Friday Reads – The Girl from Provence by Helen Fripp

Welcome to another Friday Reads blog. My featured book today is the WW2 historical fiction novel, The Girl from Provence by Helen Fripp. Isn’t the cover stunning? Grab yourself a cuppa, get comfy and we’ll get chatting to Helen. 😊

Blurb

South of France, 1942. Twenty-one-year-old Lilou is selling lavender honey in the village square when the Nazis arrive in her beloved Provence. And when her best friend is dragged away simply for being Jewish, Lilou is horrified. As the village begins to take sides, Lilou secretly swears through angry sobs that she’ll sacrifice everything to fight for what’s right.

Drawn in to the French resistance, soon Lilou is smuggling hidden messages in fresh-baked loaves of bread and meeting Allied pilots in remote moonlit fields. She lives in fear that Kristian, a blue-eyed German soldier, knows about her work – but does he keep her secrets because he is undercover, too?

Everything changes when Lilou is given her most important task: to keep a frightened little boy, Eliot, hidden safe in her farmhouse. All alone in the world, Eliot refuses to speak, but is clutching his treasured children’s book close to his chest. Inside is a beautiful story of stars, planets and the night sky. But why is this innocent child the one, among thousands, who Lilou must save?

When she is told Eliot’s book will help her decipher coded messages, Lilou knows he  must have knowledge that could change the course of the war. But the day Kristian arrives at her farm searching for hidden Jewish families, Lilou is terrified that Eliot is in more danger than ever…

Can Lilou trust the one person who could tear her world apart? And will she ever help Eliot find his way home?

A totally stunning and heartbreaking read about the incredible sacrifices ordinary people are forced to make each day in wartime. Perfect for fans of Fiona Valpyand Rhys Bowen.

Buy links:

Book https://geni.us/B0CPM64GPNauthor

Audio: https://ow.ly/fgxS50QqiR5 US: https://ow.ly/NpH650QqiR4

Welcome to my blog Helen. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I did toy with the idea of being a long distance lorry driver when I was little as I wanted to travel and I thought that was the best way! But I always, always wanted to be a writer. I actually remember the moment in primary school when the teacher read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe to the class. I was absolutely transported, and I thought it was the most magical thing I had ever heard. From then on, I wanted to be a writer.

Has any author inspired you?

I find it hard to settle on my favourite author and I change my mind depending on the day. But today I love Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd. It’s an all-time favourite for its lyricism and humanity. I think David Mitchell is a genius too. He crosses genres and generations seamlessly in his novels, sweeping you through great historical moments, then rocketing you into soaring futuristic worlds without you ever questioning the authenticity of it. If you ask me tomorrow, it’ll be Laurie Lee. His descriptions of nature are lush and he makes you achingly nostalgic for a life that probably never existed.

What do you like writing most?

The idea of creating something beautiful and interesting, of communicating your personal perspective through a character or place is really appealing. I love finding ways of describing places, landscapes and people through words. I’m also fascinated by social history, the way that ordinary people can find strength, greatness, and resilience in themselves when the call comes. 

Do you have a special place for writing?

I wouldn’t have written a book if it wasn’t for cafés and that’s where you’ll find me most days. Apart from that, I’m trying not to fly at the moment, so I spend a lot of time on trains across Europe. I love speeding along and tapping away, simultaneously travelling and writing makes me feel super-productive!  I also work with another writer who lives in France, and we speak every week for encouragement and to feedback on each other’s writing. I’m a really sociable person, so even though writing is essentially a solitary pursuit, I find ways of making it as sociable as possible.

Are you a pantster or a plotter?

I started out as a pantster, and have ended up a plotter! A book is such a big, unwieldy thing to control once you get to seventy-odd thousand words. When I started out, I found myself writing myself into dead-ends, forgetting the colour of people’s eyes, where they were going, twists I’d planted earlier to pick up later. I used to feel sick at the sight of an Excel spreadsheet, but now Excel is my friend. I plot each character’s trajectory through the novel, keeping track of their characteristics, ages and so on, then have other simultaneous columns tracking history, weather, major plot points, dates and snippets of research. As a working mum, with limited time to write, it really helps to get you straight back in to where you left off, having done a day’s work, taken the dog for a walk, helped with homework, cooked the dinner etc!

I’ve never got to grips with Excel so I’m full of admiration for you here! Is your writing ever inspired by your family or real life incidents?

I write historical novels, and so far they’re all based in France. It’s funny how things influence you – I went on a French exchange at the age of thirteen and I was so shy that I barely spoke a word the whole time I was there. When I came back to England, my mum made me call the family to say thank you, and I opened my mouth, and out came near fluent French! We made friends with the family, and I went back for many summer holidays, and fell in love with the culture and the people. So in that respect, yes, and also I’m sure you always imbue a certain amount of yourself and your friends into your characters. However the spark for a book is often a fascinating historical figure, a painting that tells a story, an object, a story heard whilst travelling.

That’s an amazing story! What are you writing at the moment?

I’ve started researching my next book but I’m keeping it a secret for now. Watch this space!

Say no more! What inspired you to write this book?

My book brings together an unlikely band of Resistance fighters, a mix of historical figures and imagined characters. Characters based on real figures are Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, society hostess turned Alliance leader; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, an eccentric and daring pilot; and Abbé Aloïs, village priest and Resistance stalwart who sleeps with a rifle under his bed. These people found such incredible heroism bravery within themselves when the horror of WWII arrived in France. Alongside them, my imagined characters just made themselves known to me little by little – Lilou Mistral, a soulful farm girl turned Resistance fighter, Kristian Meyer who is a German Luftwaffe pilot, and little Eliot Stavinsky, the Jewish boy they must all protect, and who holds a secret that could change the course of the war.

It sounds fascinating, Helen. What time of the day do you write best?

I’m definitely a morning person, the earlier the better. After 5pm, the sofa calls!

What are your hobbies?

I love cycling and wild swimming. If I can combine the two, I’m in heaven. One of my favourite things to do is to jump on a bike with my swimming buddy at 6am, cycle to a local swimming spot called Warleigh Weir, slip into the water and float around watching the clouds of turquoise dragonflies whilst putting the world to rights, then be back in time for breakfast. What a way to start the day.

If you really press me after several glasses of wine, I can tap dance and play the piano at the same time… but probably best not to.

What advice would you give to other writers?

If you’re starting out, just get on and write. Make space around the edges if you need to – it’s amazing what you can do even with a spare 20 minutes. Without those words on paper, you’ll never be a writer. Give yourself permission, too. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Fab interview Helen. Thanks for popping over and talking to us today. I hope your new book flies!

Meet Helen

Author bio.

Helen Fripp is fascinated by history and by women who have made their mark against all the odds. Epic in scope, but human in scale, the motivations, flaws, loves and everyday lives of her characters are what Helen loves to imagine and create, against sweeping historical backdrops.

Helen lives in Bath, UK, but will find any excuse to take off and research a captivating location or person for her next story. She has worked in Paris and spent a year with her family in a fishing village in South West France.

www.helenfrippauthor.co.uk

Instagram: @helenfrippauthor

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