Angela Petch 
Books in my Handbag is delighted to welcome the inspirational Angela Petch to the Chat Room
‘I’m inquisitive about different cultures and people. Writers are usually nosy, I think.’
Angela Petch was born in Germany, brought up in Italy and England, worked in Amsterdam, Sicily and Tanzania, East Africa. It is no wonder that she is ‘inquisitive about people and culture’. We can also thank Angela’s late father for introducing her to Italy, and I feel certain that he would have been proud of her writing. Her colourful life is reflected in her colourful writing pallet. Angela is sensitive, funny and creative: the perfect qualities for a writer
Angela has published ‘Tuscan Roots
Always full of joie de vivre, Angela insisted that we open a bottle of Prosecco before we commenced the chat. The sun was shining and butterflies dancing in the Italian garden as we commenced the conversation.
I adore ‘Now and Then in Tuscany
The saga of three generations of a Tuscan family which recalls recent hardships and traditions of country life, too easily forgotten in today’s affluent and comfortable Europe.
Absolutely, these elements were beautifully presented in the novel. Now here’s another challenge, read me an extract that captures the essence of your book.
“The ancient wheel beside the convent door stood waiting … like the mouth of a hungry beast, ready for me to place the baby in its wooden drum and push it to the inside of the orphanage.”
You paint the experiences and emotions with words and tell a heart-breaking yet beautiful story. What do the reviewers say about your 5* novel? Angela searched through the Amazon reviews while I ate crostini.
This is no disappointment! What-happened-next books are so often disappointing. After the enchanting ‘Tuscan Roots
Reviewer: Perdisma on 13 May 2017
Fascinating people and places. It reminds me in many ways (though it’s much less relentlessly tragic!) of “The Tree of Wooden Clogs”, the prize-winning film by Ermanno Olmi – it has the same intensely imagined and exquisitely detailed recreation of a lost way of life. The photographs are part of this too – at first sight they’re just grainy little black and white images, but each one explains and is explained by the text, so that the more you read the more alive they seem, like Facebook pages from a hundred years ago.
Reviewer: Rose on Amazon 11 May 2017
Beautifully written and researched. This is a beautifully written and researched family saga that spans three generations of an Italian family. Giuseppe comes from a poor village in Tuscany where the rhythm of life is set by the Catholic Church and the menfolk’s annual winter pilgrimage to warmer winter grazing land for the sheep… The book is full of a subtle yearning. The prose is evocative. The historical narrative is impressively authentic and riven with the author’s love of her subject.
By CA reviews on 7 May 2017
I am not surprised that you have received such accolades that all are all genuinely inspired by your storytelling. The book has been a labour of love so how did you feel when you had finished the book?
I felt a mixture of relief and sadness when I had finished writing the book. This book took me five years to research and write. At times, it was an agonising process. I struggled with the balance between history and narrative, fearing that my desire to include details about the era was pushing the plot out of shape. At first, I listened to the reactions of too many Beta readers and grew despondent and confused. But I wanted desperately to give birth to “Now and Then in Tuscany”, as I felt it was a period of history that needed to be recorded. I had help from a professional editor in the end.
It is so reassuring to hear that such a great book is the result of a challenging journey. Do you miss the characters?
I still miss my main character, Giuseppe. He is so firmly placed in the location where we live in Tuscany that I’m sure I catch glimpses of him every now and again as he strides along the mule track.
Two weeks ago, we ate in the old stone house that I had imagined was his. I’m sure he was sitting in a corner by the stove, listening to our conversation and smiling wryly at the way we enjoyed the meal so much: our friend had recreated a peasant’s meal of nettle soup and frittata prepared with the tips of Vitalba (Old Man’s Beard). We enjoyed it as if it were a delicacy. But he would have eaten these ingredients out of necessity.
Would you like any of your characters to read the book, or maybe there is someone else that you have in mind?
My father, Kenneth Sutor, who died twenty six years ago. He introduced his three young children to Italian culture in the 1960’s, when he relocated to Rome to work for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. I still have his 1956 edition of Hachette’s World Guide to Italy that he carried in his pocket for our excursions. Every Sunday he would take us to Mass and afterwards treat the family to a slap-up meal in a simple trattoria. Then, out would come his little blue book and we would be guided round the Villa d’Este or the Via Appia Antica, Colosseum, Subiaco, Assisi…He refused to have us penned up in an apartment in the centre of Rome and found us a ramshackle villa on the outskirts of Rome. The garden was stuffed with Roman statues, orange trees and bordered by vineyards and peach groves. How could I, as an impressionable seven year old, fail to fall in love with Italy? He was self-educated. Today he would have enjoyed a university education but his family were not wealthy enough to support him. I remember him often engrossed in a history book, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose.
I know you can’t say, but I wonder if I can sense your father in Giuseppe… I am sure that your father would have been so proud of your book.
I would have loved to see him read my books. Undoubtedly, he would have pointed out the warts but I think he might have been proud of me too. He loved Italy and, on my mother’s request, I scattered his ashes on Italian soil.
I don’t need to be convinced but why should I keep your book in my handbag?
If you are the type of person who recognises that understanding the past helps towards an understanding of the future…
If you want to explore a beautiful and little-known corner of Eastern Tuscany…
If you want to read the story of a young boy with a big heart who overcomes adversity…
If you want to weep and smile at Tuscan love stories…
Then, find a space in your handbag for “Now and Then in Tuscany”.
What is the last sentence written in your writer’s notebook? Angela poured herself another glass of Prosecco and wiped the condensation from the glass. There was a distinct look of mischief in Angela’s eyes as she read the following line:
“…a fluttering of fans from menopausal worshippers, in a church smelling of candle wax and cold, cold stone…”
(For an idea for my WIP, “The Adventures of Mavis and Dot”).
What is the biggest challenge for an independent author?
Getting noticed. To be read in a competitive world where thousands of self-published authors are jostling for space. Engaging with social media has been my biggest challenge but it is the springboard. For a child of the ‘50’s, it doesn’t come easy. I was advised to set up a Twitter account. “Look for like-minded people,” was the advice from a writer friend. So, I typed “Lovers of Italian” in the search bar. I shall leave it to your imagination about the photos of gigolos and semi-naked escorts that popped up. Learning curve is the phrase that is constantly on the tip of my independent author’s tongue.
What is the best advice that you have received as a writer?
Just write. Get it down, capture your words before they fly away.
Afterwards you will have to check and chop, but just write first. In order to have something to work on, just write. I don’t believe in writer’s block.
I agree with you! Just let the writing flow and banish writer’s block. Does the countryside inspire you to write more than the city environment?
I like cities in small doses – for the theatre, concerts, art galleries, museums and monuments – but my heart sings in the countryside. I have played tennis all my life but at the moment I need a shoulder operation, so I can’t. Instead, I go for wonderful walks in the mountains. Better than a sweaty gym, any day.
Following the interview, I meandered down an ancient track. I reflected that we are all influenced by the past and the present. And I pondered whether anyone would make a wonderful art house film of Now and Then in Tuscany – the setting is there waiting to be captured on film.
Please see My Guests for all the authors that I have interviewed.
Author, lawyer and adventurer, Jenn Bregman, stopped off in Wales whilst visiting the UK. She stayed in the Brecon Beacons Mountain Range, so I drove out there, from Cardiff, to meet up with her. The year before, Jenn had just completed a reverse summit of the Grand Canyon, after having trekked up the 14,265 foot Quandary Peak in Colorado; she was on a roll to tackle even more hiking. We agreed to walk the summit of Pen y Fan and to chat at the same time. I packed a picnic so that we could stop on route to chat.
Publishers Weekly: “Bregman’s legal thriller featuring a plucky solo practitioner fighting for the little guy should appeal to John Grisham fans.”
Jessie: Can you read me a brief extract from the book that captures the essence of the novel?
I love animals to a fault, if there is such a thing. I have nurtured lizards, newts, turtles, cats, rescue animals of every persuasion growing up, but then had two rescue pug dogs that I still consider my first set of twins.
Instantly, she retrieved a copy of her novel from her large blue handbag. 
Carol’s fun manner is infectious. It was clear that the women on the neighbouring table were straining to catch a glance of the new novel. Carol left the book peeking out of her blue bag, and it was impossible to miss the tempting front cover. One of the ladies searched for the book on her phone. 
Carol: My characters have become very special to me, even the less likeable ones, so I did miss them when I stopped writing. There are six main characters in 
Lisa Mary London
It was a crisp winter’s morning in upmarket Highgate, North London, as I waited to meet Lisa and Baby-Girl, the world’s first four-legged reality TV star. Word must have hit social media about Baby-Girl’s imminent arrival, as a crowd of eager paw-tograph hunters had gathered – 
Lisa and I escaped the crowd and headed to Highgate’s boutique shops for some retail therapy. Lisa explained that as a celebrity dog, Baby-Girl never walks anywhere. When a human isn’t carrying her, she travels in Gloria’s chauffeur driven pink limo, otherwise known as The Poochmobile. 
Jessie: Who would you like to read your book and why? This could be another friend, someone famous, a friend or member of your family.
Lisa Mary London went from Chief Reporter on a sleepy Cotswold newspaper to become Celebrity Producer on some of Britain’s best-loved TV shows. Her TV credits include An Audience with Ken Dodd, A BAFTA Tribute to Julie Walters, The British Comedy Awards and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! She’s worked with stars from Sir Billy Connolly to Ant and Dec, and her debut novel 
Lottie Phillips 
The intense summer sun sent us inside the cottage. We drank a beautiful blend of coffee, as we savoured the freshly baked cakes. Eating the cakes delayed our conversation a little. The plump dried fruit enhanced the sweetness of the pastry and the oozing custard was divine. Lottie walked around the holiday cottage and admired each detail. The space, in the tiny holiday cottage, had been designed thoughtfully to create a sense of home.
