Romance, glamour and adventure in the skies: The Beauty Chorus is inspired by female pilots in World War Two. 166 women signed up to fly Spitfires and bombers from factories to airfields across the country. It was an adventure that would cost many their lives:
New Year’s Eve 1940: Evie Chase, the beautiful debutante daughter of an RAF commander, listens wistfully to the swing music drifting out from the ballroom. With bombs falling nightly in London, she is determined to make a difference to the war effort.
Evie joins the ATA – the civilian pilots who ferry fighter planes to bases across war-torn Britain. Two other women wait nervously to join up with her – Stella Grainger, a forlorn young mother from Singapore, and Megan Jones, an idealistic teenager who has never left her Welsh village before.
Billeted together in a tiny cottage, Stella, Megan and Evie learn to live and work together as they find romance, confront loss and forge friendships that last a lifetime.
Asking Kate Lord Brown:
Great title! Where did you get your inspiration to write The Beauty Chorus? Thank you. ‘The Beauty Chorus’ was the nickname the male pilots gave the girls – they were young and glamorous pilots, but they were much more than pretty faces! They were incredibly brave and skilful pilots - the story was inspired by a tiny obituary for a woman who had flown Spitfires during the war that I saw in one of my husband’s flying magazines. I thought ‘wow, women flew Spitfires? Why don’t people know about that?’
How long did it take to write and research? I began writing the book in 2008, and spent months researching in archives and museums around the country, and talking to the real ‘Spitfire girls’.
Was your journey into publication a smooth one? Well, I had my first short story published when I was seventeen, so *ahem* it’s been rather a long road to seeing my debut novel published – but I have been juggling full time work and a young family, like a lot of people. I was lucky to sign with a great agent, and she has found me a fantastic publishing team to work with, so it’s a happy ending – or beginning, rather.
Writers often find redrafting and self-editing difficult. Can you offer any words of wisdom? Always let your work ‘cool off’ after the first draft. Put it away for at least a few weeks so that you can come back to it with an objective eye. I’ve been critiquing my new book with my MA writing group pretty much as I’ve been writing it, and it’s been a really helpful experience seeing your work through other people’s eyes. If you can join a writer’s group locally, it is a fantastic way to get feedback as you are redrafting and working.
Who do you feel would be your ideal reader? When I write I always think about someone reading on a tube or a bus – I want each page to be so compelling that they miss their stop. It’s been a really exciting experience launching the first book, and I’m still getting used to the idea that The Beauty Chorus is ‘out there’ in the real world – it’s so interesting hearing people’s thoughts about the story.
What do you plan to write next? I’ve just finished a second novel, about women war photographers, nurses and soldiers during the Spanish Civil War. While that is being edited and redrafted, I’m beginning to research the next one – it’s going to be about espionage, the sultry South of France during WW2.
And, finally, (with the skilful smoothness of the finest of interviewers) do you in any way know Simon Cowell? Sorry, Caroline … though I was once interviewed by Alan Titchmarsh, and he was charming!
*
About the author: Kate Lord Brown worked as an art consultant, curating collections for palaces and embassies in Europe and the Middle East, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was a finalist in ITV’s the People’s Author competition in 2009, and has written for magazines including Condé Nast Traveller and Blueprint. Her debut novel The Beauty Chorus is being published by Corvus Atlantic in 2011. She currently lives in the Middle East with her husband who is an airline pilot, and their young family.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This is definitely on my TBR list. I can’t wait to dive in. Great interview, ladies!
Ooh, I’ve just received this as a surprise gift off my Amazon wishlist. I had to google where and how I had heard about it and should really have remembered it was one of your recommendations Caroline. I can’t wait to read it. I’ve just got to slog the rest of the way through The Finkler Question, this will be my reward after that.
{ 1 trackback }