Author Interview: Harper Ford

Thank you, Harper, for stopping by!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your latest book(s). 

I’m Harper Ford and I write romcoms, but I’m also Rebecca Mascull who writes historical litfic AND I’m also Mollie Walton who writes saga fiction! So, I have a variety of writing personalities! My latest book, which is my thirteenth novel for publication, is my romcom Hot Not Bothered, all about Heidi and her friends trying to get through the madness of menopause. It’s out September 26^th.

What feeling does writing light-hearted rom coms with older protagonists evoke for you? Especially as you began as a historical fiction author.

I love writing in both styles, of contemporary comedies and historical stories. They keep my brain agile! I started off only wanting to write historical fiction, as I loved living in the past in my head, and I adored the fascinating details of everyday lives in, for example, Victorian times, such as corsets and carriages. I wondered if I could ever write about everyday stuff like Tescos and dishwashers, if they’d hold the same interest. Then, in lockdown, I started posting a lot of comedy stuff on my private Facebook page and got such a great response, I wondered if I could have a go at funny modern books too, and that’s where Divorced Not Dead came from, my first Harper Ford story. I wanted to show that women in their fifties actually have sex lives, which you’d never know from the average media representations for women my age. The same goes for the topic of menopause, which is woefully misunderstood by so many. That’s what Hot Not Bothered was written to address, as well as hopefully making you laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole business!

It may be too difficult to choose, but do you have a favorite novel you have written? (Here, we can link to your titles via your website) Or perhaps a novel that you are most proud of? And what are the reasons for your selection?

It’s kind of like choosing your favourite child! You feel like the others will be mad about it if you choose one! However, I do have some that stand out from the fourteen I’ve written and that’s the first of each author name: The Visitors by Rebecca Mascull was my first published novel and that was a huge moment in my life, after years of dedication trying to break through. The Daughters of Ironbridge was my first foray into saga fiction and I’m tremendously fond of that story for introducing Mollie Walton to the world, bless her. And lastly, Divorced Not Dead by Harper Ford was my first contemporary romantic comedy, and that was a huge boost for me, as I never thought I’d be able to write in such a different genre and I was thrilled that I could and that it got into all three top supermarkets!

Do you feel commercial fiction authors are facing particular challenges these days whether it be tied to politics, world issues, technology, or the environment?

My view is that all published authors these days are facing huge issues in terms of low remuneration for what they do. Most non-writers are amazed when they find how little authors earn from the sale of each book. It’s at an all-time low. If we’re not careful, the whole industry will end up with only the rich or already famous being able to afford the time to write novels. As readers, we can do what we can to help this by paying the full cover price of books when we can and also not expecting books for free. If money is an issue for a reader, there are these wonderful things called libraries, and authors still get a small fee every time a book is taken out, so it all helps. Also book pirate websites that give away authors’ books for free are by and large doing that without permission: it’s basically robbery. So again as readers we can avoid these and ensure we pay a decent price or use our libraries so that writers get a chance at a fair wage. It’s simply wrong that a book can be sold for less than a cup of coffee, when months if not years of work has gone into each book. Okay, rant over!

As an aging lover of this lighthearted good feel fiction genre myself, could you be a little open with the label “HenLit”? After all, we are older. Smarter. And still fun.

All my Harper Ford books are based around women in their fifties and the unique pleasures and pains of this decade of our lives. Divorced Not Dead sought to show that many women my age still choose to have active sex lives, something you rarely see represented in the media, while Hot Not Bothered wanted to highlight the woeful ignorance of society, including some in the medical profession, about the complex topic of menopause. I want to show that being in your fifties can be – and has been for me – the best decade of your life, where you know yourself better, what you will and won’t put up with, and, as well as all the responsibilities, time to set yourself free a bit and have some well-earnt fun. Why the hell not?!

In your latest book coming out this year Hot Not Bothered, who would you cast if it became a movie or series?

Ooh, I like this question. I’d say Heidi and her love triangle of Luke and Nate would be perfectly served by Jude Law as the forever-young rock star Nate, Jason Isaacs as the gentle guitarist Luke, while sexy and fabulous Gillian Anderson would be marvellous as Heidi. Can you imagine how hot those pairings would be??!! Bring it on!

Any advice you’d like to give to aspiring writers today?

The main thing I believe all aspiring writers need is perseverance. I’m not being negative when I say the publishing business is very hard indeed for writers; instead, I’m being realistic. It’s hard to get an agent, hard to get a publisher and even harder to make enough money from writing novels to pay for the time it takes to write them. Any writer is likely to get a long list of rejections throughout their career – you’re only ever as appealing as your last book, and even with bestsellers behind them, most writers have huge ups and downs in their careers. So, you have to go into it with your eyes wide open. For me, it’s a compulsion I cannot and do not want to ever give up, but there are days when the whole business side of it gets me down. At those moments, I have to remind myself that there’s nothing else in the world I’d rather do for a living, and that keeps me going. Perseverance, patience, self-belief, humility, reading in many genres across many time periods, not taking yourself too seriously and remembering writing is a business as well as an art. Those would be my main pieces of advice for any aspiring writers out there. Oh and make friends with other writers, as many as you can: they’re not rivals, as readers reading their book is not going to make them not read your book; there are plenty of readers to go around for everyone! And writer buddies keep you going when the business gets you down. They’re essential!

For your loyal fans, is there anything in the pipeline you can tell us about?

I’ve just finished my latest Mollie Walton saga novel, The Shopgirl of Ironbridge, set in a department store in 1890s Shropshire, quite a dark tale of love and obsession…That one will be out next March. Plus I’m working right now on two new books, a new Harper Ford and a secret historical project which will be revealed soon..!

Do you think there’ll ever be a day when you’ll want to stop writing stories and why?

NEVER!! I couldn’t stop writing if I tried. I think in stories. It’s just the way my brain works. My physical health is not great as I have a condition called MCAS, which makes life a bit difficult. But as long as my mental faculties are still firing on all cylinders, I can’t imagine ever wanting to stop writing books. So, I’m sticking around in this mad business for a while longer, I hope. 😊

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