Author interview with Tanya Landman | Oxford Education

TL;DR

A full-time writer shares her inspiration for writing Lightning Strike, a historical fiction novel, during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by anger and a desire to address social disparities.

Transcript

i started writing when i had my two children and my husband was away performing for long periods of time um so i was left at home with these these two small boys and that was when i started writing and it was really i think because i suddenly found that i had time to really daydream because small children although they take up quite a lot of practi... Read More

Key Insights

• 💀 The COVID-19 pandemic and social disparities fueled the author's anger and inspired her to write Lightning Strike, depicting the wealth gap reminiscent of Victorian England.
• 🤽 The author discovered the inspiring story of the match girls through her son's school play and felt a strong desire to tell their story.
• 👻 Historical fiction allows the author to combine her fascination with history and her belief that understanding the past is crucial in understanding the present.
• 😡 The protagonist, Eliza, represents a young woman's rage and frustration against societal limitations and the empowerment she discovers through her own voice and actions.
• 📶 Eliza's character resonated deeply with the author, who found herself drawn to her strength and passion.
• 🤞 The author believes that young people have the power to create change, just as Eliza does in the book, and they give her hope for a better future.
• 🥺 The book emphasizes the importance of individual and collective empowerment, with the message that small actions can lead to significant change.

Questions & Answers

Q: What inspired the author to start writing?

The author began writing when she had free time while taking care of her children and being inspired by history. She found solace in daydreaming and writing down her ideas during her children's sleep.

Q: What led the author to write Lightning Strike?

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with the glaring social disparities it highlighted, fueled the author's anger and frustration. This anger reminded her of Victorian England and the immense wealth gap between the rich and the poor, which served as the inspiration for her book.

Q: How did the author come up with the idea for Lightning Strike?

After watching her son perform in a school play about the match girls, the author became captivated by their story. Upon further research, she discovered that most of the match girls were teenagers, which motivated her to tell their story through her book.

Q: How did the author choose the specific locations for the book?

While the author usually fictionalizes real locations and place names in historical fiction, she decided to use the real names and places in Lightning Strike. The East End of London and the areas of Bethnal Green and Whitechapel were particularly resonant and important for the story's setting.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The author began writing when she had free time while taking care of her children and being inspired by history.

• The COVID-19 pandemic fueled her anger and frustration, leading her to write Lightning Strike and explore the social disparities reminiscent of Victorian England.

• The story of the match girls, discovered through her son's school play, served as the inspiration behind the book.