Written by Olivia Beirne⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Today, I have a review of The Accidental Love Letter, and I am delighted to have Olivia Beirne answer a few questions for my feature Interview with the Author.
The Accidental Love Letter is on a blog tour, so why not follow the tour with these bloggers, where you'll not only find reviews, but other goodies as well?
The blurb:
Bea used to feel confident, outgoing and fun, but she's not sure where that person went.
Over the last few months, she's found herself becoming reclusive and withdrawn. And despite living with her two best friends, she's never felt lonelier. To make things worse, she's become so dependent on her daily routine, she's started to slip out of everyone else's.
But when a mysterious battered envelope covered in stars lands on her doormat, Bea wonders if she could find the courage to open it.
It isn't addressed to her, but it could be... if you squinted...
Bea Smyth works for a local newspaper. She lives in a house which once belonged to her mother, and now shares it with her two best friends, Priya and Emma. They are both confident individuals, and have active social lives. Bea is quite the reverse. She is withdrawn and feels lonely. Bea worries constantly that she is not good enough; will be late; will not be liked... In fact, she worries about everything.
One day a letter arrives addressed to 'B' which she eventually reads - in case it is for her. It is not. However, she decides to reply to the writer, Nathan, a young man who is currently in prison. She does not want her friends to find out for fear they'd think she was insane.
Several letters are exchanged, and Nathan asks 'B' to visit his grandmother, Nina, who lives in a care home. Bea duly visits Sunfields Care Home, under the pretext of wanting to volunteer there. Sunfields will be closing after Christmas, and most of the residents have already been rehomed. Three remain, including Nathan's grandmother. Originally, Bea was going to check on Nina, and never go back to the home, but the residents stir something in her, and she finds she enjoys her visits there. She is now determined to help them, and in doing so has to overcome her own fears of inadequacy.
I loved this story. The Accidental Love Letter is well-written, and the characters really came alive. I immediately liked Nina, Sylvia and Gus, and there was obviously more to Yacub the carer than his initial gruff exterior. I was less inclined to like Priya, who I thought was quite self-absorbed and selfish, wanting Bea to drop everything for her, when she needed Bea, but who for months had not given Bea a second thought, all the time she was seeing her boyfriend Josh.
There are a number of threads to follow, which kept me alert throughout. I felt such great sympathy for Bea as she struggled to overcome her overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, and was so glad there was a happy ending for Bea.
It is a heart-warming read which was sad in part, but also had some great comical unspoken retorts.
Thank you, Olivia, for joining me today and answering a few questions for my readers.
Q1. What inspired you to write The Accidental Love Letter?
Without realising, The Accidental Love Letter was stewing in my mind for years before I wrote it. But it wasn’t until I starting discussion with my Agent and Editor that all of these tiny ideas merged together and somehow slotted themselves into a story.
I knew I wanted to write a book about mental health, and about a group of characters going through every day life with a smile slapped on their face, regardless of how they were feeling on the inside. And how if they just talked to each other about it, they’d feel less alone.
I first had the idea of the letter when living with friends at university, and one day, we received a letter addressed to a man named Derek. Which isn’t that exciting (and certainly not worth me remembering for five years), but the letter also had a large picture of a Playboy Bunny on the front. We were beside ourselves trying to guess what on earth was inside and who Derek was. After about a week of waiting for the mysterious Derek to arrive at our front door (or perhaps, Hugh Hefner himself), we caved and open the letter. I don’t remember what was in there, but needless to say it was incredibly boring and we were all thoroughly disappointed. But I kept thinking, what if it had been from someone more exciting? What if Derek had shown up at our front door? What if we had been able to write back?
Q2. Who is your favourite character in The Accidental Love Letter and why?
Gosh that is such a hard question! Obviously I am really attached to Bea, but I think my favourite character is Joy. I loved writing her, and think she’s the personification of ‘stiff upper lip’. She acts like a guardian angel to Bea, Priya and Emma and is completely selfless. I really love her, even though she isn’t appreciated.
Q3. What was the first story you had published?
That would be my debut novel, The List That Changed My Life! It took several years (and a lot of trial and error) to find my literary agent, and I never dabbled in any other form of writing. I have since written short stories and plays, and would love to dip my pen (and by pen I actually mean keyboard, but that doesn’t sound nearly as nice) into writing short stories and features.
Q4. Do you have another story planned or in progress? When can we expect to see that?
YES! I actually had the final part of my plot drop into my mind this week (after my brain being totally silent for ten days, which was helpful). I am in the very early stages of planning (I’m a big planner), but hopefully I’ll be able to give you some teasers soon…
Q5. Who is your favourite author?
Hmmm. Every time I’m asked this question I give a different answer – purely because there are so many that I can’t remember them all! I love Sophie Kinsella, Kate Atkinson, Rachel Joyce and Philippa Gregory. Their books always give me a lovely sense of familiarity. Also they’re excellent.
Q6. What do you like to do when you’re not planning or writing your next book?
I love the theatre, and spend as much time as I can watching plays and musicals. I read a lot, and I’m a big netball fan… but to be honest my happiest place is sat with someone I love with a mug of tea and a fat slice of cake.
Q7. What do you like most about being an author?
I feel so lucky to be an author, because I’m allowed to let my imagination run away with me and all I have to do is follow it (and redirect it many, many times). My favourite thing is hearing that someone enjoyed the book, but if I’m honest I find myself getting so carried away with the publishing process that I often forget that happens at the end! I have a fantastic Editor and Agent, and working with them is a dream.
Q8. Do you have a specific routine for writing? Is there a special place or particular tool you use?
Well, without fail I always start my writing sessions by staring at a blank screen trying to scrape any word (literally any) from my reluctant brain, and then I will normally have a nice crisis when I convince myself that I’m a fraud who can’t write a single sentence and what even is a novel because I just can’t remember?!
I am a planner, so I have to map out the entire novel before I write it. I try and start with characters, and write down their names and who they are (all of this is done by hand, it seems to help my mind work). I’ll write down characteristics and situations they may find themselves in, and I’ll keep adding to these as I start the writing process. I then plot the novel from beginning until the end, and will pin this around my desk to keep me on track. Then I start writing.
The Accidental Love Letter was the most character driven book I’ve ever written, which meant that I had to keep a very careful eye on what each of my characters were doing behind closed doors to ensure that they acted appropriately in each scene, even if they were just walking past to go to the loo. This ended up in me making bar charts and sticking them all over my walls. If you think I’m joking, have a look on my Instagram.
I like to write at my desk with a big tea (and a freshly lit candle if I’m feeling extra). But the place I work the best is a coffee shop. Something about the smiling barrister and their help finding a plug socket gives me immense social pressure to write something. I won’t even check my phone in fear of someone rolling their eyes at me (‘she’s using an entire table and she’s only got one coffee? And look, she’s only pretending to write’)
Q9. If your book were to be made into an Audiobook, and you could choose anyone to read it, who would you choose and why?
I’m very lucky as both of my books have been made into audiobooks and they both have fantastic narrators, Elisabeth Hopper and Abigail Hardiman, who bought Georgia and Bea to life perfectly. I’m lucky that I was able to be a part of selecting the narrators, now I don’t think I could hear the characters in any other voice!
Q10. If your book were to be made into a film, who would you like to play your two main characters?
The only character I can picture clearly enough as an actor is Sylvia, who I could picture being bought to life perfectly by Maggie Smith.
Thank you, Olivia, for taking the time to join me today, and answering a few questions for us. We wish you well with your upcoming novel, and I completely agree that Maggie Smith would make a marvellous Sylvia.
| Author Bio – Olivia Beirne |
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 Olivia Beirne is the bestselling author of The List That Changed My Life and lives in Buckinghamshire. She has worked as a waitress, a pottery painter and a casting assistant, but being a writer is definitely her favourite job yet. |
| Social Media Links – | |
| Web site | http://oliviabeirne.co.uk/ |
| https://www.instagram.com/olivia.beirne | |
| Facebook Author Page | https://www.facebook.com/Olivia-Beirne-914988755349625/ |
| X | @Olivia_Beirne |
Huge thanks for the blog tour support x
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