Historical Novel Society Australasia: Interview with Ella Carey

It's a pleasure to welcome Ella Carey to the blog today. Ella Carey is the internationally bestselling author of
Paris Time Capsule, The House by the Lake and From a Paris Balcony, all
published with Lake Union Publishing in the US. Paris Time Capsule has been
adapted into a feature film screenplay and is agented in LA, and the novels are
being translated into several European languages. Paris Time Capsule was
released in Australia with Harlequin Australia in September, 2016. 

Ella is a Francophile who has long been fascinated by
secret, forgotten histories set in Europe's entrancing past. She has degrees in
music, majoring in classical piano, and in Arts majoring in nineteenth century
women’s fiction and modern European history. Ella is now hard at work on her
fourth novel, an Australian story set in the Melbourne art world during the
1940s, with a working title of Secret Shores. The book is set for release with
Lake Union Publishing on September 5th, 2017. Ella has recently moved to
Melbourne from Hobart with her two children and two Italian Greyhounds who are
constantly mistaken for whippets.

What is the inspiration for your current book?  

I was inspired by several things that all came together- two
strands were the true story of the death of a young girl who was sketching on
an island in South Australia and the modernist movement in art, writing and
life that happened during the 1940s in Melbourne.

Is there a particular theme you are exploring in this
book? 

The theme is very much about authenticity in life and art in
the context of the modernist movement in Australia. The book explores the
impact of the conflict that existed between generations and across generations
in Australian art and politics. The story takes place over a few months in 1946
and dovetails to scenes set in New York in 1987. It’s a dual
narrative. 

 

What period of history particularly interests you?
Why? 

I am drawn to this generation of people who lived through
the second world war, probably because my parents lived through it. My mother
was seventeen when the war broke out. She was about to go to university but
instead spent six years in the air force in a Nissen hut on a pilot’s training
station at Mallala where she met my father, who was a pilot in the air force.
Of course, once the war was over, my mother was married in 1946 and she lost
her chance to go to university for good. I think it’s incredibly hard for us to
understand the impact of that war.  

What resources do you use to research your book? 

I use books from the library and bookstores! I like to read
sources from the period as much as I can, such as letters. With the Australian
novel, it was helpful to be able to read Sunday Reed and Joy Hester’s letters
to each other because I was able to feel and sense their voices. I read
biographies and history books along with novels set and around the era-
everything I can get my hands on which relates to the setting. 

Visiting the places in the book has become important to me.
For this novel, spending a few days at Anlaby Station made all the difference
for me. The current owners of the property shared so much about the Dutton
family and the old station’s past. Just walking around the property and in the
gardens and around the old rooms in the house made a huge difference. You can
feel the past and the history so much by being at a place.  

As for the internet, I do use that as well for visual
details- photos of clothing that people wore, fact checking if something comes
up along the way as I write.

What is more important to you, historical authenticity or
accuracy? 

My instinctive response to that, and something I would
adhere to after reflection, is that historical authenticity is more important
than accuracy. While you need to be careful with accuracy, while accuracy is
important and publishing houses have fact checkers to ensure that things are
correct throughout the book, I think authenticity is something deeper than
accuracy- it’s about being true to the time about which you are writing. If, in
general terms, the story, characters and setting are not authentic, or true,
then I think nothing works, the story won’t resonate or ring true- in short,
readers need to believe that the story seems real, as if it all could have
happened- as if it did happen. I think that is at the essence of storytelling
no matter what.  

Which character in your current book is your favourite? Why? 

That is possibly not as bad as asking me to choose between
my children, but it’s hard.  Rebecca Swift comes to mind as soon as you
ask that question, so I’ll go with her. She is so determined to stick to her
principles and her belief in art and what she loves to do. At the same time,
she is a warm, loving human being. She’s suffered in her early years, which
gives her a depth of understanding and empathy which I think is interesting for
a woman in her early twenties, and she is courageous as well. I think she has
many qualities that I admire in people. 

Are you a plotter or a panster? How long does it generally
take you to write a book? 

I’m a plotter who turns into a panster once I start writing-
and it only gets worst with each draft. I do start with a synopsis so that I
know I have a story - and then things change as I write. I have had three
novels published in quick succession in the last two years and I think it took
me about eight or nine months to write each book from start to submission, but
then they go into the revision process, which takes another four or so months,
then there is a lapse of several months before the book is released, while the
book is produced and covers designed. I started Secret Shores in March 2016 and
it will be released in September 2017. 

Which authors have influenced you? 

Late nineteenth century women authors- the classics- 
especially the Bronte’s for dramatic, tragic love stories, (they are the best
kind!). Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are probably my two favourite novels.
Anna Karenina is wonderful. I love E.M Forster and Edith Wharton, along with
Evelyn Waugh. I admire Hemingway’s style of writing, his spare prose and his
use of dialogue. In terms of contemporary writing, I’m enjoying Emily Bitte’s The
Strays at the moment. I’m always open to discovering new authors- I love to
read. 

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?  

Don’t give up, do educate yourself on the craft of writing
to the highest level which you can achieve, and do not send your work out until
you are sure it is the best it can be- you’ll know when it is ready. And
surround yourself with people who are supportive of your writing, as much as
you can, that is important. 

Tell us about your next book or work in progress. 

My next book is set for release in July 2018. It’s set in
the early twentieth century in Europe and London but I can’t tell you much more
than that! 

Thank you for sharing your story to publication with us, Ella. You can connect with Ella via Facebook or her website. Ella's books are available on Amazon.

The HNSA 2017 September Conference programme will be announced at this event! Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear of early bird registration. Come and hear Kerry Greenwood, Kate Forsyth, Sophie Masson, Lucy Treloar, Deborah Challinor, Juliet Marillier, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott, Arnold Zable and many, many more! The HNSA speakers' list is available on our website.

Let's make a noise about historical fiction!