The Promise, Lesley Pearse
‘When the book opens in 1914 on the eve of war, Belle is happily married to Jimmy Reilly and has the hat shop she dreamed of as a child. But the war will change everything. Jimmy goes off to fight; Belle volunteers to help the wounded and finds herself in France driving an ambulance. Then a tragedy brings Etienne, a man from her past back into her life and Belle faces the biggest dilemma of her life.’
'A seed of a plot drops into my head, I plant it with a few chapters, spend a great deal of time thinking it through and once the green shoots come through I water it with care.'
Pearse was a late bloomer when it came to writing and began her passion through short stories at age 35, ‘but that grew into books. Yet it was to be 13 years later when my first book was published.’
She describes her writing process as a ‘seed of a plot that drops into my head, I plant it with a few chapters, spend a great deal of time thinking it through and once the green shoots come through I water it with care. Hopefully several months later something beautiful has grown.’ The most lyrical and beautiful description of creative writing I have ever come across, it is no wonder this author has become such a success.
The Promise is the sequel to Pearse’s previous novel Belle, ‘her age brought me up to WWI and a great deal of research into that subject gave me ideas into the rest.’
When I asked Pearse which of her 20 novels she most enjoyed writing she told me that Never Look Back gave her the most joy because ‘Wagon trains and pioneer woman really appealed to me and I have always liked American history because it was so recent and vivid.’
Pearse is now working on another novel, however one that is more contemporary this time. She explained that the job of a writer is one ‘that can be a bit lonely. It isn’t a job that you can share with anyone. But I love it. Giving talks gets me out and about now and then, but I’m happiest just sitting there telling a story.‘
All of Pearse’s historical novels admittedly required an ‘enormous amount of research. I don’t use the internet as I find the facts unreliable; I read books on the subject, go to museums and visit the place I’m writing about. When I wrote Never Look Back I read over 200 books and spent a month travelling over the old wagon trails in America.'
Her advice for anyone wanting to make it as a writer is ‘first you need to get an agent as he or she knows the markets and has the contacts in the most suitable publishing house. Send a simple covering letter to the agent you have picked, with three chapters and return postage. Cross your fingers! If that agent isn’t interested, try someone else. Meanwhile keep writing as you need that apprenticeship to improve. Persistence is key. If you want it badly enough you can get there.
Lucy Walton