'Who is Amy Carpenter? ' a novel by Alan Graham
After 40 years writing about mathematics, finally, in 2024, I got around to writing my first novel. It's called 'Who is Amy Carpenter?' and it can now be bought on Amazon in paperback or Kindle. Click the Audio-player below to hear myself reading an extract.
00:00
/
00:00
There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
– W. Somerset Maugham
A good novel tells you the truth about its hero but a bad novel tells you the truth about its author.
– G K Chesterton
– G K Chesterton
A novel is not a historical document, but a way to travel through the human heart.
– Julia Alvarez
– Julia Alvarez
Interview
Sheila Graham, potter and writer, chats to her husband, Alan, about his newly-published book, ‘Who is Amy Carpenter?’
SHEILA: I know you’ve written lots of books while working for the Open University but this is very different, isn’t it?
ALAN: Yes, It’s my first novel. For many years I’ve spent most of my time writing teaching materials in mathematics and maths education. I’ve also written quite a few textbooks, including two in the Teach Yourself series, but writing fiction has been a bit of a departure, as you know!
SHEILA: I think you enjoyed writing it. Did you?
ALAN: Yes! With my previous writing I was always working to an agenda where the overall structure was given. But creating my own story was very liberating!
SHEILA: Can you describe it in one sentence?
ALAN: I’d say … a love story with lashings of French ‘ooh-la-la’ and adventure thrown in.
SHEILA: Yes, that’s how I’d describe it as well. Was it your love of France that was your starting point?
ALAN: Not really. One day, while working on creating a website, I had a sudden memory of a fleeting incident that had happened at work many years before but had never gone anywhere. I found myself wondering…well, what if it had? Just for fun, I wrote a couple of pages and on rereading them I was faced with yet more of these ‘what if’ questions. One thing led to another and 200 pages later I hope I’ve satisfactorily answered some of them.
SHEILA: Tell us a bit about the storyline.
ALAN: At the heart of the story is a shy secretary, Amy, who gets together with a mathematics lecturer—the narrator, Pete. They embark on solving a mystery connected to Amy’s past. Their investigation takes them to Normandy, in France.
SHEILA: And so does the reader get an answer to this question, Who is Amy Carpenter?
ALAN: Yes! The book is about Amy’s quest as she tries to chase down a mystery surrounding her childhood, her mother and her connections with Normandy. It could have been called ‘French Connection’ but it turned out this title had already been bagged!
SHEILA: And inevitably she discovers something about herself—her inner self.
ALAN: Yes. As the mystery unravels, it turns out that Amy Carpenter is a young woman with hidden talents and courage that she never knew she possessed.
SHEILA: And do Amy and Pete fall in love?
ALAN: Mais oui! We all love a love story!
SHEILA: Looking back, how do you feel now about the act of writing the book?
ALAN: The freedom to choose my own content was at times exhilarating but it also created certain problems. Occasionally I found myself going down a cul-de-sac and it took a bit of courage to decide to stop, go into reverse and choose a different path! Also, with my first draft I had a tendency to race on with the story—‘and then, and then …’! But with a little criticism … sorry, a little encouragement … from you, being an actress and a published writer of fiction yourself, I gradually learned to slow down and work more on developing the characters—‘who are these people and why might they behave as they do?’
SHEILA: Yes, to me the characters and the relationships they have are the plot—as in life. But finally on to the fun bit. How did you choose the cover of the book?
ALAN: Well, I was looking for a cover image that said ‘rural France’. I had my own photographs, of course but then I remembered putting this painting up on the Gallery page of the AMA website. It’s by Dee Luntley and is a painting called ‘French Window’. I just thought, that’s the one!
Who is Amy Carpenter? by Alan Graham is available in both Kindle and paperback formats through Amazon.
ALAN: Yes, It’s my first novel. For many years I’ve spent most of my time writing teaching materials in mathematics and maths education. I’ve also written quite a few textbooks, including two in the Teach Yourself series, but writing fiction has been a bit of a departure, as you know!
SHEILA: I think you enjoyed writing it. Did you?
ALAN: Yes! With my previous writing I was always working to an agenda where the overall structure was given. But creating my own story was very liberating!
SHEILA: Can you describe it in one sentence?
ALAN: I’d say … a love story with lashings of French ‘ooh-la-la’ and adventure thrown in.
SHEILA: Yes, that’s how I’d describe it as well. Was it your love of France that was your starting point?
ALAN: Not really. One day, while working on creating a website, I had a sudden memory of a fleeting incident that had happened at work many years before but had never gone anywhere. I found myself wondering…well, what if it had? Just for fun, I wrote a couple of pages and on rereading them I was faced with yet more of these ‘what if’ questions. One thing led to another and 200 pages later I hope I’ve satisfactorily answered some of them.
SHEILA: Tell us a bit about the storyline.
ALAN: At the heart of the story is a shy secretary, Amy, who gets together with a mathematics lecturer—the narrator, Pete. They embark on solving a mystery connected to Amy’s past. Their investigation takes them to Normandy, in France.
SHEILA: And so does the reader get an answer to this question, Who is Amy Carpenter?
ALAN: Yes! The book is about Amy’s quest as she tries to chase down a mystery surrounding her childhood, her mother and her connections with Normandy. It could have been called ‘French Connection’ but it turned out this title had already been bagged!
SHEILA: And inevitably she discovers something about herself—her inner self.
ALAN: Yes. As the mystery unravels, it turns out that Amy Carpenter is a young woman with hidden talents and courage that she never knew she possessed.
SHEILA: And do Amy and Pete fall in love?
ALAN: Mais oui! We all love a love story!
SHEILA: Looking back, how do you feel now about the act of writing the book?
ALAN: The freedom to choose my own content was at times exhilarating but it also created certain problems. Occasionally I found myself going down a cul-de-sac and it took a bit of courage to decide to stop, go into reverse and choose a different path! Also, with my first draft I had a tendency to race on with the story—‘and then, and then …’! But with a little criticism … sorry, a little encouragement … from you, being an actress and a published writer of fiction yourself, I gradually learned to slow down and work more on developing the characters—‘who are these people and why might they behave as they do?’
SHEILA: Yes, to me the characters and the relationships they have are the plot—as in life. But finally on to the fun bit. How did you choose the cover of the book?
ALAN: Well, I was looking for a cover image that said ‘rural France’. I had my own photographs, of course but then I remembered putting this painting up on the Gallery page of the AMA website. It’s by Dee Luntley and is a painting called ‘French Window’. I just thought, that’s the one!
Who is Amy Carpenter? by Alan Graham is available in both Kindle and paperback formats through Amazon.
