Author of Tomorrow Lucy Holland

Army of Shadows by Lucy Holland (19) is shortlisted for the 2020 16-21 category.

While going to school during the Occupation in 1940s France, a young girl must complete a task for the Resistance.

An Interview with Lucy:

What is your favourite book?

My favourite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. It’s such a cliché choice, especially for an English student, but I love it very much. It’s a book that changes for me every time I read it, as I am able to identify with Jane at different points in her life. I know that I will be coming back to it for a long time.

Who is your favourite author? Or one who has inspired you and why?

This is a difficult but exciting question. I’m not sure if I can settle on one! I find Elizabeth Strout’s writing incredibly moving; her prose feels simple but contains so much more. I cried reading My Name is Lucy Barton. I am also really inspired by Daisy Johnson and Julia Armfield, two young female authors writing about worlds that are strange and sinister, yet are still very similar to our own.

What was your favourite subject at school? 

English. I couldn’t and still can’t do anything involving numbers. 

What does ‘adventure writing’ mean to you? Why did you choose to try your hand at an adventure story?

I think ‘adventure’ stories are the ones that I would hope to take me to a new place, or period in history. I wanted to try and write one because I find it very difficult to write something with a clear plot, or with the pace that adventure writing demands. I hoped it would be a challenge, and it definitely was!

If you could ask an author anything, what would you want to know?

Ooh! The answer to the above – how do they approach pacing and plot? 

Who would you consider one of your heroes and why?

Greta Gerwig, the writer and director of films Lady Bird and Little Women. Those films are very precious to me. I could also listen to her talk in interviews forever – she is so compelling with the way she talks about writing, movies, and how she sees the world. 

What is the most adventurous thing you would like to do, or place you would like to visit and why?

I would love to do the Inca Trail in Peru – that’s always been a dream of mine. Exploring Bolivia, Argentina and Columbia too would be so exciting, and a chance to practise my very rusty Spanish. A distant reality currently with the pandemic…

Where do you find inspiration for your stories? 

Everyday conversations and events find their way into what I write the most. I often don’t know that I’m interested in something until a story comes out of it. If I’m reading a book that I’m enjoying at the time, this will also definitely be a source of inspiration!

If you could time travel, where would you go and why? 

Ancient Greece, for sure. Not many rights for women, but I think it would be a lot of fun and it would be so cool to see a tragedy play.

What three words would you use to describe your story?

Ahh – I don’t really know! I guess historical, tense, emotional.