Author Hannah Dolby - The Writer Story
Meet Hannah, Author of the fun and witty Historical fiction series, No Life for a Lady and How to Solve Murders like a Lady.
Hello everyone and welcome back to The Writer Story newsletter.
Today I have a wonderful author interview for you and we are not going to dilly dally one bit and get straight to it.
I am absolutely thrilled about today’s Writer Story interview with Hannah Dolby, Historical fiction author of the Violet Hamilton series. The first book of the series, No Life for a Lady published last year, and the second one, How to Solve Murders like a Lady has recently been published. These books are absolutely a hoot. I loved the fun, wit and everyday humor of Violet Hamilton, our only female detective in 1890s Hastings.
I read the first book, not so long ago actually. And when I found out the second one will be out soon, I couldn’t help but slide into Hannah’s DMs and haggle her until she agreed for this interview.
Before we start, here is Hannah’s official bio.
Hannah Dolby’s first job was in the circus and she is keen to keep life as entertaining. She trained as a journalist in Hastings and has worked in PR for many years, promoting museums, galleries, palaces, gardens and even Dolly the sheep. She completed the Curtis Brown selective three-month novel writing course and won runner-up in the Comedy Women in Print Awards for this novel. She is from Edinburgh, and lives in London. You can follow Hannah on Twitter @LadyDolby
Welcome Hannah to The Writer story. I can’t believe I am chatting with you. It was not so long ago that I read your first book, No Life for a Lady and I found it so charming and funny. Would you tell us a little bit about how you got this idea and what inspired you to write this story?
I’m so pleased to chat to you and I’m delighted you enjoyed No Life for A Lady! I have always loved the Victorian era and I started out writing about a Victorian heroine trapped in a miserable marriage having a miserable time, and was boring myself with my own book. Then I saw the Comedy Women in Print prize and realised I wanted to write a funny book about a heroine who is freed up from Victorian restrictions, and the best way to do that was to give her a job that would allow her to break the rules!
Violet Hamilton is a lady detective in the 1890s. How did you research about that historical period and place Violet in the past but even so much relatable to the present audience?
I have far too many old Victorian books because I love them - they give you such a good picture of what life was like. I have marriage advice manuals, medical books, even a ladies’ magazine called Illustrated Bits! And of course, I have lots of material about Hastings and St Leonards and its history as a seaside resort and fishing town, including a late 19th century map that allowed me to wander the streets and imagine how life would have been. And it’s easy to make it relatable, because I imagine women were very much the same as today, just hampered by more silly rules. I had great fun encouraging Violet to break free!
Oh, I am intrigued. I would love to have a looksee at the marriage advice manual. Since the second book, How to Solve Murders like a Lady, has been published recently, I wanted to ask you what it takes to write the second book in the series, with the same characters but different plot and situations. How did you approach this to add something new and exciting to Violet’s story?
It was hard writing a sequel, because I didn’t know when I wrote the first book that there would be one! But once I got down to it I really enjoyed it, and the trick I think is to weave in familiar characters and plotlines whilst introducing new people and new challenges – in this case a murder. So anyone who loves the first book will find old friends, but it’s easy for someone who hasn’t to pick up the story and read the second book on its own. Weaving I think is the best word!
Tell us a bit about your writing and publishing journey. How you started, how did you query, and your book deal? Our readers are always excited to know the origin stories of writers.
It has happened very quickly for me. I entered the Comedy Women in Print Awards, run by the brilliant Helen Lederer, on a whim, and was astonished to come second. I immediately sent some very bad pitches to agents and got nowhere, but a month or two later I was lucky enough to be invited to a book launch by the brilliant author Claire McGowan, who had taught me on a creative writing course, and she introduced to my fantastic agent Diana Beaumont, who got me my two-book deal. I know it doesn’t happen that way for everyone, and I do appreciate how lucky I am.
Oh wow, there’s absolutely no one way to get published. That said, what would be your advice to new writers starting out on the path of publishing?
The most important lesson I’ve learnt is simply to write what inspires you and shut out every voice (inner and outer) that says you should be writing something else. Experiment until you find what drives you and makes you gleefully look forward to getting back to the page. If you write what you love, it will carry you past the moments it feels like a chore.
I am dying to know if there will be another book in the Violet Hamilton series or are you working on something else? What should we expect?
At the moment I’m writing something entirely new! I’m calling it a funny gothic – a mix of Jane Eyre and Cold Comfort Farm. It’s brilliant fun and I’m enjoying throwing in all sorts of gothic tropes, from a haunted attic to a hermit in the garden. I am not sure if there will be a third in the Violet Hamilton series yet – it depends on how much people love the latest one – so fingers crossed! I’ve had lots of lovely feedback and reviews so far.
How exciting! I look forward to it. Finally, please let our readers know where can they find you online?
I am on Twitter @LadyDolby, Instagram as @dolbyhannah and my website is at www.hannahdolby.net
A big thanks to Hannah for spending the time with us for The Writer Story interview. Make sure to order NO LIFE FOR A LADY and HOW TO SOLVE MURDERS LIKE A LADY and support her writing adventures.
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Until next week,
~Toodle-oo~
