Wednesday 17 December 2014

Take Me to Bath, Mum!


I thought I would share the inspiration behind my short story, 'Searching for a Jane Austen Hero', which is published in this month's Take a Break Fiction Feast.

My daughter and I have always shared a love of classic romantic dramas. In the year before she went to university (five years ago now) we were thrilled when we found out that a national newspaper was doing a special offer of a collection of British classics on DVD and of course I sent for them.

When they arrived - a whole stack of them - we were in heaven choosing which ones to watch. Luckily it was the long summer holidays (I was still a teacher then) so my husband wasn't forced to watch them. When he came home from work, he'd say, "What have you two been doing today?" and when we looked guilty, he'd shake his head and say, "Don't tell me... you've been watching britches films again!"

What can I say? It's true... we were obsessed!

The years passed and my daughter went off to university but when she came home for the holidays, we'd watch our 'britches' films over and over again (any wonder that a lot of my magazine stories are historical).

Boyfriends came and went (for my daughter, not me!) and then one day, after visiting her grandfather, she came home and said, "You'll never guess what Grandpa said!"
 
Apparently he'd told her that he was more likely to go to his own funeral that to her wedding and that she'd better get a move on.

"You'll have to take me to Bath," she said to me. "It's my only hope!"

I found this exchange so funny that I just knew I had to write a story about it. My daughter hasn't read it yet, as she's in Germany for a year, but when she comes home for Christmas I shall show it to her... in between watching britches films!

Also, this week, I am very pleased to have a story in The People's Friend bumper Christmas issue. It is a WW1 story about the ceasefire in the trenches on Christmas Eve. I wrote it last year but Shirley, the fiction editor, wanted to keep it for the this Christmas as it is the centenary of the Great War. I'm glad she did.

 
I think you'll agree, the illustration, by Mandy Dixon, that goes with it is simply stunning.
 
Finally, before I go, I am happy to tell you that I am a guest on author Natalie Kleinman's blog. Natalie's blog is very new, so it would be lovely if you could pop over and support her :)

25 comments:

  1. I love to hear the inspiration behind a story!

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  2. What a lovely relationship you have with your daughter. Well done on all your successes.

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    1. We are very close as I brought her up as a single parent - we were more like friends during her teenage years.

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  3. "You'll have to take me to Bath" took me, well, straight to Bath in fact. Regency architecture; Georgette Heyer; Oh, I think I'm off to read (reread) one of her novels now. They're like a comfort blanket to me.
    Lovely illustration to your People's Friend story, Wendy. They do them so well, don't they.

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    1. The thrill of flicking through the mag to find your story and see what illustration there is never goes away, Natalie.

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  4. Love this - perhaps I can borrow both of these to read. Just brought teen son back from Bath uni - it's a gorgeous city. We should book a date to visit the Jane Austen Festival one year - and even dress up!
    One of our Xmas traditions is to watch the BBC boxset of P&P (the one with Colin Firth in the lake ....) can't wait.

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  5. Both great stories Wendy and both, as always, so beautifully illustrated.
    Super to know the inspiration behind a story and this is particularly lovely :-) xx

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  6. Isn't it grand when you can turn real life into fiction? Lovely story, Wendy.

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  7. Aren't daughter's just the best? I have a similar relationship with mine and we share such common ground. She lives in London now though, having just completed her Masters in Chemistry (she didn't get the sciencey thing from me). Still, when we are together the world lights up and many more fond memories are accumulated. Have a fantastic Christmas, Wendy.

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    1. How funny that my science daughter lives in Germany and I am here while your science daughter lives in UK and you're in Germany!

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    2. How weird? I knew your daughter was over here but I didn't realise she was another science geek :):) And we mums are ex teachers and now writers. The music from Twighlight Zone is playing..... :)

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  8. I enjoyed reading the story - it's interesting to learn what lay behind it.

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    1. I'm wondering what my daughter will make of it when she reads it, Patsy.

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  9. I'm sure your daughter will love it. I've often used real life family incidents as inspiration for stories (making sure to disguise real identities of course!) and they're usually more successful than completely made-up tales. I think it's because readers sense the truth behind them.

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    1. A lot of mine fall into that category too, Linda.

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  10. Lovely to hear about the inspiration behind your story, Wendy.

    I love the idea of the britches DVDs... :-D

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  11. What a lovely post, Wendy - I love those films too! Great illustration.

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    1. Thanks, Rosemary - I was super pleased with the illustration.

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