Victoria Hislop @IOWLF 2015

An inspiration!

I was lucky enough to go and watch Victoria Hislop on Friday at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival. The venue was St Mary's Church in Cowes, and it was a brilliant setting, made more funny by the fact that at times Victoria hoped anything she said would not be taken against her!

Her talk was fascinating and insightful, as she talked about her latest book, The Sunrise.

"In the summer of 1972, Famagusta in Cyprus is the most desirable resort in the Mediterranean, a city bathed in the glow of good fortune. An ambitious couple are about to open the island's most spectacular hotel, where Greek and Turkish Cypriots work in harmony. Two neighbouring families, the Georgious and the Özkans, are among many who moved to Famagusta to escape the years of unrest and ethnic violence elsewhere on the island. But beneath the city's façade of glamour and success, tension is building.

When a Greek coup plunges the island into chaos, Cyprus faces a disastrous conflict. Turkey invades to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority, and Famagusta is shelled. Forty thousand people seize their most precious possessions and flee from the advancing soldiers. In the deserted city, just two families remain. This is their story."

The blurb via Amazon tells you what the book is about, but it truly does help to listen to an author and understand their passion and reasoning for writing their novel. Every book is unique and should not be measured by another.

I have read her second novel, The Return, and loved it. I have started this one and can understand why she spends a lot of time describing the place - it's important to understand, as she said, that the place in her books is just as important as the characters.

I am enjoying the book a lot, but do think a lot of characters have come on the scene and I am struggling to keep up! I will review the book when I finish and give my verdict then.

FIND MY 4 STAR REVIEW BY CLICKING ON HERE

Overall though, I think Victoria was personable and interesting and I hope she continues to be inspired to write many more books in the future.

I have to admit that I was relieved when she told us it takes her 3 years to write a book, 2 years just for research! Since I have taken under 2 years to finish my first historical fiction book I can breathe a sigh of relief! It's normal! PHEW...

I hope you all have a fabulous week.

All the best,
Vanessa