Written by Romola Farr⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Bridge to Eternity, and to author Romola Farr for a free copy of this book to review.
Romola has kindly answered some questions for my feature Interview With the Author, which you'll find after my review.
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The blurb:
Audrey, recently widowed, is not saying why she left her comfortable home in the south of England to move into an old school boarding house on the edge of a moor.
Tina, a young estate agent, is concerned for Audrey’s safety as she believes the folklore about a schoolboy who never went home.
Property developers, annoyed at losing a site ripe for demolition, make plans to encourage Audrey to sell.
Malcolm, a charming widower, brings a welcome light into Audrey’s life until it shines into a very dark corner...
The story is about a recently widowed lady called Audrey. She hails from Sevenoaks in Kent, and has bought a dilapidated former school boarding house in Hawksmead in the north of England. She bought it because she was in a position to do so... or at least that's what she's telling people who ask.
The house has an unfortunate history, and some of it is bleeding through into the present.
Tina, the estate agent who sold Audrey the house, is concerned for her welfare. There are lots of stories about the house being haunted, and the locals don't venture near it.
The Russian brothers who had hoped to buy the house at a knock-down price, are not pleased with Audrey, and determine to take the house from her, one way or another.
Audrey has an ulterior motive for buying the house, and quickly begins to delve into the tragic history of the house. She is looking for answers, but also finds love and lasting friendships along the way.
The characters are well-drawn and likeable, apart from the Russian brothers, who we're not supposed to like. I particularly liked Tina, whose concern for Audrey leads to a firm friendship, a police car chase, and a few speeding tickets as she breaks every speed limit in the area, rushing to the hospital.
I enjoyed dipping back into 1965, and felt so sorry for young Robert Oakes who had been sent to boarding school far away from his loving family.
Bridge to Eternity is well-written, and moves along at a fair pace, tying up all the loose ends around the story of the house before the end of the book. The final chapters reveal the new and happier beginnings for the characters connected to the old house.
An interesting read, and not too scary!
| Author Bio – Romola Farr |
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“I started my working life in the theatre and was very lucky to find myself on the West End stage in a hit play at the age of 16. My career and life nearly ended there as I was knocked down by a car on the way home one Saturday night. I recovered and went on to be quite a successful photographic model. Later, when that part of my career did die, I turned to writing and made quite a good living writing screenplays, making films, and writing advertising copy for a marketing company. A few years ago I entered a short-story competition and fell in love with prose and knew I had to tell my own story within a fictional framework. At the moment I am hiding behind a nom de plume.” |
| Social Media Links – | |
| X | https://twitter.com/RomolaFarr |
Thank you for joing me today, Romola, and answering a few questions for my readers. I have enjoyed reading Bridge to Eternity and look forward to reading your next novel.
Q1. You have a good mix of characters in terms of age and sex – what’s your technique for getting under the skin of a man?
A: It’s true, men and women are wired differently but I hope I have an understanding of the male psyche which, of course, varies with every man. But, there are clichés about men and women which do hold true. For example, women are used to keeping many plates spinning whereas men are more inclined to be single-minded. Women see men as a total package in terms of looks, career, background – whereas men see looks first and only later consider other aspects. A woman’s career and success are much less important to a man... in fact a woman’s success can be a complete turn-off. Whereas, many women like strong, successful men and if they have great looks that’s a bonus ie George Clooney – he has everything. Or Chris Martin, or Bradley Cooper, or Ryan Gosling. To answer your question, I do what all women writers do – I imagine what it’s like to be a man ...or, indeed, a schoolboy.
Q2. How did you go about creating the haunting atmosphere in the old school boarding house?
A: When I was a child, my grandparents lived in a large Victorian manse in south Wales. My grandfather was a Methodist minister. The house was terrifyingly spooky. The corridors were dark with wall-mounted brass gaslights. The rooms had fireplaces but no central heating and the walls were damp with peeling paper. Frankly, all I did was describe what I remember including old-style light switches and plug sockets, squeaking floorboards and an antiquated kitchen with a butler-style sink and gas range.
Q3. The most successful authors seem to write a series of novels with the same principal characters. Will there be a sequel to Bridge to Eternity?
A: Possibly but I don’t want it to be like the movies – Jaws was great, Jaws II okay, Jaws 3D... If I do write another story set in Hawksmead it will feature Tina the estate agent as my principal character. I have some ideas!
Q4. When do you write?
A: Very early in the morning. I love summer when it’s light at 5am. I like to wake up when my family is still asleep, write as fast as I can for two to three hours, before the clatter of the day interrupts my train of thought.
Q5. What has surprised you most about being an author?
A: Publishing... globalisation combined with the internet has opened up the world to traditional publishers and literary agents. To avoid being inundated by manuscripts, they shut their doors to new writers and created almost impossible hurdles for authors to cross. Like salmon swimming upstream, a few succeed but most resort to self-publishing or paying to have their novel published for them. I met someone who was looking for a new challenge, he set up Wildmoor Press and here I am, feeling very fortunate.
Q6. If you had your time again what would you do differently?
A: I knew how to tell a story from writing screenplays but I underestimated how tough it is to write a novel. I think I would have saved a lot of time and heartache if I’d gone on one of the intensive novel-writing courses such as the one offered by the literary agency, Curtis Brown. It costs about £3,000 which seemed an awful lot at the time. I had to learn the hard way but thanks to guidance from professional editors, I am very happy with where I am now.
Q7. What is the best advice you can give to an aspiring novelist?
A: Write in the first person. It is really hard to write a first novel in the third person; it takes a lot of skills and experience. ‘Bridge to Eternity’ had to be told in the third person, but there is a schoolboy’s diary in the book which I wrote in the first person and almost didn’t change from the first draft.
Q8. Any other advice for new authors?
A: Hire an editor and get the novel highly polished before emailing to literary agents. I emailed my novel way too soon and wasted a lot of time reading rejections.
Q9. Anything else?
A: Train to be an author as you would train to run the London Marathon. The chances of winning a marathon are remote but you can finish in style if you prepare properly. Read books on novel writing, go on courses, and hire professional editors. Invest time and money. Be professional and, with a bit of luck, you may be a salmon that gets to spawn many novels.
Q10. At what point will you consider Bridge to Eternity to be a success?
A: I’m an unknown author but the reviews and sales the novel has already garnered prove that the story and characters work for many readers – I consider that to be a great success, for which I am very, very grateful.
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