Author Bio:
Published by Bookouture, Angela Petch is an award-winning writer of fiction – and the occasional poem.
Every summer she moves to Tuscany for six months where she and her husband own a renovated watermill which they let out. When not exploring their unspoilt corner of the Apennines, she disappears to her writing desk at the top of a converted stable. In her Italian handbag or hiking rucksack she always makes sure to store notebook and pen to jot down ideas.
The winter months are spent in Sussex where most of her family live. When Angela’s not helping out with grandchildren, she catches up with writer friends.
Angela’s gripping, WWII, Tuscan novels are published by Bookouture. While her novel, Mavis and Dot, was self-published and tells of the frolics and foibles of two best-friends who live by the seaside. Angela also writes short stories published in Prima and People’s Friend.
Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Angela_Petch
Book Blurb:
Italy, 1945. ‘Where am I?’ The young man wakes, bewildered. He sees olive trees against a bright blue sky. A soft voice soothes him. ‘We saw you fall from your plane. The parachute saved you.’ He remembers nothing of his life, or the war that has torn the world apart… but where does he belong?
England, present day. Antiques-shop owner Susannah feels adrift. Her beloved father has died, and her grandmother Elsie’s memories are disappearing. But everything changes when she stumbles across a yellowed postcard bearing a picture of a beautiful Italian stone farmhouse, tucked away in Elsie’s dressing table. A message dated from the Second World War speaks of a secret love. Could her grandmother, who never talked about the past, have fallen for someone in Italy all those years ago?
With Elsie confused and distressed by her questions, heartbroken Susannah tracks down the house on the postcard. Arriving at what is now a crumbling hotel by the sparkling Italian sea, she feels strangely at home. And after an unexpected encounter with handsome wine waiter Giacomo, she can’t tell if it’s his dark eyes or his offer to help solve her mystery that makes her heart race.
Together they find a dusty chest tucked in a forgotten corner of the building. The white silk of a World War II parachute spills out. And the Royal Air Force identity tag nestled in the folds bears a familiar name…
As a story of lost memories, terrible betrayal and impossible choices unfolds, Susannah comes closer to a devastating wartime secret at the heart of her own family. Did she ever really know her grandmother? And when she finally learns the truth, will it help heal her pain – or tear her apart for good?
An absolutely stunning page-turner that will sweep you away to the olive groves and majestic views of the Italian coast. Perfect for fans of Kathryn Hughes, Fiona Valpy and Victoria Hislop.
Book Buy Links:
Buying link for new book: https://ow.ly/LKp050HGisA
Author Interview:
Tell us the best writing tip you can think of, something that helps you.
On my desk I have a stone I found by the river. On it I wrote: “Just Write”. Go with the flow. Edit the next day. You might surprise yourself. If there is nothing on the page, there is nothing to grow. It keeps me going on days when I think I have nothing to say.
What are common traps for aspiring writers? Advice for young writers starting out.
Be wary of vanity publishers. You should not have to pay to be published. Study the market very carefully. I didn’t and I paid for it. (More on this below).
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
I truly think I was meant to come to my writing late in life. Before now, apart from bringing up my three children and working part-time, I was observing the world, storing up ideas for when I was ready to write them down. I published my first novel when I was sixty and I was ready. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I have not met Rosanna Ley in person yet, but I count her as a friend. And I’m really excited to be attending her writing retreat in Andalucia in March 2022. I love her descriptive writing. She hooks me into her settings straightaway through all the senses. I’m sure she will help me improve my writing by sharing her techniques.
Can you give us a quick review of a favourite book by one of your author friends?
Here is my 5-star review of Rosanna Ley’s “From Venice with Love”
What a joy this book was to read during the tail-end of the epidemic, when travel is more-or-less still out of bounds. I had purchased the kindle version already but through the pages of a REAL book that I found in our local library, I travelled vicariously to Venice, Lisbon, Prague and also rural Dorset. Bliss in itself because of Ley’s trademark descriptions but the characters – oh, the characters. They are so real. My favourite is Harriet – much put upon, the stay-at-home sister who looks after an increasingly haphazard mother as well as struggling to run the crumbling family farm. I wanted to pull on some wellington boots and help her feed the chickens and dig up vegetables from the frosty ground. She is lonely and resentful of her younger sister, Joanna, who leads what she considers a more interesting life. In an effort to spice up her own life, she tries online dating. What fun. No spoilers, but she is on a journey. As is her sister, Joanna. Her marriage has faltered and she returns home to Dorset. And she finds old love letters written by a painter called Emmy. And Joanna is compelled to follow a trail of picturesque bridges in Venice, Lisbon and Prague for a series of articles. Magic unfolds. Some reviewer did not appreciate the enchantment thrown up in these sections, but I loved it. This earthly world holds many mysteries, so why not dabble in them? I was drawn in and spellbound. I can’t wait to read Ms Ley’s new book set amongst orange groves in Spain next and, if I am very lucky, I might even manage to get on to one of this author’s highly recommended creative writing courses too. Maybe some of her magic might rub off. Thank you for a delightful, clever read.
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
I published my first book – rather too quickly. It was with a kind of vanity publisher who did NOTHING in the way of editing or marketing for me. The company folded and I lost the tiny amount of royalties I had earned and had to fight to get back my rights for my own book. It made me extremely wary and I went on to self-publish, which was hard, but I was in charge. Now I am with a publisher (Bookouture), I value the working relationship I have with my brilliant editor. Her guidance allows me to write more freely, knowing that we can thrash out ideas together. She is also there to rein me in when needed.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
On an editor (when I self-published). It is nigh on impossible to be objective about one’s own work.
What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
I wrote a short story for a friend who was going through a difficult time with her husband. She told me it helped her a lot and gave value to my scribbles.
What’s the best way to market your books?
Find a publisher! My business head is not clever. I love Bookouture who took me on. They know how to market.
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
I need to do a lot of research for my historical novels. They are set in Italy, where I live for six months each year. Fortunately, I am fluent in Italian and so I can refer to documents, interview my elderly friends who remember the war and read a lot around my topics. Research never stops but the trick is to weave it into the narrative so that it is not obvious. I never stop researching.
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
One of my favourite books is All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I dream to be able to write such a beautiful book. His angle – seeing the war through the eyes and ears of two children, one blind and the other socially deprived, is brilliant. There are so many war stories written from the POV of adults. To see the world through children’s eyes is more honest. Each page is a delight. To learn that the author took ten years to write this masterpiece is not a surprise. Here is an example of writing where each word counts. Doerr’s art is an inspiration and makes me want to think outside the box when I put pen to paper.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I read them. I take note of them. I jump about when they are good. I reflect on them if they are bad. But it’s good to receive the bad with the good and if every one of the reviews were five stars, I would be suspicious. As writers, we put ourselves out there to be read and if we put our heads above the parapet, we have to expect to be shot at.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Believing in myself. Telling myself when I am stuck, to continue: that the moment will come when the words will fly. When that happens, it is like having an orgasm …
Tell us about your novel/novels/or series and why you wrote about this topic?
My latest novel, The Postcard from Italy, was inspired by my own uncle who flew as a rear gunner in World War Two for the RAF from a base in Puglia, Southern Italy. Tragically, Uncle Billy was shot down over what was then called Yugoslavia. He and his crew were on a mission to drop supplies and arms to partisans. In my book, he survives but suffers from amnesia. When his memory returns, he discovers that his life is more complicated than he knew. His other life remains a secret until discovered years later by his granddaughter. Puglia is a magnificent region and my four earlier novels were set in Tuscany. I was ready to move on, especially as my uncle had been based there.
My parents married during the war. I was born seven years after the end of the war and so I feel this period is only a fingertip away from my own life. War has its repercussions and my parents’ generation did not talk about their tragedies. But, in writing my historical novels, I am always conscious that the past is the counterweight to our future. That we should learn about the past in order not to repeat the mistakes. As I type this, my head is full of the unfolding tragedy in Ukraine. It seems we still haven’t learnt the lessons.
What is your favourite line or passage from your own book?
This is so hard! If you were to ask me this question next week, my choice could well differ from below.
I enjoyed describing the fleeting snatches of memory when they return to Billy; tantalising snippets to tease the reader with, to keep them guessing about his identity.
“I am floating by the light of the moon. I have pushed up through layers of clouds and below me I see what resemble flies crawling over a large white tablecloth. My eyes are sore and watering. I am freezing, my hands have no feeling and I long to rest, to crawl beneath warm covers and sink into blessed sleep. But there is no respite from the white glare. Suddenly one of the flies in the distance approaches, its body huge, silver and menacing. Flashes of fire burst around me. There is nowhere to hide. I am rescued by an enveloping cloud and I pillow myself into softness and find precious moments of peace.”
What was your hardest scene to write?
There is a scene where my modern-day heroine visits her very sick grandmother in hospital. While I was writing this, I was back in the hospital with my own mother before me in the bed. She was in ICU and wired up to life support. I whispered to her to let go. She was suffering so much. I am convinced to this day that she heard me and she died not long afterwards. She passed over thirty years ago, but that was the first time I described this incident in words. I had to stop writing that day because I was so upset.
Tell us your favourite quote and how the quote tells us something about you.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained”
I believe we should grab opportunities when they present themselves. I’m lucky to have had an interesting life, having lived in several countries, including Tanzania for three years when I was in my early twenties. I was asked to help out at a local school. There was no pay but I accepted. The nuns who ran this amazing school “paid” me over time with invitations to several missions in the local area, including a stay with Italian nuns who looked after expectant Masai women, a priest who had a witch doctor’s hospital to visit on his rounds and another handsome American priest who moved around with the Masai tribes and their cattle. These experiences would not have happened if I had said no. It was far better than being paid in Tanzanian shillings.
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