Written by Lucy ElenaInterview with the Author
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Today I'm taking part in a blog tour organised by Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a debut novel, The Starling Dance.
For my stop on the tour, I am delighted to welcome the author, Lucy Elena, to my blog and thank her for joining me today to answer a few questions for my feature, Interview with the Author.
The blurb:
The Starling DanceIn a sweltering Roman summer, Laure is trying to start a new life. But can she manage in a city where walls have ears, trees have eyes and even the birds are acting strangely?
It’s been exactly one year since the shit hit the fan and Laure's anxiety exploded into a full-blown burn out. In search of a new start she’s moved to Rome – pasta, Aperol and sunshine should make everything better, right?
But with her 30s around the corner, la bella vita isn’t going to plan.
- Her boyfriend, the dreamy Davide, has disappeared (Either Laure’s been ghosted or he’s accidentally fallen off a cliff – hopefully)
- She wants to murder her neighbours: their arguments are keeping her up all night.
In her local café, Laure meets a handsome stranger and the sparks fly, that is until she finds herself caught in a big lie.
‘Hmmm, it’s not ideal,’ says her best friend Eva, as she puffs on a spliff in the bathtub.
Just as things are heating up, a talking tree enters the fray (as if this Roman summer wasn’t weird enough, just ask the birds).
That tree is Viviano, a dynamic and adventurous street performer who poses around the Eternal City dressed as a tree, well, sometimes a cat too and sometimes a ripe tomato. He could be thriving in life but something is holding him back. One thing is certain though: he wants to meet Laure.
Will Laure find her path? Will she accidentally put pineapple on a pizza? And is there a real love story to be found in the surreal swirls of the Italian capital?
The Starling Dance is a love story full of quirk, humour and heart-warming characters, each trying to overcome their personal obstacles and demons to give themselves a chance at life and love.
Lucy Elena is a journalist who has worked across Europe and Latin America. The Starling Dance is her debut novel. It was initially dreamt up as a film while Lucy was working in Rome and became interested in the street artists she passed every day on her way to work, eventually getting to know them. The artsy film of her imagination never materialised but The Starling Dance was born in the form of a book, with a big dose of love, fun and healing thrown in for good measure.
Q1. Who is your favourite character in The Starling Dance and why?
I have a real soft spot for Viviano, the main male character. I love his intuitive personality and creative and kind nature. From backflips on slacklines, to the eccentric costumes he dons as a street performer - whether it be a tree, a cat or a ripe tomato - he’s unique. I feel sorry for him because of the mental health issues which he struggles with alone, but I like that he starts to work through them during the book. There are also a couple of more minor characters that I really like because I think they help to draw the reader into my world and embellish the main plot with small pleasures. One is Antonio, the white haired, golden-tanned owner of Laure’s local cafe in Rome. He pretends to be disinterested and only to want a quiet life but, secretly, he loves nothing more than a bit of juicy gossip. Antonio always brings a touch of humour to any scene. Another favourite is Eva, Laure’s free-spirited, sex-poetry-writing best friend. Her part was probably the most fun to write or, perhaps, Signor Bigoli, the narcissistic cat, who is obsessed with social media.
Q2. If The Starling Dance were to be made into a movie, who would you like to play Laure and Viviano?
I originally conceived The Starling Dance as a film back in 2015. The main female character, Laure, actually looks like my friend from university because she is an actress and I always imagined she’d play that role. Like Laure, my friend is half-Portuguese, half-Moroccan - describing her was a good way to start developing the character. Laure’s personality is not based on her though! For my two main male characters, Marco and Viviano, I’m still trying to decide who would play them! Any suggestions are very welcome! I do know that if my book were made into a film, I’d like a French director because I love the quirkiness, drama, and artistry of French cinema.
Q3. What do you like most about being an author?
I enjoy challenging myself, not only to be creative but to turn that creativity into a story that hangs together with a beginning middle and end. I like producing something original, from the heart, but that will, of course, have been subconsciously influenced by all my favourite books or films. I am also enjoying growing as an author too. I paid for a professional edit on my initial draft of The Starling Dance and it opened my eyes to many improvements I could make in the writing process, which I’m taking into consideration now I’m writing my second book.
Q4. What advice would you give other independently published authors?
I’m still learning myself and am new to the process, but there are a couple of things that I’ve found invaluable. I would definitely recommend investing in a professional edit of your finished manuscript. You can only go so far in critiquing your own manuscript, so a professional read from someone in the industry was so helpful. As you’re preparing to publish, I would say, try and expand your network as much as possible. See if your contacts, or contacts of contacts might have experience with self-publishing or the industry in some form. There is so much wisdom and advice that you can gain from speaking to people who are going through the same process as you but who might be slightly further along the path. Also, you have to push your book and constantly self-promote. I’m quite shy, and so that’s hard for me, sometimes self-doubt takes over so make sure you’ve got some reliable cheerleaders for your books around you to raise your spirits when it gets tough!
Q5. Do you have other novels planned or in progress?
I’ve actually finished the first draft of my second novel. The Starling Dance was conceived, planned, written and edited over a period of about 10 years! But the second one took only a few months to get to this stage. I knew that I wanted to write more and develop as a writer, but I also knew I couldn’t take another 10 years to write a book, so I challenged myself to produce something quickly and the words really started to flow. The action moves between two European countries. It follows a diplomat on the run - so quite different from the first, but I still managed to get a love story in there!
Q6. Do your stories always go the way you plan them?
I do think planning a novel is important for me. Writing out the story arc and deciding the personal journey that my characters are going to go on before actually writing the book helps me work faster and have a clear vision of a coherent narrative. However, that structure then is more like a security net that allows me to be creative. I picture it a bit like a room: the walls are there but you can decorate it in many different ways. As I write, the chapters change and so do some characters, but I do generally manage to stick to the overall structure.
Q7. Five things the readers don’t know about you …
- I’m an avid linguist. I’m currently trying to learn German, which will be my fifth language, and I’m finding it very hard!
- I love Brazilian music and dance and go to watch live music as often as I can.
- I used to work as a pasta chef in a little Italian trattoria.
- I’m addicted to Australian Masterchef.
- While working as a journalist in Rome, I once fell off a podium at a key moment while filming the Pope, very embarrassing!
Q8. What was your inspiration for writing The Starling Dance?
I came up with the idea for The Starling Dance in 2015 and it was a result of the mix of cultural influences in my life at that time. I was living in Rome, working in my very first international job as a journalist, and I was learning how to film for work. Rome, its colours, atmosphere and energy, was so inspiring. I had always wanted to produce something creative and, during my time there, I started to think about making a film and came up with a premise: a woman spying on her neighbours through their shared wall. I really enjoy French cinema and I used to live in France so, immediately, this kind of quirky, slightly overly dramatic, stylish style came to mind. I love the imagination and magical realism in Latin American books, so this went into the recipe too. Then the main inspiration was Rome itself. I started meeting many different kinds of people that live in the city - the locals, the artists and performers that line the streets, and the migrants who have risked their lives to reach Europe and, from all this, The Starling Dance began to emerge. I never made the film in the end, but incorporated all these ideas in a novel that explores growing up and learning to feel comfortable with who you are as a person.
The Starling Dance also gave me the opportunity to shine a light on people suffering with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD is often associated with the stereotypes we see on TV or in popular culture – an obsession with cleaning or precision, for example. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story. The obsessive part of OCD often manifests as persistent unwelcome and distressing thoughts that can have a serious negative impact on your life. It can be likened to having a bully living in your mind, constantly accusing you of things that make you feel uncomfortable. Many people who suffer from OCD never share their distressing thoughts with anyone, feeling too ashamed. They don’t realise that they are experiencing common symptoms of OCD, which affects at least three quarters of a million people in the UK alone, according to OCD-UK. The good news is that OCD can be cured or greatly improved through therapy. If anyone has been struggling with persistent distressing thoughts, I really encourage them to look up OCD on trusted sites and seek professional help. In The Starling Dance, the character Viviano unknowingly suffers from OCD, accusing himself of wanting to harm people, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Q9. Which writers have influenced you?
I have a few books that I absolutely love and whose authors have definitely influenced me and the writing style I aspire to. Island Beneath the Sea and Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle Allende, The Funeral Party by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Beer in the Snooker Club by Waguih Ghali, The Details by Ia Genberg, Paul Beatty’s The Sellout and The Vegetarian by Han Kang.
| Author Bio – Lucy Elena |
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 Lucy Elena is a Londoner with a love of languages and exploring new different cultures. For most of her career she has been a journalist reporting across Europe and Latin America. But she has also experimented with career forays into pasta making (yes, like an Italian nonna) and teaching. Lucy has always loved dreaming up and telling stories and The Starling Dance is her debut novel. When not writing or working, Lucy enjoys spending time with friends and family, trying out new foods and pretending she can play the ukulele. |
| Social Media Links – | |
| lucyelenabooks | |
| TikTok | @lucyelenabooks |
| Facebook Author Page | Lucy Elena |
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