Ask the Author: Emma Fraser
Answered Questions (4)
Emma Fraser
Hi Penny
Firstly, apologies for not getting back to you sooner- but I have been away and without internet access. Now, to answer your question, I assume you are talking about Dr Elsie Inglis who appears as herself in my book? I came across her when I was researching the first women doctors in Scotland. The name was familiar to me from my time in Edinburgh when I was training as a nurse - there was a hospital named after her- but I knew nothing about the woman herself. As soon as I read about her involvement with the Scottish Women's Hospitals, I knew I had my story. I was stunned that I knew nothing about these women and their work during the first world war. I used both the National library in Edinburgh and the Mitchell in Glasgow to research the stories of the Scottish Women's Hospitals, finding several books written not long after the war finished about their experiences in France, Serbia and Greece during the war. I also discovered they were far from the only group of women who offered their services although they were one of the units with the highest reputation. As part of my research I visited the library of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh (the site of many a stand off between the first women medical students and their male counterparts btw) and while there came across the diaries of Ishabel Ross from Skye (hence part of the reason for using Skye and the name Isabel!) who was with the Scottish Women's Hospital when they established a unit in Macedonia. Ishabel Ross kept a fabulous diary - which was part of the college's collection and even included a detailed drawing of the camp where she worked. There was so much actual material about these women and women like them (I mention one of the other units in When the Dawn Breaks) and I really had to keep my focus. I would loved to have used every bit of what I found out in my story, but then I would have been writing non- fiction! One last point - believe me when I say nothing in my book about the courage and resourcefulness of these women is exaggerated. Dr Elsie Inglis at the very least, deserves to be far better known than she is.
Firstly, apologies for not getting back to you sooner- but I have been away and without internet access. Now, to answer your question, I assume you are talking about Dr Elsie Inglis who appears as herself in my book? I came across her when I was researching the first women doctors in Scotland. The name was familiar to me from my time in Edinburgh when I was training as a nurse - there was a hospital named after her- but I knew nothing about the woman herself. As soon as I read about her involvement with the Scottish Women's Hospitals, I knew I had my story. I was stunned that I knew nothing about these women and their work during the first world war. I used both the National library in Edinburgh and the Mitchell in Glasgow to research the stories of the Scottish Women's Hospitals, finding several books written not long after the war finished about their experiences in France, Serbia and Greece during the war. I also discovered they were far from the only group of women who offered their services although they were one of the units with the highest reputation. As part of my research I visited the library of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh (the site of many a stand off between the first women medical students and their male counterparts btw) and while there came across the diaries of Ishabel Ross from Skye (hence part of the reason for using Skye and the name Isabel!) who was with the Scottish Women's Hospital when they established a unit in Macedonia. Ishabel Ross kept a fabulous diary - which was part of the college's collection and even included a detailed drawing of the camp where she worked. There was so much actual material about these women and women like them (I mention one of the other units in When the Dawn Breaks) and I really had to keep my focus. I would loved to have used every bit of what I found out in my story, but then I would have been writing non- fiction! One last point - believe me when I say nothing in my book about the courage and resourcefulness of these women is exaggerated. Dr Elsie Inglis at the very least, deserves to be far better known than she is.
Emma Fraser
Hi Orna
My parents were island born and bred so I have very strong ties to the Scottish Islands. When I left SA to return to Uist I found very little had changed from how I remembered it as a child so it was easy for me to imagine what island life would have been like on Skye at the end of the 19th century. I also worked there for a few months and like Isabel was taken salmon fishing. I too was expected to bash the salmon over the head with a thick stick! When I decided to set art of the book in Skye I rented a cottage with a writing friend. I wanted to find the exact spots where my characters lived and worked. There was also a fantastic community museum nearby with lots of photos and first hand accounts of life on Skye in the 19th Century. When I was editing the book I took the same cottage again to check up on facts. Sadly the museum had closed but luckily I had the info I needed. Skye also has blockhouses furnished exactly as they would have been at the time I was writing. If you ever get the chance to visit, you must go. It is a beautiful, dramatic island, full of history. To answer your last question, I had my great aunts in mind when I wrote about Jessie. They were tough, determined women. Isabel came to be through diaries and letters written by the women who went out with the Scottish Women's Hospitals. I don't think strong, amazing women are given enough prominence in history, yet there were so many living heroic lives, quietly.
My parents were island born and bred so I have very strong ties to the Scottish Islands. When I left SA to return to Uist I found very little had changed from how I remembered it as a child so it was easy for me to imagine what island life would have been like on Skye at the end of the 19th century. I also worked there for a few months and like Isabel was taken salmon fishing. I too was expected to bash the salmon over the head with a thick stick! When I decided to set art of the book in Skye I rented a cottage with a writing friend. I wanted to find the exact spots where my characters lived and worked. There was also a fantastic community museum nearby with lots of photos and first hand accounts of life on Skye in the 19th Century. When I was editing the book I took the same cottage again to check up on facts. Sadly the museum had closed but luckily I had the info I needed. Skye also has blockhouses furnished exactly as they would have been at the time I was writing. If you ever get the chance to visit, you must go. It is a beautiful, dramatic island, full of history. To answer your last question, I had my great aunts in mind when I wrote about Jessie. They were tough, determined women. Isabel came to be through diaries and letters written by the women who went out with the Scottish Women's Hospitals. I don't think strong, amazing women are given enough prominence in history, yet there were so many living heroic lives, quietly.
Emma Fraser
Hi Matthew
To be honest, the answer is no. I start with an idea, setting and characters and have some idea what is going to happen but the end usually remains a mystery to me. For example in the book I am writing now I have no idea how it is going to end. I want the characters to come to me so strongly that by the time I come to the end, what happens is as much of a surprise to me as to the reader. I think with mystery novels all you as the author has to do is ensure that the mystery must be solved and the reader should be thinking at the end - of course- why didn't I see that coming. If I were you I would start with the mystery (as you seem to be doing) and see how it unfolds. You may surprise yourself - in which case you will definitely surprise the reader. I hope this helps. Other authors may well know the ending of their book and have it minutely plotted before they even start to write. That wouldn't work for me.
To be honest, the answer is no. I start with an idea, setting and characters and have some idea what is going to happen but the end usually remains a mystery to me. For example in the book I am writing now I have no idea how it is going to end. I want the characters to come to me so strongly that by the time I come to the end, what happens is as much of a surprise to me as to the reader. I think with mystery novels all you as the author has to do is ensure that the mystery must be solved and the reader should be thinking at the end - of course- why didn't I see that coming. If I were you I would start with the mystery (as you seem to be doing) and see how it unfolds. You may surprise yourself - in which case you will definitely surprise the reader. I hope this helps. Other authors may well know the ending of their book and have it minutely plotted before they even start to write. That wouldn't work for me.
Emma Fraser
My next book, We Shall Remember out in a couple of weeks as an ebook or in hardback was inspired by a story my daughter heard on a podcast about two Polish doctors who thought up a scam that ended up saving thousands of lives. I knew there was a strong connection between Scotland and Poland during and after WW2 and during my research discovered many more connections - not least that they also trained as part of the SOE in Scotland. My heroine is a Polish medical student who is in Warsaw when Germany attacks
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more