Post lockdown, will we all emerge with novels written?

Post lockdown, will we all emerge with novels written?

…….I hope so! I very much feel inspired by the settings around me and wonder if there will be many novels written, created by just that: exactly what we see in front of us! My novels all take place in Guernsey – while I was not born there, I know it very well and enjoyed living there for fourteen years. I first visited the island in 1987, and one-year later migrated with my three children.

I fell in love with the island immediately. It was a combination of the beautiful scenery- incorporating big sandy beaches, cliff top walks, sheltered coves -and the fantastic people I met.

 
Guernsey by Anne Allen

From this setting, the rest was history. I first published, ‘Dangerous Waters’ – a story of love and loss, following Jeanne Le Page, almost killed in a boating accident 15 years ago.

At 31, Jeanne returns reluctantly to the Island of Guernsey, following the death of her beloved Grandmother and has no plan  to stay around for long! She begins the process of selling her Grandmother’s old cottage, but the cottage holds a secret, dating back to World War II, and Jeanne becomes drawn into discovering more. Then, shortly after her arrival, a chance meeting with an old teenage crush leads her to thoughts of love.

Of course it is our imaginations which run away with us when we put pen to paper, but I also love looking at the history of Guernsey to inspire me. For example, my latest novel, ‘The Inheritance’ looks to Victor Hugo, who took refuge in Guernsey in 1856 when he fell foul of the French government and stayed 15 years. He adored the island and was inspired to write a number of books while living at Hauteville House in St Peter Port. His most well-known is ‘Les Miserables’ and another novel, ‘Toilers of The Sea’, was written in homage to the island and the local fishermen.

Let me know if you are writing a novel inspired by your own current town or city!

 

Anne x

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Anne Allen is a keynote speaker at the 2019 Guernsey Literary Festival
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Books which take me back to childhood

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Post lockdown, will we all emerge with novels written?

Post lockdown, will we all emerge with novels written?

…….I hope so! I very much feel inspired by the settings around me and wonder if there will be many novels written, created by just that: exactly what we see in front of us! My novels all take place in Guernsey – while I was not born there, I know it very well and enjoyed living there for fourteen years. I first visited the island in 1987, and one-year later migrated with my three children.

I fell in love with the island immediately. It was a combination of the beautiful scenery- incorporating big sandy beaches, cliff top walks, sheltered coves -and the fantastic people I met.

 
Guernsey by Anne Allen

From this setting, the rest was history. I first published, ‘Dangerous Waters’ – a story of love and loss, following Jeanne Le Page, almost killed in a boating accident 15 years ago.

At 31, Jeanne returns reluctantly to the Island of Guernsey, following the death of her beloved Grandmother and has no plan  to stay around for long! She begins the process of selling her Grandmother’s old cottage, but the cottage holds a secret, dating back to World War II, and Jeanne becomes drawn into discovering more. Then, shortly after her arrival, a chance meeting with an old teenage crush leads her to thoughts of love.

Of course it is our imaginations which run away with us when we put pen to paper, but I also love looking at the history of Guernsey to inspire me. For example, my latest novel, ‘The Inheritance’ looks to Victor Hugo, who took refuge in Guernsey in 1856 when he fell foul of the French government and stayed 15 years. He adored the island and was inspired to write a number of books while living at Hauteville House in St Peter Port. His most well-known is ‘Les Miserables’ and another novel, ‘Toilers of The Sea’, was written in homage to the island and the local fishermen.

Let me know if you are writing a novel inspired by your own current town or city!

 

Anne x

Previous Post
Anne Allen is a keynote speaker at the 2019 Guernsey Literary Festival
Next Post
Books which take me back to childhood

Related Posts

No results found.