18 May 2016

Author Q&A Session #77: With Sally Christie



Good day my lovely bookish peeps!

Are you having an awesome day? Yes!? Okay that sounds great! I'm also having a great time I got the opportunity to interview so many lovely and talented authors.

It's time for yet another author Q&A session and in this session, I introduce y'all with the fascinating author, Sally Christie, who is here to talk about her historical fiction series, The Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy.

So let's not waste any more minutes and let's get down with this author to know more about her lovely books, her life as an author and other non-bookish stuffs.

Keep scrolling peeps!


Read the review of The Sisters of Versailles


Me: Hello and welcome to my blog, Sally. Congratulations on your new book, The Sisters of Versailles. How will you express your feelings about this  book that has already won the hearts of so many readers?

Sally:
I love the book! It may sound obvious – of course I like it, I wrote it! – but I was so excited when I started writing and research, and just loved bringing the sisters to life and exploring their world.


Me: How did you research for your book that is set during the 18th century featuring the lives of the five Nesle sisters? Can you tell us briefly about it?

Sally:
Luckily, Google Books has a plan to put all books out of copyright online and for free. So almost 100% of the original source materials have been scanned and area available online – tons of obscure 18th century memoires and contemporary accounts. As there is not much written directly about the Nesle sisters, I really had to get the setting right in order to effectively build scenes around anecdotes.

Researching the second book, The Rivals of Versailles, was a very different experience – the Marquise de Pompadour is very well known and there were a lot more secondary sources and biographies available.


Me: Did you travel extensively for the purpose of research, as you have diligently captured Versailles with your words and especially in that era?

Sally:
I made two dedicated research trips that were vital for getting the sensory details right. I spent a lot of time in Paris and of course Versailles, and was able to do a behind the scenes tour of Versailles – you can see some pictures on my website www.sallychristieauthor.com.


Me: Tell us one trait about your main characters, Hortense, Louise, Pauline, Marie Anne and Diane, that intrigues you the most.

Sally:
Hortense – she really did refuse the king. Not many women (or none?) ever did that! Pauline – her unstoppable confidence. Marie Anne – her intelligence. Louise – the comfort she found at the end of her life in the arms of God. Diane – her joie de vivre and happiness.


Me: How will you describe your journey so far as an author?
Sally:
it’s been an interesting ride! From actually finishing a project (I’ve started so many books over the years but never had the dedicated space and time to finish one); to getting an agent, to getting a 3-book deal with Simon&Schuster, it’s been a heady experience. Of course it’s not all fun and games: it’s a very competitive marketplace out there, and writing can be a lonely and frustrating job, but I wouldn’t change this experience for the world.


Me: Was it always your one true dream to be an author?

Sally:
I think it was more of a presumption than anything else! From a young age I’ve always experienced the world around me via stories, and was writing since before I can remember. If you’d told me when I was 12 that I wouldn’t be a writer, I wouldn’t have believed you – it was just what I was.


Me: What other passions do you have apart from writing?

Sally:
History in general, especially historical research, reading original documents or reading about obscure lives and I love old buildings and old architecture. Tennis is another passion, and being outdoors in nature.




Me: What's next up on your writing sleeves? Please tell us briefly about it.

Sally:
It’s been a very intense few years working on this trilogy – 3 books in 3 years – and I’m not sure what my next project will be. Something in a similar vein, I hope.











Me: Thanks Sally for joining me today on this interview session. I wish you luck for all your future endeavors.

Sally:
Thanks so much Aditi! I really enjoyed your questions.
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Sally's Bio:


I’m a life-long history buff and I really wish time travel were a possibility—I’d be off to the eighteenth century in a flash!

Since I can’t travel back in time (yet), I have done plenty of global travel: as a child I lived in England, Canada, Argentina, and Lesotho, and attended eight schools in three languages. I continued my global wanderings with a career in international development, but now I’m settled in Toronto and loving it.

The Sisters of Versailles is my first novel, though I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil. When I’m not writing I’m reading, reading, reading; disappearing down various rabbit holes of historical research, and playing lots of tennis.







Connect with Sally on: WebsiteFacebookPinterest


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