My guest today is historical fiction author, Catherine Hokin. Catherine is going to talk to us about her writing journey, and her latest book. So grab yourself a cuppa, get cosy and let’s get chatting to Catherine.

AUTHOR BIO

Catherine writes historical fiction set primarily in Berlin, covering the period from the 1930s up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and dealing with the long shadows left by war. The Secret Locket will be her twelfth novel with Bookouture and there are more to come. Her books have been translated into a number of languages including French, Italian and, most recently, German.

She is from the North of England but now lives in Glasgow with her American husband. She loves to travel and spends as much time as she can in Berlin, where her son also lives. If she’s not at her desk, you’ll find her at the cinema or just follow the sound of very loud music.  

Contact Links

Website:  https://www.catherinehokin.com/   

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathokinauthor/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cathokin

Welcome to my blog, Catherine. You’ve had many books published over the past few years, can you tell us about your writing journey?

My debut novel was published in 2016 by a small independent publisher. I’ll never forget staring at the email that contained not the expected rejection but the magic word yes and thinking, ‘that’s it world, I’ve arrived.’ Bless.

Do you remember that scene in Bambi when our eponymous little hero first steps onto the snow with a wide-eyed grin and a confident bounce? He falls and gets buried a couple of times but he gives himself a little shake and skips merrily on. Then he jumps onto the ice…

Getting accepted for publication the first time was a wonderful feeling but it was also the gateway to a world that, at times, felt like Wonderland crossed with The Hunger Games. The book came out; there was a launch in a swanky London bookshop, some of which I can even remember. It sold some copies to people I didn’t know. It got a review in the Sunday Times. I cried in a car park. I got an agent. I waited for the royalties to pour in, for the script people to call… I am sure you can fill in the rest.

I won some short story prizes which kept the writing spark going but my next two novels couldn’t catch a cold. And it really doesn’t help when the rejection letters are lovely, although you grit your teeth and pretend that it does.

I had written a medieval novel so I kept writing those because all the advice is to stay in the same time period if you want to win, and hold onto, readers. Unfortunately, although I had one story I wanted to tell, that part of history wasn’t my passion. I was struggling. Then my agent asked me the key question which I’d kept forgetting to ask myself as the chance of a second novel evaporated – what do you actually like writing about? The lightbulb pinged on.

The answer was in my short stories. One of them, about a holocaust survivor, kept tugging at me.

I wrote a wider treatment of it. My agent liked it, so I wrote the whole story. There were rejections, lovely ones. But there was also Bookouture, and an editor who loved my characters as much as I did. That short story became The Fortunate Ones, the first of my World War Two inspired novels, and the rollercoaster started back on the upswing…

That was five years ago. I now write about events and places that fascinate me: World War Two and the Cold War and their long shadows, and my favourite city, Berlin. I have had twelve novels in that vein published and there are more to come. I write full time now and it’s joyful. It could also change in a heartbeat and I’ll deal with that if it comes. But it happened for me which means it could happen for anyone. All it takes is one person to say, “that’s interesting, what happens next?” And to care enough to keep asking.

Thanks for dropping by to talk to us Catherine. And what great advice to ask yourself what you like writing about. That’s something we authors often forget to ask ourselves! I hope your books keep soaring!

Catherine’s Latest Book

The Secret Locket – Blurb

Germany, 1941. Noemi’s hazel eyes shine with tears as she takes Pascal’s hand. ‘Please don’t go,’ she begs him. ‘If you leave me now, we might never find each other again…’

When Pascal kisses Noemi and presses his mother’s locket into her hands, it is a moment she has been longing for her whole life. But when war is declared, overnight their love becomes forbidden – Noemi is Jewish, while Pascal is being pressured to become a Hitler Youth officer by his father.

When Noemi’s parents are captured and taken to Dachau, she knows her hometown is no longer safe. With time running out, Pascal smuggles her onto a train, praying she will be able to hide unnoticed until the war is over. Devastated, he watches the train leave, promising himself he will find her again one day.

As the months turn into years, Noemi remains determined to find her family and leave behind her feelings of heartbreak at Pascal fighting for the Nazis. She knows they can never be together, but she still remembers the pendant he gave her, and hope flickers in her chest like a flame, that one day they might reunite…

Realising that everything he was told about the Nazis is a lie, Pascal vows to make amends for his past mistakes. While back in his hometown, when he learns that Noemi is in danger, he vows to save the girl who long ago took his locket, and his heart.

But with war still raging, will Pascal be strong enough to find Noemi? And if he does, will she ever truly forgive him for his past?

Buy Link: amzn.to/42hlejt

More of Catherine’s books