It's holiday season and all the big book releases from home and around the world are appearing on bookshelves now to bring you the very best of choice for your holiday reading. I've been thinking about what makes a great summer read and it really does go hand-in-hand with all the beats that make the most popular sort of fiction, because it's when most people are reaching for books to take away with them or to have some downtime with.
Without doubt we all want to be entertained. That's the primary goal of any quality piece of fiction. And being entertained doesn't necessarily mean laughing out loud … it means being trapped in the story and finding it so hard to put down because all your senses are engaged and enjoying the world of the novel that you've been toppled into.
As well, we all tend to search for pure escapism at holiday-time because our moods are generally higher. We probably don't want to be reading about what we see on the news daily from domestic violence to another act of terrorism somewhere. When we're relaxing with our families at beaches, parks, in the garden, or simply slothing at home we want to escape the humdrum of our work and daily lifestyle. And so when we read a book we want to be transported to another place, another time perhaps, even another world. We don't mind suspense or tension, and we devour drama but we want it to be someone else's and not too close to home that we recognise our own lives or those of people we know. It's about losing oneself to fictitious people's hurdles and dilemmas and we love to travel to the future or back in time … we love to travel to places far away and we especially enjoy getting immersed in a subject that is intriguing yet perhaps far removed from our own experience.
I keep all this strong in my mind when I'm writing my historical novels that are released each year at this time. When I look back at the range, I have crafted stories around chocolate, tea, lavender, bridalwear, perfume, pearls, Champagne, diamonds and - most recently - spying. Their appeal is universal but also uplifting because it's not every day that you learn about the history of diamonds or Champagne … how tea is made or chocolate bars came about. And when this background is woven deftly into the tapestry of a big story then you close that book with a smile feeling somehow enriched for new knowledge that seeped in during your escape with the characters.
Characters, of course, are the most important aspect of any story and they need to be engaging and compelling. As a writer I'm constantly aware of ensuring that my cast – especially the main players – are irresistible and that the reader is always in the situation of needing to know what happens next. That means keeping the main characters in motion because when they're on the move and making decisions, the reader is helplessly turning pages and feeling absorbed by the drama unfolding. And when the reader is in that state, even if it's tense, they're feeling entertained and relaxed in their escapism.
