Author Q&A with Olivia Beirne -'The Accidental Love Letter'

What would you do if you received a love letter that wasn't meant for you?

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Over the last few months, she's found herself becoming reclusive and withdrawn.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... 


Thank you to Olivia for taking the time to answer the following questions for The Comfy Chair blog...

1.    What was your favourite childhood book/author?

I had so many, but I loved everything by Roald Dahl. I especially loved Enid Blyton, and was obsessed with the idea of going to boarding school, which was only heightened when Harry Potter arrived in my early teens. I loved any books about magic, and the Saturday morning treat in my house was to go to the library and choose a new book (after my Mum had spent a far more stressful morning trying to find the pile of books me and my siblings had left around the house, to return to the library).
2.    What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point?

I know every writer says this, but I really have written all my life. When I was little I told my younger brother stories, and made my sister watch me act out plays with my dolls (and tell her off when she didn’t clap at the right time. Lucky her ey?) I toyed with the idea of being a writer as a teenager, but had absolutely no idea how to do it, so skipped off to University to study Drama instead. In reality, I spent three years making up plays with my friends and writing scripts, and wrote a play as my final assignment. Something in me was addicted to creating stories.

I started writing my first novel the day after I handed in my dissertation. It took me four years and three books to get signed by my Agent (the third book being my debut novel, The List That Changed My Life). I must have been rejected about one hundred times over the year, but something in me knew I had to keep going. I felt like it was the only thing I could do!
  
3.    Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos?

Absolute creative chaos! One of the reasons I find starting a book so hard is because, to begin with, everything is so neat. The notebooks are empty, and there are no charts around my desk. I am a planner, and I have to be able to visualise my book before I start writing. I write my books on my laptop, but all of the planning has to be done by hand. My brain won’t work any other way.

4.    What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process?

Hmmm. I guess the easiest part is when I get to write a scene I’ve had planned for months, whether that be a comic or serious, I get such satisfaction writing them. I can feel the fire ignite in my stomach. The hardest part is getting there, at the beginning I imagine these huge scenes… but know that they won’t sit until 40,000 words in. I write chronologically, so even if that scene is bursting out of my fingers, I know I need to write that 40k first. That can be very hard.
5.    Which other authors are you influenced by? 

That is quite a hard question, as I read such a variety of books and I take something away from every book I read which seeps into my own writing process. For example, I’ve just finished My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite which was absolutely brilliant, and had an incredible sense
of pace which is firmly sat in my mind as I plan my next novel. 

6.    What does literary success look like to you?

Someone enjoying my book. Obviously seeing my books in bookshops is 

super exciting, but any comments from somebody who has read my book 

and enjoyed them means the world to me. To me, that’s me doing my job well. It also blows my mind.
7.    How do you select the names of your characters?

With great, great difficulty. I am terrible at choosing names. Sometimes I choose names I adore (for example, there is a character in The Accidental Love Letter called Joy, which is one of my favourite names), and sometimes I pinch names from TV programmes and people I meet

8.    Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand?

Yes! There is a moment between Gus and Sylvia which is a nod to my Grandparents and how they met. I’m not sure they’ll even notice, but it made me smile!

9.    What three words describe your book?

Trust. Love. Unity.

10.  If it was to be made into a film/TV programme, what actors would play which role? 

Maggie Smith would make a mean Sylvia!

11.  What do you hope your readers take away from this book?

That they’re not alone, and chances are the people around you who seem to have it all together are feeling the same way as you. It’s okay to ask for help. Most importantly, it’s okay to make repeated jokes about beavers (that’s mainly for my parents/grandparents before they disown me at the sheer amount of beaver jokes crammed in this book).

Lastly, Jenn and The Comfy Chair likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest accompany your book?

Jenn that’s exactly how I’d like my books to be enjoyed! I love cake, and I think I’d say a fat slice of victoria sponge. Or carrot cake. Or chocolate. Or all three with a small bit of battenburg?

The Accidental Love Letter - Available Here

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  

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.

You can keep in touch with Olivia through her website oliviabeirne.co.uk, or via Olivia_Beirne on Twitter, olivia.beirne on Instagram and /Olivia-Beirne on Facebook.