Ask the Author: Helen Simonson
Answered Questions (38)
Helen Simonson
Hi John. Thanks for asking. I have not read Parade's End but I'm going to order it now. I tend to read non-fiction and memoirs about the subject of my book but not novels - an added protection against unconsciously borrowing. I'm not surprised at the parallels since FMF lived in my area of Sussex at the time. Interestingly his name was Ford Herman Hueffer (he was German) so he deliberately changed his name at the start of the war. And he was so well-connected he was allowed to continue to visit Sussex where other 'aliens' were forbidden within 15 miles of the coast. There were different standards for different classes!! Thanks for the question and of reminding me to read this classic.
Helen Simonson
Sorry, when I'm writing I tend to ignore my social media. Coming here in a terribly tardy manner to say thank you for the very kind question. No sequels planned (see my answer to another reader) but a new book coming out May 7th, 2024.
Helen Simonson
Dear April, I'm not fond of sequels but should I get run over by a dump truck my husband has reserved the right to commission them! Fortunately he is a good man and always walks between me and the traffic. But sometimes he does talk longingly of "The Major and Mrs. Ali Mysteries..."
Helen Simonson
Thank you for the very kind words Linda. Rye is a very special place for me. It's my English home. It is always very deep and emotional when I write about it. I hope that came through in my novel.
Helen Simonson
Always working on a book even when staring at clouds and avoiding the computer! I'm hard at work on a third novel but though my retirement fund would like me to churn out books faster, I have to be true to my own rather long process. Meanwhile check out my previous answer to a reader on what I'm reading now. So many books to love...
Helen Simonson
Dear Judy,
Not sure what and when I was recommending so I copy below an earlier email about some of my favorite and recent books. More recently, I have just finished Joan Silber's IMPROVEMENT and Lisa Gornick's THE PEACOCK FEAST which were both amazing and am now reading Kathryn Davis' THE THIN PLACE which is inspiring me with its poetry. Earlier recommendations below. So much reading to do...
...THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS from Arundhati Roy and Louise Erdrich's LA ROSE top my books to read in a hammock this summer. When it rains I like old AGATHA CHRISTIE mysteries with damp yellowing pages and I plan to reread THREE MEN IN A BOAT (published in 1889) by Jerome K. Jerome just to laugh for the umpteenth time about holiday expectations versus hilarious reality.
Not sure what and when I was recommending so I copy below an earlier email about some of my favorite and recent books. More recently, I have just finished Joan Silber's IMPROVEMENT and Lisa Gornick's THE PEACOCK FEAST which were both amazing and am now reading Kathryn Davis' THE THIN PLACE which is inspiring me with its poetry. Earlier recommendations below. So much reading to do...
...THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS from Arundhati Roy and Louise Erdrich's LA ROSE top my books to read in a hammock this summer. When it rains I like old AGATHA CHRISTIE mysteries with damp yellowing pages and I plan to reread THREE MEN IN A BOAT (published in 1889) by Jerome K. Jerome just to laugh for the umpteenth time about holiday expectations versus hilarious reality.
Helen Simonson
Do you have a wheelbarrow in which to transport it? Or maybe a small dump truck? Writing is all about putting your heart on the page and then tearing it up and starting again. It generates a lot of waste material. Of course you need to make your own and I hope your story idea is so strong it requires an extra recycling bin or two. Good luck, Helen S.
Helen Simonson
Thank you, Ross. I am tearing out my hair over a third novel. Creativity is supposed to be hard, I guess. If it all came too easy it might not be any good. I'm looking to turn in another novel next year. Best regards, Helen S.
Helen Simonson
Sorry I seem to have missed receiving this question and so am late to answer. Thank you so very much for your kind words. I did approach the novel as an exercise in time travel rather than a dusty recalling of history. I tried to write myself into 1914. I did research in the British Library as well as Sussex and New York libraries. The internet is both a godsend and a sinkhole for research. It can be like that mirror in Harry Potter where you get drawn in and never turn away! First person accounts and war diaries were particularly inspiring as were women's magazines of the day. Thanks for writing, Helen S.
Helen Simonson
Dear Erna,
I'm not one for sequels. I argue all the time with my sons as I think the first Star Wars movie was perfect and required no sequels or prequels. I hope I have other stories to tell and so I leave the Major and his wife to enjoy their family and privacy. But yes, little George would be fourteen this year. I hope he's thriving and enjoying the Major as an unconventional Great Uncle. Best wishes, Helen S.
I'm not one for sequels. I argue all the time with my sons as I think the first Star Wars movie was perfect and required no sequels or prequels. I hope I have other stories to tell and so I leave the Major and his wife to enjoy their family and privacy. But yes, little George would be fourteen this year. I hope he's thriving and enjoying the Major as an unconventional Great Uncle. Best wishes, Helen S.
Helen Simonson
Dear Almira,
Are you and Erna in league with my husband? He'd like me to write "The Major and Mrs. Ali Mysteries"!! I'm not one for sequels and I feel the Major and Jasmina deserve their privacy but I certainly hope they are doing well ten years on. I hope they are thoughtful and conciliatory voices in a time of great division in the UK and that they continue to remind us all to make friends one cup of tea at a time. Best wishes, Helen Simonson
Are you and Erna in league with my husband? He'd like me to write "The Major and Mrs. Ali Mysteries"!! I'm not one for sequels and I feel the Major and Jasmina deserve their privacy but I certainly hope they are doing well ten years on. I hope they are thoughtful and conciliatory voices in a time of great division in the UK and that they continue to remind us all to make friends one cup of tea at a time. Best wishes, Helen Simonson
Helen Simonson
Hi Claire. Thanks for writing. I'm always here to answer questions and engage through the questions tab. I love Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ! I don't currently use the friends feature as I'm a bit of a Luddite and try to keep my social media simple. I'm super accessible though - including on direct email at [email protected] and I even Skype with book clubs (free of course). Do let me know how Major Pettigrew turns out! Best regards, Helen S.
Helen Simonson
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness from Arundhati Roy and Louise Erdrich's La Rose top my books to read in a hammock this summer. When it rains I like old Agatha Christie mysteries with damp yellowing pages and I plan to reread Three Men in a Boat (published in 1889) by Jerome K. Jerome just to laugh for the umpteenth time about holiday expectations versus hilarious reality.
Helen Simonson
Dear Kailey, Thanks for the kind words. I think friendship and the willingness to put someone else's needs ahead of your own are at the heart of true love. As to what makes the heart of writing about love? I think it's about looking at whether the love described can withstand real challenge and real sacrifice. Sometimes love may even need to be set aside in the cause of duty or other pressing moral imperative. I would never treat love as some shallow romance. It's about what remains when the roses and confetti are left drying in the wind.
Helen Simonson
Hi Jim. I never start with particular themes. I start with the tiniest of images - a woman looking out at the Sussex marshes from a hilltop; the town of Rye, glowing in the last fingers of a sunset - and then I wait for a person, a character to walk into my head and into the story. Sometimes themes are not apparent to me until after the book is printed and other people find them. A reader in an audience had to inform me that I wrote well about the theme of grief in Major Pettigrew (who knew?). I think a writer is interested in many themes and ideas, but must firmly push them to the back of the mind and write the concrete particulars of the lives of characters instead. Themes will emerge organically but if one tries to begin with a grand theme, one risks the book being heavy as lead. For my next book I'm laughing at the idea of ex-pats (British and American) trying to remake village life in their own image in the south of France. I'm busy trying to see who lives there and what they are up to today - and when themes emerge (such as remaking foreign locations into something familiar!) I give them a quick look and then set them aside. Hope this helps explain. Of course this got my younger son into trouble in high school English class when he boldly stated "My mom says writers never meant to put themes in their stories!" Oops...
Helen Simonson
At an elderly relative's funeral I was confused to find the deceased was one of five brothers - who I had never met. Who were these mysterious men who looked so like him and why did we never speak of them?
Helen Simonson
Dear Sussan,
SPOILER ALERT. Just warning my readers before proceeding. Agatha Kent was inspired by a Kipling story "The Gardener" in which an aunt who raised her nephew visits his grave in a World War One war cemetery and the gardener says revealingly (as in the epigraph to my epilogue) "come I will take you to your son.' I wondered who the woman in Kipling's tale really was. Like her, Agatha's 'nephew' may be more to her than her friends suspect. Agatha's fiancé died on his way to their wedding - and she was shipped off to her sister's house where, a few months later, her sister had Daniel. I enjoyed knowing more about Agatha than my readers and it informed how I wrote about her - and her attitudes. But at the end of the book it seemed to me that the women were all 'mothers' with a mother's burdens and that biology almost seemed inconsequential in the love and sorrow felt by all. By the way, such secrets of birth continue in my book. Celeste's child will have Daniel's name. Best regards, Helen S.
SPOILER ALERT. Just warning my readers before proceeding. Agatha Kent was inspired by a Kipling story "The Gardener" in which an aunt who raised her nephew visits his grave in a World War One war cemetery and the gardener says revealingly (as in the epigraph to my epilogue) "come I will take you to your son.' I wondered who the woman in Kipling's tale really was. Like her, Agatha's 'nephew' may be more to her than her friends suspect. Agatha's fiancé died on his way to their wedding - and she was shipped off to her sister's house where, a few months later, her sister had Daniel. I enjoyed knowing more about Agatha than my readers and it informed how I wrote about her - and her attitudes. But at the end of the book it seemed to me that the women were all 'mothers' with a mother's burdens and that biology almost seemed inconsequential in the love and sorrow felt by all. By the way, such secrets of birth continue in my book. Celeste's child will have Daniel's name. Best regards, Helen S.
Helen Simonson
Dear Sarwat,
Congrats on the B.Ed and pursuing your masters in English. I have a BSc. (Econ) so I also missed out on a bachelors level English education. I may not be the best person to advise you but I would say the shortest way to enrichment is to ask your current professors for reading lists they may have for undergraduate English classes. Then pick and choose what you love. I enjoyed studying the great Russian writers during my MFA and of course I love all British Lit from Shakespeare onward. But there is also an infinite field of global literature and you should not feel bound to study the 'Western canon' if it doesn't appeal. In the end, enrichment comes from reading what you love, as I'm sure your fellow Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ readers would agree. Good Luck, Helen Simonson
Congrats on the B.Ed and pursuing your masters in English. I have a BSc. (Econ) so I also missed out on a bachelors level English education. I may not be the best person to advise you but I would say the shortest way to enrichment is to ask your current professors for reading lists they may have for undergraduate English classes. Then pick and choose what you love. I enjoyed studying the great Russian writers during my MFA and of course I love all British Lit from Shakespeare onward. But there is also an infinite field of global literature and you should not feel bound to study the 'Western canon' if it doesn't appeal. In the end, enrichment comes from reading what you love, as I'm sure your fellow Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ readers would agree. Good Luck, Helen Simonson
Helen Simonson
Dear Lindsay,
UPDATE: I'm coming to Bethesda on Saturday April 22 at 4pm at the Bethesda Library. Come and meet me if you are in the area!
Previous answer: Nothing on the calendar right now but stay tuned. Something may get set up shortly. Check my Facebook Events page for updates. I'm also very happy to visit book clubs and library groups via Skype so I hope you'll keep that in mind folks - wherever in the world you are. I'm in Darien CT this Thursday if anyone is in the neighborhood? Best regards Lindsay, Helen S.
UPDATE: I'm coming to Bethesda on Saturday April 22 at 4pm at the Bethesda Library. Come and meet me if you are in the area!
Previous answer: Nothing on the calendar right now but stay tuned. Something may get set up shortly. Check my Facebook Events page for updates. I'm also very happy to visit book clubs and library groups via Skype so I hope you'll keep that in mind folks - wherever in the world you are. I'm in Darien CT this Thursday if anyone is in the neighborhood? Best regards Lindsay, Helen S.
Helen Simonson
Dear Hannah,
An author is merely someone who has been published. I prefer to think of myself as a writer - that's the real vocation. I write full time though I have occasionally taught a creative-writing class. Many writers teach to support their families or have other careers. Trollope was a postman I think? I was a stay-at-home mom for many years which gave me some time to write. You should think about how you will support yourself during the years it may take to become published (took me 15 years). When I'm under contract to write a book I have a responsibility to meet my deadline but my publisher is very nice about it. Being a writer requires you to be responsible mainly to yourself. If you don't want to complete a book no one is going to push you into it or weep for the missed opportunity. You have to be driven, persistent and self-motivated to choose this path. I did not major in English as an undergraduate. I studied economics and politics instead. After taking a few writing classes in the community, I began to attend writers conferences and then pursued an MFA part time. Education in the field can focus you on your craft and build a community and structure around your writing but it is not a prerequisite. I think the best education for a writer is to be an incessant reader. That is very hard to do in today's technology and social media world but if you can turn off the Snapchat and read a book instead you will find it hugely nourishing as a writer. No reading experience or writing class is ever wasted I think. Regardless of publishing success or failure, good reading and writing skills are super valuable. Fiction writers don't report the world and the human experience, they seek to explain it, one book and one little bit at a time. We contribute to society by writing stories that allow people to step into another person's shoes. We raise issues and inspire empathy. We open up the world. I also like to contribute a good laugh now and then. I am only a very small and humble member of the great community of fiction writers but there is always room for more of us. I hope you pursue your dream of becoming an author. Best regards, Helen Simonson
An author is merely someone who has been published. I prefer to think of myself as a writer - that's the real vocation. I write full time though I have occasionally taught a creative-writing class. Many writers teach to support their families or have other careers. Trollope was a postman I think? I was a stay-at-home mom for many years which gave me some time to write. You should think about how you will support yourself during the years it may take to become published (took me 15 years). When I'm under contract to write a book I have a responsibility to meet my deadline but my publisher is very nice about it. Being a writer requires you to be responsible mainly to yourself. If you don't want to complete a book no one is going to push you into it or weep for the missed opportunity. You have to be driven, persistent and self-motivated to choose this path. I did not major in English as an undergraduate. I studied economics and politics instead. After taking a few writing classes in the community, I began to attend writers conferences and then pursued an MFA part time. Education in the field can focus you on your craft and build a community and structure around your writing but it is not a prerequisite. I think the best education for a writer is to be an incessant reader. That is very hard to do in today's technology and social media world but if you can turn off the Snapchat and read a book instead you will find it hugely nourishing as a writer. No reading experience or writing class is ever wasted I think. Regardless of publishing success or failure, good reading and writing skills are super valuable. Fiction writers don't report the world and the human experience, they seek to explain it, one book and one little bit at a time. We contribute to society by writing stories that allow people to step into another person's shoes. We raise issues and inspire empathy. We open up the world. I also like to contribute a good laugh now and then. I am only a very small and humble member of the great community of fiction writers but there is always room for more of us. I hope you pursue your dream of becoming an author. Best regards, Helen Simonson
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