Jan 28, 2010

Brooke Morgan Talks About Writing and Her Move to England


Brooke Morgan is the author of Tainted (click for my review), which is a suspenseful novel about love, loss, and familial bonds.  For a chance to win a copy of her book, please visit the review and comment.  The giveaway is international!  Also, for an additional entry, please comment on this post.


Please give Brooke a warm welcome:

Having moved to London, I’m slightly surprised to find that in many ways I have become more American than I already was. English people can sometimes be casually dismissive about Americans and their lack of history, which is irritating; but worse, I can guarantee that in some point during a conversation with an English person, that person will always say “Americans have no sense of irony.” To which I always reply, bristling, “Go watch an episode of Frasier.” 


Writing Tainted as I sat at my desk in my house in Hammersmith was an exercise in time travel. Because I set the novel in a Cape Cod town not unlike the one I used to spend every summer in; I admit I wallowed in the feeling of being back home. And to help me, I hung pictures on my study wall -- watercolor paintings and  aerial photos of that area of the Cape. Plus old snapshots of my family on the beach.  


These were visual aids, definitely, but I could also close my eyes and just plain remember. And that nostalgia trip was part of the pleasure of writing Tainted. 


Henry, one of the characters in the book, is modeled on my Uncle Sam. Which was fine until Henry gets into big trouble – it was such a real scene to me that when I finished it, I had to pick up the telephone on my desk and wake him up at six in the morning his time to make sure he was all right.  


When you relocate to another country, you lose your past. It’s impossible to turn to someone and say: “Remember when?” because they don’t. One of the great advantages of being a writer is to bring that past into the present and live it every day as you  write.  It’s a great cure for homesickness and a lot cheaper than a whole load of Transatlantic airline tickets.

Thanks, Brooke, for taking the time to share with us your writing and cultural experiences.

Deadline for the giveaway is Jan. 29, 2010!

FTC Disclosure:  Clicking on image or title links will lead to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

9 comments:

Anna said...

I can't imagine moving overseas. I already miss my family and we're only separated by a few states!

I think setting the scene with the pictures of the Cape is a great way to be there without actually being there. :)

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Caroline Starr Rose said...

Thanks for your kind words over at Booking Mama.

bermudaonion said...

I love this post! It's so true about losing your past when you move to another country.

Anonymous said...

I've never moved overseas, I only moved about 30 miles from where I grew up, but I can understand the rootless feeling. Add to my move, all my family left the state, so I don't have people to sit with and say "remember when" either.

Good answer with Fraiser, though :-D

wisteria said...

Thanks for this interview post. I found it interesting that Brooke Morgan hung pictures of The Cape and family photos around while she was writing. It always fascinates me to read how writers get inspired. I can visualize my summers at the ocean with my family as well. I really want to read this book. I think it will bring back warm feelings.

Veens said...

That last para in small fonts is so TRUE~
Moving from a state to another is quite difficult, i dnt know how moving overseas will be like!

Sounds like a great book!

Martha Lawson said...

This was a great interview! I really enjoyed it.

mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

Mystica said...

My three children live in Australia and I already they are less Sri Lankan and have imbibed a good dose of down under attitudes (not a bad thing at all)

Ambar said...

in this book i think the writer told about topic so real and is deep to many