Guest Post: Creating characters – a snapshot of literary life being formed by Julia Stagg

Today as part of this feature week I'm delighted to welcome back to the blog Julia Stagg, author of the Fogas Chronicles, the latest of which A Fête to Remember is published as a paperback on 3rd July.  Julia has very kindly written an interesting piece for us about creating characters so enjoy...

Anyone who’s read any of the Fogas Chronicles will know my books are filled with characters and I’m often asked how they come to life. The answer isn’t a simple one. Because for me, the process of giving birth to a new fictional entity seems to be different every time.

Take for example, Fabian Servat, who arrives in book two of the Fogas Chronicles (The Parisian’s Return). He was actually conceived two years before he made it onto the page. In fact, he was the catalyst that triggered the series. Out riding my bike on a beautifully sunny day in the Pyrenees where I lived at the time, I passed a field that contained a sturdy, cantankerous Limousin bull. Struck by the attitude of the beast, I remember thinking that I wouldn’t want to confront him, especially wearing a flimsy armour of lycra. And there, before my eyes, Fabian was born. I could see him in the field, a gangling, awkward man, thin frame dressed in cycling kit as he flapped his hands ineffectively at the angry bovine that was getting ready to charge.

Books Read: Julia Stagg - The French Postmistress

When her post office burns down, postmistress Veronique starts lobbying for its replacement. But her fellow residents of the small commune of Fogas in the French Pyrenees are too preoccupied to rally to her cause.

Mayor Serge Papon, overwhelmed by grief at the death of his wife, has lost his joie de vivre and all taste for village politics (and croissants) and it seems as though deputy mayor Christian (whose for Veronique makes him her usual champion) will soon be saying  to the mountain community. And to Sarko the bull.

Add to this a controversial government initiative to reintroduce bears to the area and soon the inhabitants are at loggerheads, threatening the progress of the sacred  and the very existence of Fogas itself.In yet another tale with more ups and downs than a Pyrenean horizon, things are about to get grizzly.

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Author Interview: Julia Stagg

Today I'm joined on the blog by author Julia Stagg to talk about her latest book The French Postmistress which has just been published.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book?
The French Postmistress is the third book in the Fogas Chronicles and continues the story of the small community in the French Pyrenees. This time the focus is on Véronique Estaque as she fights to get the post office reopened and her job back. She’s also trying to come to terms with her unrequited love for one of her neighbours. Throw the volatile topic of the reintroduction of bears to the area into the mix and this is a tale of passions running high and a community being torn apart. 

The French Postmistress is the 3rd  book of the Fogas Chronicles, can it be read as a standalone or is it preferable to read the other 2 first?  
As with L’Auberge and The Parisian’s Return, this can be read alone. But to get the full Fogas experience, try the other two first!