46: Hazel Gaynor (The Bird In The Bamboo Cage)

Charlie and Hazel Gaynor (The Bird In The Bamboo Cage) discuss the lives of the pupils and teachers of the Chefoo school for missionaries' children in China during the Japanese occupation, and the way being Brownie Guides helped to keep them going. We also discuss the beginnings of her career, and her collaborations with fellow historical fiction writer, Heather Webb. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-46-hazel-gaynor Heather Webb's site Question Index 00:55 Can you tell us about the story of your first publication and its bestseller status? 09:29 You have written about something not covered much - can you tell us about the story it's based on? 12:45 What was being done back home to help these people stuck under occupation? 14:33 A big theme is Brownies and Guides - why so central? 18:08 Can you talk us through the reasoning for the two narratives - Elspeth and Nancy? 23:43 Were you able to get stories from war generation to help with the book? 25:49 Can you tell us about the honeypot girls? 28:01 You look at the way these children are the children of missionaries and know nothing of China beyond the school - why was this important to explore? 30:14 If you had to choose one or two characters who were most important to the novel or what you were trying to say, who would you choose? 32:11 How is your book with Heather Webb - Three Words For Goodbye - doing? 33:52 How do you collaborate with Heather, in terms of the writing itself? Purchase Links The Bird In The Bamboo Cage/When We Were Young And Brave: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the author.