Kelly Bowen
Author Interview - Kelly Bowen
Author of The Paris Apartment
“London, 2017: When Aurelia Leclaire inherits an opulent Paris apartment, she is shocked to discover her grandmother’s hidden secrets—including a treasure trove of famous art. One obscure painting leads her to Gabriel Seymour, a highly respected art restorer with his own mysterious past. Together they attempt to uncover the truths concealed within the apartment’s walls.
Paris, 1942: The Germans may occupy the City of Lights, but glamorous Estelle Allard flourishes in a world separate from the hardships of war. Yet when the Nazis come for her dearest friends, Estelle doesn’t hesitate to help them, no matter the cost. As she works against the forces intent on destroying those she holds dear, she can’t know that her actions will have ramifications for generations to come.
Set seventy-five years apart, against a perilous and a prosperous Paris, both Estelle and Lia must unearth hidden courage as they navigate the dangers of a changing world, altering history—and their family’s futures—forever.”
Author Interview - Kelly Bowen
Author I draw inspiration from: As both a reader and an author, there are so many gifted storytellers that have inspired me throughout the years, it's impossible to answer this question with just a single name! The gift of storytelling - the ability to make a reader stay up late because they *need* to know what happens next is a skill that cannot be understated and one that will always inspire me as an author. I could write an entire page's worth of incredible authors across a wide array of genres but in interest of space, I will limit myself here to five of the authors who I have read most recently.
1. Susanna Kearsely - a fellow Canadian who has utterly captivated me with her stories, Kearsley has the ability to beautifully intertwine multiple narratives.
2. Bernard Cornwell - to experience history through the imagination of Cornwell is to be immersed in adventure from start to finish. And after the last page is turned, I've always been inspired to learn more on my own.
3. Sarah MacLean - I am always a fan of extraordinary women doing extraordinary things and in the romance genre, MacLean has the ability to make her heroines exactly that.
4. Kurt Vonnegut - I've read Slaughterhouse-Five multiple times since I first read it at 17, and each time I read it, I take away something different. The setting and Vonnegut's real-life experience first drew me to the book, but it's the moral questions posed throughout that have stuck with me.
5. Kate Quinn - the gift to make a reader able to identify and relate to multiple characters across a broad spectrum of age, gender, or nationality is something that Quinn excels at. Read a Kate Quinn book, and you'll find yourself thinking about the characters for a long time after you've finished.
Author Interview - Kelly Bowen
Favorite place to read a book: I read anywhere and everywhere that affords me the time to do so. However, if I'm picking a place, I will say that the end of our dock, over-looking Lake of the Woods, on a warm summer day with enough of a breeze to keep the mosquitoes at bay, is hard to beat.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Again, this is an almost impossible question to narrow down to just one (my elevator would be seriously crowded). However, given the lack of square footage in said elevator, I choose Grace O'Malley. In full disclosure, Grace O'Malley was a real woman who was a notorious gun runner, pirate, and 'Mother of the Irish' rebellion. She took over the active leadership of her father's lordship by land and sea after her father's death and fought against the English for years, battling the resolve and power of Elizabeth I.
'The Wild Irish' by Robin Maxwell is on my keeper shelf and brings to life O'Malley's story. But I would love to have the opportunity to have her as a captive audience to tell her tale herself.
Author Interview - Kelly Bowen
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: Like so many authors, I've loved telling stories since I was young - something that made me good at school writing assignments and popular at campfires. However, I didn't take that love seriously until much later - and I remember that moment quite clearly. I was approximately two thirds of the way through a book in which the heroine was faced with hardship and a difficult decision, and I turned to the page eagerly to discover how she was going to use her wits and her courage to deal with this adversity.
But she quit.
Wimped out in full sniveling, shrinking-violet mode. She spent the remainder of the story railing about the unfairness of life and thrashing about, looking for someone to blame, and despite me sticking with the book until the bitter end, she never redeemed herself. Disappointed and disgusted, I tossed the book aside and at that moment I recall quite clearly thinking 'I need to start writing my own stories'.
And so I did.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: I love the feel of a real book in my hand. I also love the smell of a new book which probably makes me weird but there it is. So while I'll happily read on an e-reader, given the choice, I will always take either a paperback or hardback.
The last book I read: The Morning and the Evening by Ken Follett
Author Interview - Kelly Bowen
Pen & paper or computer: Both. The bulk of my writing happens on the computer but I have learned never to be without paper and pen. Ideas and inspiration strike you at random times in random places. The pickle isle at the grocery store, the shower (I have a lot of slightly water-damaged notes), the hockey arena.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: There are so many characters who have lived on in my imagination since I met them in a story but one of the ones who have stuck with me the most was the character of Aziza in Alice Hoffman's 'The Dovekeepers'. Aziza charts her own path in life and that is something I very much admire and aspire to.
Author Interview - Kelly Bowen
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Research scientist (I was both at one time). I have degrees in veterinary physiology and worked in the agricultural field for many years. I loved every minute of my job.
Favorite decade in fashion history: I am about the furthest thing from a fashion expert or critic but the Western fashions of the 1920's have always piqued my interest, especially for women. Specifically, the abrupt 180 that those styles (and body image!) seemed to have taken from the previous decades of corsets and long skirts and buttoned up blouses and voluminous dresses.
Place I’d most like to travel: I love traveling and have been fortunate enough to have been able to do quite a bit. On the top of my list of places I'd like to visit next is Italy. For the astounding history, the gorgeous Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. And of course, the amazing Uffizi Museum.
My signature drink: Gimlet. A drink with only 2 ingredients is always expedient and delicious (and really hard for a bartender to flub).
Favorite artist: I am going to interpret this question as that of art in the classic sense and not music because I am clueless when it comes to music and less clueless when it comes to painters.
I adore the Renaissance and Tiziano Vecelli (Titian) is by far my favourite of the period - his detailed execution and portrayal of his subjects is breathtaking. I've referenced many of his paintings in my writing because what better excuse to do research? I am also an admirer of Degas's work and his ability to capture color and movement - he and his work also appear in my stories.
And as a complete side note here (because I have a habit of relating everything to books), if you're interested in Degas and Belle Epoque Paris, 'The Painted Girls' by Cathy Marie Buchanan is a really vivid story about the girl who became Degas's Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.
Number one on my bucket list: I confess I don't really have a bucket list. Perhaps this is the pantser part of me talking but I try to simply seek out opportunity as it comes and make the most of each one. I set goals but if I've learned anything in the last year, it's that goals have to be adaptable!
Anything else you'd like to add: I have always wanted to write a story set in WW2 and am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do so. My grandfathers and uncles served in both WW1 and WW2 and left their stories and their secrets behind. Their experiences inspired me to write this novel and as such, the Paris Apartment is a story about secrets - those deliberately kept and those lost to time. I've written a little more about my personal connection to the story here:
https://kellybowen.net/the-paris-apartment
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Author Bio: Award-winning author Kelly Bowen grew up in Manitoba, Canada, and attended the University of Manitoba, where she earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in veterinary studies. She worked as a research scientist before realizing her dream to be a writer of historical fiction. Currently, Kelly lives in Winnipeg with her husband and two sons.
