It’s an absolute pleasure to help begin the blog tour for War in the Valleys by Francesca Capaldi today. My enormous thanks to Sarah Hardy at Books on the Bright Side publicity for inviting me to participate in the celebrations. I’m delighted to welcome Francesca to Linda’s Book Bag to stay in with me today.

Staying in with Francesca Capaldi

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Francesca. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. 

Hi there Linda. Thanks for inviting me over on this chilly evening. I’m glad to see you’ve got a good fire burning.

We need a warm fire in November! Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening.

I’ve brought along my latest book, War in the Valleys, the second in my Valleys series, published today, November 25^th.

Happy publication day Francesca. How exciting! So, what can we expect from an evening in with War in the Valleys?

A bit of a rollercoaster ride with emotional lows and heartfelt highs along with some argy-bargy between the characters. Also a bit of shouting, on the reader’s side, at the more despicable personalities, or at least, some fervent tuts and head shakes!

Oo. I love a book  that makes me get involved with the characters. What inspired you to create War in the Valleys?

The idea grew from the first book, Heartbreak in the Valleys, which itself was inspired by a Welsh great grandfather’s World War 1 record. It’s set in a mining village in the Rhymney Valley, based on the one in which my mother and grandmother were born – Abertysswg. In fact, my great gran, Mary Jones, has a cameo role in the novels, as she would have been there, as a young mother of four, in 1916. I’m not sure what Gran would have made of appearing in a novel, but it would certainly have been useful having her around now. The research has given me a good insight into what it was like for my ancestors, but nothing beats first-hand experience.

What a lovely way to remember your great gran. I bet she’d be thrilled to be included. 

What else have you brought this evening and why?

For a start, some Welsh cakes and tea for us to enjoy. Gran liked her cups of tea, as do my characters. The teapot should be brown and covered with one of Gran’s favoured knitted cosies, but sadly I have neither. Instead, I’ve brought my mum’s 1960’s Elijah Cotton Staffordshire ware (and my snazzy teapot!), along with a 1930s cake stand of my dad’s.

That’s wonderful. But keep your voice down. My husband is Welsh and if he finds we have Welsh cakes we won’t get a look in! Do Welsh cakes feature in War in the Valleys?

Poor Violet, in War in the Valleys, would have been glad of a whole, undamaged tea set, and to be able to purchase the ingredients for Welsh cakes (or bakestones, as she calls them). My mum used to make Welsh cakes when I was a child, and I’ve carried on the tradition.

I’ve brought Cerys Matthew’s CD, Tir, so we can play Sosban Fach, which my mother used to sing to me as a child. I’m sure a lot of the songs on the album would have been heard at concerts by my characters.

That’s a song I’ve heard many times Francesca. Lovely isn’t it? But what’s that you’re holding?

I’ve also brought a photograph to prop up on the mantelpiece, taken by my father in 1973, of Abertysswg, looking more like it would have done in 1916 than it does today. You can see the Workmen’s Institute and the public house, the McLaren Arms (the McKenzie Arms in the novel), along with the Ainon Baptist Chapel, now all sadly demolished.

I think photographs can inspire both memories and writing Francesca. Abertysswg is not a million miles from where my husband was brought up so when we’ve eaten most of the Welsh cakes I’ll call him in and he can take a look too. Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about War in the Valleys. I’ve really enjoyed it.

Thank you for having me round for an evening in, Linda. It’s been good to chat.

It has. Now, you pour some tea and I’ll give readers a few more details about War in the Valleys:

War in the Valleys