Q&A: A.J. Pearce, Author of ‘Dear Miss Lake’

We chat with author A.J. Pearce about Dear Miss Lake, which follows a plucky wartime advice columnist Emmy Lake discovers that sometimes it takes losing everything to find what we need most.

Hi, A.J.! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello everyone, it’s lovely to be here! I’m a British author living in the south of England just outside a village about an hour from London. I’ve written four historical novels in The Emmy Lake Chronicles series which are set in Britain during World War II. They’ve been translated into over fifteen languages and I’m delighted to say are very popular in the USA which is rather a dream come true!

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I think it was way back when I was little. My grandfather used to tell us bedtime stories which he would make up as he went along. Looking back I now realise just how hard that is! But I always liked inventing and writing stories. I stopped when I went to college, but then started again twenty or so years later.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: my mum’s old pony books from the 1940s. There was one called The Ponies of Bunts by Marjorie Mary Oliver. I was mad keen on ponies and absolutely lived every word.
• The one that made you want to become an author: that’s so hard! I could list dozens. I think discovering authors who were writing during the 1940s really woke me up to wanting to write about that era. Nancy Mitford, D.E Stevenson, Angela Thirkell. As I say – I have a list!
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity stayed with me for ages when I first read it. The end is stunning. I must read it again.

Dear Miss Lake is the fourth installment in your Emmy Lake Chronicles and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Joyful, sad, brave, emotional and uplifting.

What can readers expect?

A novel about women coming together to help each other through some of the toughest times of the war, helping each other and also finding moments of joy and happiness whenever they can.

The novel is set in the last year of WW2 when Victory was in sight but it was a really tough time for Britain after five years of wartime conditions. Emmy Lake is an advice columnist at a women’s magazine and her job is to support the women of Britain and keep them going. She’s really good at it, but also had to try to deal with huge challenges in her personal life. It’s her friendships that keep her going and inspire her to never give up.

Where did the inspiration for Emmy Lake Chronicles come from?

It was complete luck! I found a 1939 copy of a British women’s magazine online and it absolutely captivated me from the moment I opened it! I have a huge collection of magazines now going all the way back to one from the 1770s. I know – unbelievable! But it was the way in which the problem pages in magazines helped women throughout the war that leapt out. There are so many stories to tell.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Having written four books about Emmy and her friends I’ve been lucky to get to spend thousands of hours with them all. I know them all so well that they almost write their own dialogue! In Dear Miss Lake I’ve loved exploring how Emmy has to cope with her own problems as in this book I’ve given her her biggest challenge yet.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I think there are always challenges because you just want to write the very best book you can, but this one was particularly emotional. I did a lot of research and reading about the men serving overseas and the women trying to keep everything going at home while not knowing if they would see them again. My novels have a lot of light in them, but I never shy away from the enormous loss that was experienced by so many people.

What’s next for you?

A completely new era! I’m researching a new standalone novel set later in twentieth century Britain. I can’t give too many details but I’m really excited about it.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

As ever I have been reading lots of books written in the mid-twentieth century, not least as I write a monthly Substack newsletter called Notes of Cheer by AJ Pearce which is always full of recommendations! I’m not going on holiday this summer so Mollie Panter-Downes’ One Fine Day set in the countryside in England in 1946 is a joy! In terms of recent novels, I’m really looking forward to reading Rachel Joyce’s new novel, The Homemade God which is set in Italy. That’s perfect for summer reading.

Will you be picking up Dear Miss Lake? Tell us in the comments below!