Skyping with Rebecca Mascull - Awesome!

We had half an hour to chat about The Visitors before we went online to chat with the author who currently lives in Cleethorpes on the Humber Estuary in eastern England. It's certainly a wonderful way to make a book come alive!

Prior to chatting with Rebecca the group had been discussing why the novel had been called The Visitors when The Visitors were for most of the book rather peripheral characters. Rebecca explained how much of the storyline was involved with characters either visiting or being visited. The choice of title then just made so much sense. Discussion after the Skype session contemplated the philosophical notion that we are all just visitors.

It was wonderful to hear how characters in a novel have the ability to determine their own fate despite what the author thinks is going to happen. Originally Rebecca had expected Liza and Caleb to make a match of it. As the author was starting to have misgivings about the success of this relationship Caleb goes off to South Africa and finds Maria, a woman who sees him for what he is, thus providing more fertile grounds for a successful relationship. Rebecca spoke about authors ignoring the will and development of their characters at their own peril.

It was enlightening to hear how much research Rebecca put into The Visitors and then how an author after putting in so much effort has to overcome the temptation of letting the audience know how much they now know about a topic. Rebecca spoke of the delight of uncovering the specialised words associated with the hop industry. There was much discussion of the Boer War which features in The Visitors. Rebecca was able to access uncensored letters from the men who had gone to South Africa and thus ensure an authentic understanding of the various attitudes to this largely unforgotten war.

Hearing how many variations a book experiences before the final version emerges was also fascinating. It was also informative as to how an author gathers bits and pieces from all sorts of places and experiences and then knits them all together into a novel.

Overall our Skype conversation with Rebecca was a delightful success. When reading so many books it is easy to forget the amount of effort and persistence an author invests to develop a novel. Speaking with Rebecca was a gentle reminder for readers to be more mindful and appreciative of an author's effort.

I'll include more details about our next book club selection in the next blog.

Happy reading!