Q&A: Linda Wilgus, Author of ‘The Sea Child’

We chat with debut author Linda Wilgus about The Sea Child, which sees a band of seafaring smugglers lands on the Cornish coast, where a young widow with a mysterious past becomes entangled in their schemes—and with their charismatic captain.

Hi, Linda! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi all! I was born and raised in the Netherlands in a house full of books and lived in Italy, Belgium and the US before settling near Cambridge in the UK with my husband, our three kids and our dog. As a kid I always dreamed of time travelling and writing books and I feel super lucky that writing historical fiction I get do both! I graduated from the University of Amsterdam and have worked as a bookseller and knitting pattern designer before deciding to go for it and write my first short story, which eventually led to writing novels.

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

As a kid my parents took me and my brothers to the library every week and I would always check out the maximum of books allowed, which at our local library back then was only three fiction books. I loved getting lost in the different worlds of stories and was always making up stories in my head but I didn’t start writing them down until I was a little older, at around eleven or twelve. I remember a creative writing exercise we did at school where you were supposed to write about two pages worth. I sat scribbling in the school hallways for hours writing a portal fantasy time travel tale. I think it ran to thirteen pages. I feel bad for my teacher who had to decipher my handwriting!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: ‘Wipneus en Pim’, Dutch children’s book from the 1940s about gnomes. I love folklore, always have!
• The one that made you want to become an author: Another Dutch children’s classic – Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman. One of the best time travel stories I’ve read.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: For Whom The Bell Tolls. Still my favourite novel, the romance is so wonderfully subtle and as with all Hemingway, so thoroughly tragic. More recently The Women by Kristin Hannah.

Your debut novel, The Sea Child, is out January 20^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Magical, atmospheric, adventurous, deeply romantic.

What can readers expect?

A story full of romance and adventure with a hint of magic set in the backdrop of the rugged Cornish coast of the early 1800s. The Sea Child is the story of Isabel, a young widow with a mysterious, magic-tinged past, who becomes entangled in the schemes of a group of seafaring smugglers—and with their enigmatic captain. Readers can join Isabel on her journey as she tries to find her place in the world, fights against the constraints Regency society placed on women and tries not to cause more scandal—with plenty of swashbuckling along the way!

Where did the inspiration for The Sea Child come from?

My family and I love visiting Cornwall and during one of our stays on the Helford River, where the book is set, I was completely inspired by the landscape. Taking long hikes on the coastal path, I could picture Isabel walking beside me and hearing the sea call to her, as well as the smugglers of old unload their contraband in the coves under cover of the new moon. The rugged, dramatic quality of the Cornish landscape is very magical and makes it easy to believe there may just be some truth in the old legends. When we got home from the trip I began writing The Sea Child.

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

I loved writing the interactions between Isabel and Jack. They come at smuggling from two such different sides and I loved exploring the tension between them as they were so obviously drawn to each other. I also loved writing Lieutenant Sowerby who is such a slimy character and Mrs Dowling, who ends up helping Isabel settle into her life without servants and who becomes almost like a mother figure to her.

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

The sheer amount of research that goes into a historical fiction novel can take a lot of time but it is also one of the most fun parts of writing for me. Besides that, writing the novel around our busy family – there are five us and a dog – proved a bit of a challenge. Normally I would take longer to write a novel but with The Sea Child after we got back from Cornwall, I had a lot of the story in my head and wanted to write it all down as quickly as I could. Happily my family was extremely accommodating as I withdrew to my little writing spot and spend days, evenings and weekends getting it all down on paper or rather onto the laptop.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

I started writing seriously, taking time to write almost every day about ten years ago. First I wrote mainly short fiction, some of which was published in literary magazines, which helped me practise writing and gain confidence. From there I moved to writing novels but for me there was a steep learning curve between the two. I wrote three novels that were not quite there yet before I wrote The Sea Child.

What’s next for you?

I’m currently editing my second novel which will be published in Spring 2027. It’s also set in Cornwall but a bit later, in the early Victorian era and it shares some of the same elements with The Sea Child, with a strong female main character, magical realism and romance.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

I’m very excited for Meg Shaffer’s The Book Witch, Penny Haw’s The Woman and Her Stars about Caroline Herschel and Lucy Waverley’s Noble Beasts, which is in part set in one of my favourite places, the Scottish Highlands.

Will you be picking up The Sea Child? Tell us in the comments below!