Chatting with Catherine
Q: What do you wish you’d known before you started writing?
Catherine: This is hard to pinpoint because I began writing from childhood and, in all innocence, simply wanted to create stories. But as I grew up and focussed more seriously on writing – and finally had my first book published in 2008 – I had no idea that most writers do not earn a proper living from writing (and that the ones who do are the exceptions). But this did not put me off; in fact, it made me more determined to keep going. I continued for many years with my ‘day job’ – a career in magazine journalism – and would write whenever I could, using my holidays, or taking unpaid leave. The best approach, I feel, is to live to write, not write to live.
Rachel: I love this attitude, Catherine! I was the same, I started writing short stories when I was around eight or nine after discovering Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven series.
Q: Is there one subject you’d never write about as an author? What is it?
Catherine: While writing my latest book The Paris Seamstress – set in Occupied France, where Murielle, the main character, is Jewish – I felt wary of misappropriating the experience of the people who lived through the Second World War and wanted to avoid the pitfalls of historical hindsight. I always bear in mind how much the ordinary people would have known, what they didn’t know and what propaganda they were being fed, using newspaper archives to establish this. For example, I could only hint at the existence of the concentration camps during the conflict because the full horror was not to be revealed until the Allies liberated them. And, personally, I did not feel equipped to go into detail.
That said, I have covered many sensitive subjects in my family-based wartime novels, from adultery and divorce to abortion and suicide. If a plot line or a character’s actions can be viewed as immoral, scandalous or traumatising, I will always try to show the devastating effect this may have on other characters, and themselves, but I avoid being sanctimonious about it.
Q: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Catherine: I’m a pantser, and a very disorganised one at that! The ideas for my books come to me organically and are often found scribbled in notebooks or on scraps of paper. I create scenarios, conjure up the characters and the setting, and allow my imagination to start work. Writing historical fiction set mainly in the first half of the 20th century does give me a structure to work with as the events of, for example, the Second World War unfold. And I often have an inkling of the ending before I begin to write in earnest. But the beauty of writing is that the story evolves naturally – even super-naturally – as my characters come to life and push the narrative along. The idiom that ‘character is plot’ resonates me with especially.
Rachel: Oh, I definitely agree that ‘character is plot’ but I am a plotter through and through. I write quite a detailed chapter plan before I start writing, although the book I’m working on now, the characters went off in a completely surprising direction about halfway through… and I followed them!
Q: If you could be the original author for any book, which book would it be? Why?
Catherine: Without a doubt, Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson. I read this when it first came out in 1995, and the writer’s fresh voice, her unforgettable first line and intricate story that flows back and forth through generations of an ordinary family inspired me. Reading this book opened doors for my creativity and made me feel that I, too, could do this – I’m not, however, in any way comparing myself to KA! I felt vindicated – and astonished – when I first visited my agent Judith Murdoch, as her shelves were lined with Kate Atkinson’s books. Judith had discovered her and, I believe, came up with the title!
Rachel: I’ve heard so much about this book and never read it - I’m adding it to my mile-high TBR list.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
Catherine: I have started to write my tenth novel, provisionally entitled The Girl from the Isles, which is set on Orkney during and after the Second World War. I visited the archipelago north of Scotland last summer for research and to immerse myself in the stark windswept beauty of the landscape. The naval base at Scapa Flow was strategically important during wartime, and the islands were home to Italian prisoners of war. They built the Churchill causeways which link some of the islands, and of course, their exquisite Italian Chapel.
The storyline and characters are taking shape, and the book will be published next August, so watch this space!
Q: Do you have a favourite character in your latest release?
Catherine: Hélène Villiers is a secondary character in The Paris Seamstress but one who makes a big impact on the story. We first hear about her near the beginning and, as Claude’s beautiful former girlfriend, she becomes Murielle’s nemesis through the narrative, rousing her mistrust and jealousy. When we and Murielle finally meet Hélène towards the end, together we recognise her kindness and selfless bravery as a Resistance worker, risking her own life to escort marooned Allied airmen and other ‘enemies of the Third Reich’ across the Pyrenees to safety. I was inspired in part by Andrée de Jongh (1916-2007), who organised the incredible Comet escape line from Belgian, across France and into Spain, and whose network helped to save between 700 and 800 people.
Q: Do you work on one book at a time? More?
Catherine: When it comes to the actual writing, absolutely not – I don’t have the bandwidth! However, ideas for future books are always simmering away and my eleventh novel lies in embryonic form behind a cupboard door in my mind.
Rachel: That’s fabulous - thank you so much for joining me on my Substack account today, Catherine. I wish you much success and sales with The Paris Seamstress!
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