Hello Lynn, great
to have you visit my Doubting Abbey blog! I hope you enjoyed the Downton Xmas special as much as I did - particularly the
ending with Mrs Hughes and
Carson in the waves! I'm wondering if we can e expect a Lady Chatterley- esque affair between Edith and the
farmer...!
Which character
out of the series would you love to take the credit for creating? I’d love to
have thought up those sharp put-downs given to the Dowager
Countess!
There's no denying
that the Dowager Countess has the best one-liners, and perhaps the sharpest
point of view. She's so quotable! How could anyone NOT love her? There's another
great character on the other side of the green baize door, though, who is richer
and more well drawn in my opinion: Daisy. As a kitchen maid, she has little
power and little chance for advancement. She's offered a chance to marry a
servant whose father has a little money and property, but doesn't jump at the
chance because she feels it's immoral. She considers long and hard before
deciding that the kindest thing to do it to give him his dying wish. When she
later falls in unrequited love with Alfred, she models the ideal of "if you love
something, let it go" and finds a way to wish him well when he chooses a future
that has nothing to do with her. For an innocent, uneducated girl of the time,
she shows great introspection and
wisdom.
Yes, it is wonderful watching Daisy mature, as the series progresses... So who is your favourite character out of your own novel, Christmas
at Thornton Hall?
Without a doubt,
it's Juliet, the protagonist. She's a young woman with a lot of strength and a
lot of skills. She's at a crossroads in her life. Characters facing forks in the
road, struggling with choices, are my favorites. She makes a lot of rookie
mistakes on her journey, and has to live with the consequences. She learns as
she navigates and effects change.
My debut novel
Doubting Abbey features a stately home, Applebridge Hall… Can you tell us a bit about your own
creation, Thornton Hall?
Thornton Hall exists
only in my head, but I can see every door, stair, and archway. The drive off of
the main road to the house is impossibly long as the family owns acres upon
acres of land. It's a stately home in the Cotswolds featuring the duality of
inherited English country houses: It's at once luxurious and crumbling. Stocked
with ancient rugs, heirloom silver, and antique furniture, it's walls are filled
with mice and the floorboards creak and complain from age. Money, however,
allows the family to kit it out with modern conveniences such as a top-shelf
Aga, specialty ice-makers, central heating, and a fleet of cars and trucks for
every occasion. There's a fireplace in nearly every room, and there's so much
fine wood, leather, and flagstone, that it could be mistaken for a gentleman's
smoking club. The land is populated with outbuildings, such as cottages for the
staff, a slightly less stately home for the family to branch out into, an apple
store, stables, and even an orangerie. I certainly wouldn't mind staying in one
of the bedrooms outfitted with ultra-high thread count sheets, or cuddling up to
read with a hot toddy in the library.
It sounds like the perfect destination for a weekend break!
Which male
character out of Downton attracts your romantic attention, and can you tell us a
bit about your novel’s hero?
My ego says Lord
Grantham, because like all women I fancy myself to be so special that I could
unmelt the heart of someone proper who wears his emotions close to his vest if
given half a chance. I think he's handsome, and alpha. You can't argue with that
as an attractive combination. My middle-class upbringing, however, launches me
toward Branson. His bravery in flouting convention, and the strength of his
ideals are as attractive to me as they were to Lady Sibyl. My novel has two
heroes, arguably. Our girl, Juliet, thinks with her body and her emotions more
often than she does with her head. One object of her curious desire is Jasper
Roth, a powerful American banker who knows his own mind and takes what he wants.
She delights in knowing that she is something he wants, but cannot snap his
fingers or pull out his wallet to acquire. The other magnet for her attention is
Edward, the Hall's head chef. Ex-military, he's a renegade with tattoos and his
own morality, but he knows the rules and how to navigate within their
parameters. He's a heady combo of the perfect soldier and servant and
outlier.
Funnily enough the hero in Doubting Abbey is also called Edward...!
Would you rather
live upstairs or downstairs?
While I think it's
more interesting downstairs because the folk there don't have to worry as much
about societal constructs. However, as I answer these questions, I'm just really
tired. Lots of holiday cooking, cleaning, driving, and unpacking has left me
depleted. So, today I would most decidedly like to be upstairs. I want someone
to bring me tea, lay out my dinner, and dust the corners of my house. Even if it
means I have to put on a ball gown the minute I step out of
bed.
Who do you root
for most - Edith or Mary?
Edith! Poor girl.
She's the Jan Brady or the Fredo Corleone of the Crawley family. The horrors
Mary has visited upon her, thwarting her chances at happiness with men, incense
me. Mary already has high status. She doesn't need to lower Edith's. I like that
she began as so meek and unsure, and it now beginning to see that she deserves
her slice of the pie, even if it comes at the cost of other peoples'
comfort.
Who would you
prefer to employ as your personal chef - Mrs Patmore or
Daisy?
I can't see breaking
them up. I'd pay whatever it would take to keep them as a
team.
Julian Fellowes is also an actor – are you creative in any
other way, apart from
writing?
Yes, I'm a
performer.I left college with a double major in theatre and English. I did an
apprenticeship at The Williamstown Theater Festival and had a chance to work
with Austin Pendleton, Frank Langella, Ed Begley, Jr., James Whitmore, and other
greats. I co-founded an all-femail sketch comedy group that performed at
Caroline's and headlined at the Austin, TX Big Stinkin' Comedy Festival. I did
stand-up for years, and hosted shows at Don't Tell Mama and Rose's Turn.
Currently, I'm the artistic director of ComedySportz New York, an improv company
that does both training and performance. On the home front, I cook and bake, and
am happy to have had the opportunity to co-write and write
cookbooks.
That sounds really interesting, Lynn Marie! Thanks so much
for joining me and best of luck with your
book!
Thank you for having
me, Sam! I'm so excited that Rom Com and Chick Lit is making a comeback with new
presses, new authors, and new books like Doubting
Abbey.
Lynn Marie lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Find out more here.
Why not buy Christmas at Thornton Hall, published by digital-first Harper Impulse, here.
"At 28, Juliet Hill
is finally ready to be a grown-up. Her New Year's plan of leaving behind a
career as chef to the rich and famous in order and go back for her Ph. D in
psychology is sure to satisfy both her ultra-logical psychiatrist mom and her
buttoned-up lawyer boyfriend. She'll be on the right road to stability right
after one last Christmas stint in private service at Thornton Hall, arguably one
of the grandest estates in the swanky Cotswolds region of England (think The
Hamptons, but with thatched roofs).
Unfortunately, true
to her nature, she can't convince her brain to override her heart when sticky
situations arise involving lies, paternity, a one-night stand and poison
mushrooms! Is a sane and predictable life in the cards for our passionate pastry
prepper? Can this creative girl toe the line, leaving her secret spice blends
and unpredictable men behind? On the road to womanhood, sometimes decisions are
made for us, and other times we have to cook up our own destiny. Join Juliet's
journey as she straddles the line between romance and reason."
