reading it. The timeslip, along with the modern day story gave the book a distinct difference. I loved the way the diary brought the past to life, the descriptions of life during the war were amazing and the author brought both stories together at the end, in a very clever conclusion. Loved it."
—Amazon reader, UK
THE AUTHOR
Annemarie Brear writes historical novels and modern romances. Her passions, apart from writing, are reading, researching, genealogy, roaming historical sites, buying books and gardening. She is an author of historical women's fiction, contemporary romance and several short stories.
http://annemariebrear.blogspot.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/annemariebrear Twitter @annemariebrear
FEATURED BOOK
"This was a beautifully written novel, with an emotional thread that tugged at my heart-strings while I read. The dual timeline and voices were interwoven seamlessly by the author to create a wonderfully romantic plot tinged with some sadness. The protagonists, Allie and Lexi, were well-drawn, strong women whose lives did not follow the path they had hoped for and yet rallied against what others would perceive as unfairness of life. Recommended."
—Amazon reviewer, UK
Sometimes a glimpse into the past can help make sense of the future …
Everyone thinks Lexi is crazy when she falls in love with Hollingsworth House – a crumbling old Georgian mansion in Yorkshire – and nobody more so than her husband, Dylan. But there’s something very special about the place, and Lexi can sense it. Whilst exploring the grounds she stumbles across an old diary and, within its pages, she meets Allie – an Australian nurse working in France during the First World War. Lexi finally realises her dream of buying Hollingsworth but her obsession with the house leaves her marriage in tatters. In the lonely nights that follow, Allie’s diary becomes Lexi’s companion, comforting her in moments of darkness and pain. And as Lexi reads, the nurse’s scandalous connection to the house is revealed …
Genre: Contemporary (split era) Romance
Publisher: Choc Lit
Format: E-Book (198 pages)
