Thank you to Harry for letting me use his likeness for Rose’s cat Taylor – I’ll give you extra treats, I promise.
Thank you to my family and friends for all your support and for not laughing at me when I said I was giving up my job to try to be an author – in my presence anyway.
Special thanks, and lots of love, to my mum for encouraging me to follow my dream and supporting me all the way.
And finally, thanks to everyone who is reading this book. If you can dream it, you can do it!
An Exclusive Q & A with Victoria Walters
The Second Love of My Life is your heart-warming and touching debut novel. What inspired you to write Rose’s story?
Rose, as a character, came to me pretty fully formed – I knew from the start she had lost someone special. I was curious about what might happen after losing someone you love so young and so suddenly. Dealing with grief is something we all have to face at some point and I’ve read a lot of romances that end with the death of the love interest, so I thought it would be interesting to begin with it instead.
Rose is a passionate painter and eventually works through her emotions in her art. What hobbies are you passionate about?
For me, books have always been a special part of my life as art has been for Rose. Reading and writing are my favourite hobbies, and the things I am most passionate about. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have turned my hobby into my career, which is how Rose feels about her art.
What is your favourite writing spot?
I have tried to write in public but I just can’t do it! I like writing at home, either at the dining-room table or curled up in an armchair under a blanket in winter. I always have to have music playing when I write and often I have my cat Harry curled up with me keeping an eye on what I’m writing.
The novel is set in a picturesque fictitious town in Cornwall, called Talting. Why did you choose to set your novel in Cornwall?
I wanted to create a small, quirky town and was inspired by the town in the TV show Gilmore Girls. I thought the stunning scenery of Cornwall would make a perfect setting for the town. I wanted to make it very difficult for Rose to want to live anywhere else.
What was the most difficult part about writing your novel? And what did you enjoy the most?
It was tricky writing from Rose’s perspective when she’s so lost in grief. I wanted people to connect with her so I think getting the beginning of the book right was the hardest part. I needed glimpses of Rose to come through so readers would root for her. The part I enjoyed the most was creating Talting and all the characters in the town – it was fun creating a special place for Rose to live and I’d quite happily live there too!
In the novel, Rose not only finds love but she also finds herself again. Why was this important to you?
I seem to naturally write stories that way. I enjoy reading coming-of-age stories and I think that has fed into my own writing. I like seeing a character blossom and learn to love themself alongside falling in love with someone. I didn’t want the story to be about Robert ‘saving’ Rose – they save each other. They have to each find out what they want from life before they can be together.
You have also written the digital short story prequel, The Summer I Met You. What else do we learn about the characters of Talting?
The short story is set before the novel and its main focus is on how Emma and John met and fell in love, two of my favourite characters in the novel. We do see Rose though, and Lucas too, and I think we gain more perspective on their relationship and the friendship between the four of them. In a way, it was sad writing it and knowing what happens next but everyone will hopefully understand even more about how and why Lucas’s death affected all the characters as much as it did.
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