Tessa Harris
Author Interview - Tessa Harris
Author of Beneath a Starless Sky
Lilli Sternberg’s quickening heart sounded an alarm as she rounded the street corner. Lifting her gaze to the rooftops, a roaring blaze of thick flames engulfed the side of the building and joined the stars to fill the black sky. Her father’s shop was no more.
Lilli Sternberg longs to be a ballet dancer. But outside the sanctuary of the theatre, Munich is no longer a place for dreams.
The Nazi party are gaining power and the threats to Jewish families increasing. Even Lilli’s family shop was torched because of their faith.
When Lilli meets Captain Marco Zeiller during a chance encounter, her heart soars. He is the perfect gentleman and her love for him feels like a bright hope under a bleak sky.
But battle lines are being drawn, and Marco has been spotted by the Reich as an officer with potential. A relationship with Lilli would compromise them both.
Will Lilli survive the Nazi threats facing her family, and how much is she willing to risk for the man she loves?
An absolutely gripping and emotional historical fiction novel about love, courage and betrayal for fans of My Name is Eva and A Woman of War
Author Interview - Tessa Harris
Author I draw inspiration from: Can I cheat and name two? Anthony Doerr’s global best-seller All the Light We Cannot See was a revelation to me. Up until then my novels had been set in the 18th and 19th centuries, but his extraordinary prose and character empathy made me want to set a novel in World War 2. Another inspiration for that period is Christopher Isherwood. His Goodbye to Berlin – the film Cabaret was based on his book – is absolutely delicious.
Author Interview - Tessa Harris | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: Under a tree or on a beach on a warm, sunny day. If it’s cold, by the wood fire in our house in the Cotswolds.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Margery Benson in Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce. The novel is about her journey to New Caledonia in search of an elusive golden beetle and the people she meets on the way. Hearing about her experiences would be an interesting way of passing the time. Having said that, she’s also a practical person, so she might be able to fix the elevator, too!
Author Interview - Tessa Harris | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: For as long as I can remember. I ‘wrote’ my first book aged five. My mother sewed together some white wallpaper and I created a story, complete with illustrations, about Tippy, the rabbit. Aged eight I sent a book off to a publisher and received my first rejection. I still have the (very nice) letter!
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: You can’t beat a physical book, in my opinion. The trouble is they take up so much space. In an ideal world, I’d have my own library. As it is, even my airing cupboard is stuffed full of books. I love hardbacks when the budget allows.
The last book I read: Debut author Anna Bailey’s stunning murder-mystery Tall Bones, set in Colorado. It’s out in the US as Where the Truth Lies. It reminded me of Where the Crawdads Sing, which I found utterly gripping.
Author Interview - Tessa Harris | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: I’m a journalist, as well as a novelist, so it’s a computer for me, although I always have a notebook on the go and write down scenes as soon as they come into my head. Last Christmas my husband gave me a notebook that says on the cover: “Careful or you’ll end up in my next novel”!
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Emmy Lake, the narrator in A.J. Pearce’s delightful war-time novel, Dear Mrs Bird. She’s fiercely loyal and, like me, she worked on a magazine and loves dancing. We’d have a lot in common.
Author Interview - Tessa Harris | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: journalist. Well, actually I am. I trained as a reporter on my local newspaper after leaving university because I felt I had to write. Anything else would be second best. Everyone knows very few novelists can afford to live off their earnings, so I thought I ought to learn how to get paid a regular salary for producing my prose. Even though I now write novels full-time, I still enjoy producing the occasional article for magazines.
Favorite decade in fashion history: I love the glamour and glitz of the 1930s and 40s – the period when Beneath A Starless Sky is set. Those black and white Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films are some of my favorites – their dress was so chic and elegant.
Place I’d most like to travel: I adore Italy: its history, culture, landscape, food and of course, its people.
My signature drink: Artisan gin and tonic with lots of ice, or Champagne on special occasions.
Favorite artist: Caravaggio. Each one of his paintings tells a story and each of his characters has a story of their own. His work exudes a powerful energy that I find mesmerizing.
Number one on my bucket list: I don’t have a bucket list because I’m just thankful for what I’ve experienced so far in my life. Working as a full-time journalist, then magazine editor, opened so many doors, enabling me to meet many famous people and visit places not normally open to the public. What I do still have are dreams: like most writers I’d love one of my novels to be turned into a film or TV series.
Find more from the author:
Website: TessaHarrisAuthor.com
Facebook: tessaharrisauthor.com
Twitter: @harris_tessa
Author Bio: Tessa Harris read History at Oxford University and has been a journalist, writing for several national newspapers and magazines for more than thirty years. She is the author of nine published historical novels. Her debut, The Anatomist’s Apprentice, won the Romantic Times First Best Mystery Award 2012 in the US. She lectures in creative writing at Hawkwood College, Stroud and is married with two children. She lives in the Cotswolds.
