Welcome to Clare Harvey one of the talented contenders for this year's Joan Hessayon Award and graduate of the RNA New Writers' Scheme. Thank you for answering our questions, Clare.
How long have you been
writing?
Since
I was on maternity leave with my son, who is just about to turn 14 (Everyone
says writing is a long apprenticeship…)!
Is this your first published
piece?
Yes,
although it’s the fourth full-length novel I’d completed since beginning to
write seriously.
How many years were you a
member of the NWS and did you submit a manuscript each year?
I
have been in the NWS on and off since 2003 (there was a long break because I
had twins in 2005, when my son had just turned three – they were premature and
one of them has additional needs – so for a few years I barely had time to go
to the loo, let alone think up plotlines). It was with my third attempt, in
2014, that things really came together and produced the story that became The Gunner Girl. But it wouldn’t have
happened without the perceptive feedback and encouragement of my NWS reader –
whoever it was, I owe them a pint!
What came first, agent or
publisher?
Teresa
Chris picked me up pretty quickly after I started sending out my manuscript,
and I was incredibly lucky that she found a publisher almost immediately. I
started sending out the manuscript to agents and entering it into competitions
in September 2014, signed with Teresa at the end of October 2014 and had a
two-book deal with Simon & Schuster by the end of November 2014. So, in the
end, it all happened very quickly – but it was a long time coming!
Through
my agent.
Do you have a contract for one
book or more?
Two
When was your book published?
Hardback
8 October 2015; Paperback 25 February 2016.
Tell us something about your
book
The Gunner Girl plaits the storylines of
three teenage girl soldiers working on the anti-aircraft guns in wartime London.
Inspired my mother-in-law’s time as a gunner girl, and written whilst my
husband was away in Afghanistan with the British Army, it’s a wartime drama,
written from the heart.
What are you currently working
on?
I’ve
just finished the spin-off to The Gunner
Girl, called Yvette’s War, which
will be out in hardback in the autumn, and paperback next year. I felt that one
of the characters in the first book hadn’t quite finished her journey, so I’ve
given her a story of her own, taking her off into wartime Paris at the height
of WW2. I’ve twisted my fictitious character’s story around some real-life
figures and events. I have absolutely loved writing Yvette’s War – the research was fascinating.
What piece of advice would you
give current members of the NWS?
Accept
feedback as if it’s a gift, and never, ever give up.
Thank you, Clare, we hope you
have a fabulous evening at the RNA Summer Party and good luck with your writing
career.
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Everest & Natalie Kleinman
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