Lily Graham
Author Interview - Lily Graham
Author of The Only Light in London
London, 1940: As the bombs rain down and the streets empty, Finley crouches in a London underground shelter and tries to stop herself from shivering. She paints a smile on, ignores her fear and begins to help those around her feel less alone. Her mind turns to the man she loves, Sebastien, miles away, risking his life for his adopted family. She will keep the light of home aflame for him until he returns.
She’ll never forget the moment he appeared on her doorstep, desperately looking for lodgings, a haunted look on his thin face, and how they had grown close over shared cups of cocoa in the kitchen sharing stories of all they had lost in this terrible war.
Thousands of miles away, in the middle of Europe, Sebastien hides in an abandoned farmhouse, close to an enemy camp. He’s risking his life but thoughts of Finley, the woman he loves, are keeping him going. He hopes that Finley is safe in Cornwall, where she promised him would go and allows himself to dare to dream of a future, when the war is over, where they can be happy together in the cosy house on the cobbled London street.
But when a loud blast shakes the shelter in London, Finley fears that this night in London may be her last. If she dies here, Sebastien will never know what happened to her. But not only that, he will never know of the secret she carries, a heart-breaking secret that has the power to change their world forever…
Author Interview - Lily Graham
Author I draw inspiration from:
I adore most of the novels of Fannie Flagg, but my favourite is Fried Green Tomotoes at the Whistlestop Cafe. I love the way she creates characters that you fall in love with, and root for, as well as her humour and how she can make you laugh one minute and cry the next, and that's something I think that has influenced me. I also love the voice in Dodi Smith's I Capture the Castle, and Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love, the blend of humour, humanity and irreverance. In term's of story-telling, the best advice I ever got was from historical fiction author Ken Follet, who said that every few pages or so a story should turn - have some sort of unexpected moment and I think that had definitely been one of the few rules I have ever followed when it comes to writing, as I like my stories to be character-driven first but also page-turners, if I can help it.
Author Interview - Lily Graham | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Bed, for sure. But the couch is good too, or a cafe with a comfy armchair and the delicious aromas of coffee and chocolate is fabulous too.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Very left field answer, but probably someone like Granny Weatherwax from the Terry Pratchett's discworld series, I'd love to know her thoughts on an elevator and I'm sure she'd have a fantastic solution for getting us out or at least ensure that the time passed rather marvelously.
Author Interview - Lily Graham | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
At around age nine or so. I was a committed book-worm, and whenever a grown-up asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I went into a panic because the only thing I really loved to do was read and I didn’t think I could get paid for that! And then one day, for the first time I looked at one of the books I was reading and then looked up the bit about the author, never having given that much attention before and a sort of light bulb went off and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is someone’s job, and maybe … it could be mine?’ I also realised really quickly that this was going to be very hard because I wasn’t that kid that the teacher’s made a fuss about when it came to their creative writing. But I made it my mission to become one of them. It took years but eventually, by around high school I was. I also write for kids and I generally tell them when I go to school visits that I genuinely believe my disability (I was born with one hand) is what helped me succeed because I’d had a lifetime of learning how to do things most people thought I wouldn’t be able to do like ride a bicycle or tie up my hair, and so I just figured learning how to become a writer and then author was another thing I could get better at, and I was right.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I love hardback for books that I want to collect. I especially love unique hardback sizes or where there is a sprayed or deckled edge. I don't love a hardback when the book is massive and heavy though.
I like paperbacks for easy-reading, and I also enjoy it when the paperback is a unique pocket size, for a classic like 84 Charring Cross Road. I absolutely loathe paperbacks where the font is tiny though! Or it's really big and heavy.
I love ebooks for crime stories, or any book that is compulsive reading or something I feel I have to read right away and cannot wait for it to arrive by mail. It's such a thrill to have it come straight away onto my Kindle, and when I'm on the hunt for something to read late at night this can be dangerous to my bank account. I don't love it though when I realise that it's a super special book that I now want to own in hard copy, or when you can see your reading progress and speed.
I struggle with audiobooks, it's a bit of a love-hate relationship. I like them for non-fiction when I'm on a long walk but with fiction I can find the narrator off-putting at times, though at other times the narrator can absolutely make the story. For instance, I listened to David Tennant's narration of Cressida Cowell's Wizard of Once Series and was laughing aloud in public, on the tube ....
The last book I read:
I finished The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson about two weeks ago, which absolutely blew me away, such a beautiful, sad and poignant story about the Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky and the true ‘blue people’ of the area. It was such an incredible book that I was immediately thrust into a book-slump afterwards as all I wanted to read was more like that and so I ordered the sequel The Bookwoman’s Daughter. I stumbled across The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr by Frances Maynard, yesterday, and found myself unable to put it down — slump cured instantly. It’s a funny, special and thought provoking book. It’s comparison to Eleanor Olifant is Completely Fine is deserved, in fact, I think I love this one more, and I loved Eleanor Olifant!
Author Interview - Lily Graham | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I'm a bit of both. I keep a journal for each book. For the Only Light in London, I kept all sorts of fun ephemera to inspire the story, photographs, magazine articles, stickers, and character profiles. A visual aid can be fun and when I'm stuck I like to draw mind-maps.
But when it comes to writing, I can only do it on the computer. I'm sad to say that my handwriting is only really legible to chickens as that it is what it resembles - chicken scratchings, and so a book would probably take three times as long if I tried to write it by hand as I wouldn't know what I was saying myself. I write in a program called Scrivener, which is brilliant. It was specifically created for writers, and allows you to write by scene or chapter and move these around at will. It also has sections for research and for other bits, and just makes the whole thing far more manageable.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Anne of Green Gables, as I just adore her - her love of books, words, nature and her joie de vivre. Although, I do think Bridget Jones would be the best fun too.
Author Interview - Lily Graham | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I'd most likely still be a journalist, but possibly a florist for weddings and other events. I did that for about a year and it was so rewarding. My whole house smelled like flowers and I had to get up at silly o'clock to get to the flower market, but making bridal bouquets and displays for churches was so much fun - also terrifying!
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Such a fantastic question. I adore the era just before the first world war, all the glitz and glam of 1910 and on - thinking of the Titanic era.
Place I’d most like to travel:
At the moment, I'd love to go somewhere super sunny like Byron Bay in Australia as it's freezing cold and grey in England.
My signature drink:
Black coffee, although I do love a cuppucino.
Favorite artist:
I love the impressionists, and at the moment my favourite is Berthe Morisot, her work is so beautiful and dreamy.
Number one on my bucket list:
I'd love to go on an around the world cruise, or spend a year living in Paris!
Find more from the author:
@lilygrahamauthor on Instagram
Lily Graham on Facebook
About Lily Graham:
Author Interview - Lily Graham
Lily Graham is the author of the bestselling, The Last Restaurant in Paris, The Paris Secret and The Island Villa, among others. Her books have been translated into over eighteen languages, including French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Greek, Brazilian and Turkish.
She grew up in South Africa, and was a journalist for a decade before giving it up to write fiction full time. Her first three novels were lighter, women's fiction, but when she wrote The Island Villa, a story about a secret Jewish community living on the tiny island of Formentera during the Spanish Inquisition, she switched to historical fiction and hasn't quite looked back since.
She lives now in the Suffolk coast with her husband and dog.
