Helena Fairfax

I’m delighted to welcome Angela Wren for my very first author interview of 2016. Angela and I are both members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and we’ve actually met in real life a few times – besides which, Angela is a fellow Yorkshire lass, so we’ve met for tea and cake on several occasions :)

Good to see you, Angela!

Have you always lived in Yorkshire? I was born and brought up in Yorkshire and, although I have worked all over the country, I can’t envisage living anywhere else.

Yes, me too. I’ve lived in other parts of the world, but it always seemed a temporary arrangement until I came back to Yorks.

Where is your favourite place in the world? That has to be France. I love the culture, the food and the wine! The country is vast and the scenery is ever changing. French history is inextricably linked with our own and that fascinates me, especially when I come across the French version of a well-known English event. And of course there is the weather! What’s not to like about warm lazy June days with a view like this?

What a lovely view. c’est magnifique!

Being a writer is a great job.  What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? That’s a hard question to answer because I am lucky enough to have loved whatever work I’ve been doing at the time. But, with every job there are always some bits I enjoy more than others. As an actor, learning lines is probably the worst bit – it’s time consuming and it is just one hard slog to get the words into your head in exactly the right order. Hanging around waiting for your call on film/TV sets can be very tedious if there’s no-one else much to talk to. Directing is a brilliantly creative thing to do, but getting your team through rehearsals and ready for stage is actually more about managing people than anything else. Sometimes rehearsals can be a bit mundane, but that’s about the worst of it really.

What book do you wish you’d written? There are so many! If I had to choose only one I suppose it would be my favourite book of all time – ‘The Lost Girl’ by D H Lawrence. It’s an incredible story that I’ve read and re-read and I always cry at exactly the same page!

I haven’t read that one, Angela, but I definitely will now. I’ve read The Fox a few times now, and that’s one of my favourite stories, too.

What’s your favourite song? I haven’t got one really – so it’s whatever is buzzing around in my head at any one time. Those songs have good lyrics that tell a story and melodious music that perfectly underlines the words and the thoughts and emotions behind those words.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them? I have played a number of roles in stage adaptations of real events and it would have been wonderful to be able to interview any or all of those people so that I could get their mannerisms right, their voice and their intonations as they speak. The person I would most want to meet would be Elizabeth the First and I would want to observe her and discuss my script with her.

That would be amazing. The whole Tudor period is filled with such magnificent characters.

What’s your happiest childhood memory? Being taken into Foyle’s bookshop in London when I was about 4 years old. I remember being mesmerised by all those books. And I still am every time I go back.

If you had to marry a fictional character, from film, television, or books, who would it be? ‘Had to marry…’ implies it would not be a happy marriage or that it may not be based on love and I’m not sure about that. If I could marry a fictional character then I would choose the hero in my current book – Jacques Forêt – even though I know he is a complete figment of my imagination!

What’s the most important lesson life has taught you? To respect others at all times.

And finally, please tell us about your latest book, where we can find it, and where we can find your blog/website.

Messandrierre was published last month and is available from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Kobo, iTunes and Nook.

Here’s the blurb…

Sacrificing his job in investigation following an incident in Paris, Jacques Forêt has only a matter of weeks to solve a series of mysterious disappearances as a Gendarme in the rural French village of Messandrierre.

But, as the number of missing persons rises, his difficult and hectoring boss puts obstacles in his way. Steely and determined, Jacques won’t give up and, when a new Investigating Magistrate is appointed, he becomes the go-to local policeman for all the work on the case.

Will he find the perpetrators before his lover, Beth, becomes a victim?

Messandrierre – the first in a new crime series featuring investigator, Jacques Forêt.

My website is at : www.angelawren.co.uk and my blog is at www.jamesetmoi.blogspot.com

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That sounds a great premise, Angela – like a French Midsome Murders. And I love the cover, too. Congratulations on your release, and thanks so much for taking the time to answer all my questions.

If you’ve enjoyed Angela’s interview, or have any questions or comments at all, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you!