Tell us about your latest book
’The Orphans on the Train’ is a novel about friendship, loss and survival, set against the backdrop of World War Two Hungary. After fourteen-year-old Kirsty’s father dies in a tragic accident, she is all alone in the world. When she meets kindly Jean, the matron of a girls’ school in Budapest, she accepts Jean’s offer of work at the school. Europe is teetering on the edge of war, but Jean assures Kirsty Hungary will be safe.
Kirsty finds a home at the school and friendship with Jewish pupil Anna. In Anna she has an ally against Dasco, the cook’s son, who is hellbent on causing her trouble. When Dasco becomes a member of the Arrow Cross, a violent fascist group, the girls are in danger. And when the Germans invade, their very lives are at risk. In a city under siege, what lengths must the girls go to in order to survive, and, when they are separated, can the guiding light of friendship bring them back to each other?
What is your preferred writing routine?
I am definitely a morning person, so I try to get around a thousand words written before lunch. I generally do something different in the afternoon to have a break before returning to read over what I’ve written to check it’s okay. Then I repeat the process until the first draft (around 100,000 words) is written. I’m lucky enough to workshop with two other writers who are great ‘critical friends.’ I value their advice and I know if they ‘approve’ a section then it must be good as they have very high standards!
What advice do you have for new writers?
Reading is absolutely crucial. I don’t think you can be a writer unless you are a reader first. It helps to read in the genre you want to write as that can give you ideas on plot, structure and style. I did a Creative Writing M.A which I absolutely loved, but I don’t think it’s essential. If you can find a group of writers to workshop with, that’s really useful - as long as you trust their feedback.
When you’re ready to send your work out, try entering competitions. It’s a great boost to your writing CV if you get placed, and for a little more money you can often pay for a critique of your work which will give you ways to improve. And you need to develop resilience. It took me ten years, and around eighty drafts, to get my first novel published. This business is not for the faint-hearted!
What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?
I’m published by Headline, who have a brilliant marketing team. They are best-placed to market my books as they have the contacts and the experience to promote them widely. However I am also a W.I accredited speaker, which means I travel round my local area speaking to groups about the real life stories behind my novels. I love public speaking, and usually have appreciative audiences. I generally notice an increase in sales after I’ve done a talk, which is great.
I’ve also teamed up with a couple of other historical fiction writers, Louise Morrish (who won the 2019 Penguin Random House first novel award) and Suzanne Goldring, who was a Sunday Times best seller with her debut, ‘My Name is Eva.’ We are all ladies of a certain age, and we have spoken at literary festivals about our publishing journeys under the title ‘It’s Never Too Late’ which details how we came to be writers after raising families and having careers in other fields. It’s great fun to be part of a team and helps to raise awareness of our books too.
Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research
’The Orphans on the Train’ was inspired by reading an article about Éva Székely, a Hungarian swimmer. As a Jewish girl in World War Two Budapest, Éva was banned from her local swimming team and excluded from competition for four years. Towards the end of the war, she lived with forty-one people in a crowded two room ’safe house’ run by the Swiss. To keep herself fit, every day she ran one hundred times up five flights of stairs. Her dedication paid off. She won a gold medal in the 1952 Olympics and a silver medal four years later. I was inspired by such perseverance and tenacity in the face of hardship. I love writing about strong women and my character Anna in ’The Orphans on the Train' is based on Éva.
What was the hardest scene you remember writing?
I think probably a scene at the end of the novel. Anna and Kirsty have been holed up in the underground hospital for many months, whilst the siege of Budapest rages above them. One day, an injured Dasco is brought in on a stretcher and Kirsty has to decide whether or not to try to save him. It took a lot of emotional energy to get the scene right, and I was mentally exhausted by the end. Some of my reviewers have commented on how powerful it was though, so I think I must have done a good job.
What are you planning to write next?
I’ve just started to research another World War Two novel, set in Berlin and London. It’s based on two sisters who rescued a number of Jewish people from Germany in the years leading up to the war. I find I have to have an emotional starting point to my stories and I became fascinated by these two unassuming women who became such a force for good.
Gill Thompson
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About the Author
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