Eva Jordan is the author of three novels, 183 Times A Year (2016), All The Colours In Between (2017), and Time Will Tell (2019), all are published by Urbane Publications. She also writes short stories and is a columnist and book reviewer for her local lifestyle magazine The Fens.
Eva, how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?
E: Hi Anne, thanks so much for inviting me to your lovely cocktail lounge. I’d love a glass of Prosecco please; otherwise I’ll have a gin and tonic. Especially if it’s with one of those lovely fruity spice infused tonic waters.
Anything is possible here. So where did we first meet in real life?
E: I’m pretty sure it was at an Urbane drinks party in November 2016 at the Phoenix Arts Club. Then again at a couple more Urbane events, including the book launch of Simon Michael’s Corrupted in London in June 2018. I’ve got a fab couple of photos of you and I, and lovely fellow Urbane author Jo Ely from that day.
What were your first impressions?
E: That you were small, like me, that you had a lovely welcoming smile. You were also very bubbly and chatty, which was great for a newbie writer like me as you (and a few others) really helped put me at ease in what essentially was a roomful of complete strangers.
Any points in common?
E: We are both writers, are both published by Urbane, are both petite (sounds better than small!) and we both like to talk.
True on all counts. Tell me about your latest book?
E: I recently celebrated the first birthday of my third book, Time Will Tell, which, set in both the present day and 1960s London, is a story about family and the bonds that tie us together. It’s also a story of love and loss, retribution and redemption, but above all else, it is a story of hope. It can be read as a standalone but it is also the final chapter in a trilogy of stories regarding this rather madcap family, following on from my previous two novels, 183 Times A Year and All The Colours In Between.
What are you working on now?
E: Hmm… writing wise things have been a bit difficult of late. Unfortunately my daughter is chronically ill and has been for a number of years, which means she relies heavily on me for help. Recent months, however, have been particularly hard, especially with all the restrictions imposed on healthcare by the lockdown, which in turn of course has meant delayed treatment and appointments, and of course, a lack of outside help from friends and family, thus impacting on my time and ability to write. Any spare moments I have managed to steal have seen me exhausted, uninspired, and literally unable to write (partly because of worry). Having said that though, when I did stop writing earlier this year, I was actually part way through two stories; one, a love story spanning four decades, beset by deceit and tragedy and which currently stands at thirty thousand words, and the other, which has a slight supernatural feel about it, and currently stands at twenty thousand words. So it’s not all bad, and as lockdown continues to ease, it’s my dearest hope that gradually I’ll get back to writing again, picking up where I left off.
I hope you will. In the meantime what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?
E: Ah – now there’s a question. I actually count myself lucky enough to have met and worked with some fabulous writers over the last five years or so. But if I could have done, it would have been wonderful to meet and do a Q&A with Andrea Levy. Sadly Andrea passed away last year, but I love the way she wrote, and Small Island is definitely one of my favourite books. I’d also love to meet Anna McPartlin because I love the way she weaves humour into her family based dramas, even during the really sad bits. I’d also like to meet Susie Lynes (I think we almost did once!) who is currently one of my favourite psychological thriller writers. I’m sure, locked in a room together, I could really learn a lot from these two fabulous authors.
What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?
E: Hugging everyone again. I am an extremely tactile person, especially with friends and family, and there’s something very intimate, very healing about a hug – don’t you think? And not being allowed to hug the ones we love has to me, at times, almost felt inhuman.
Hugging is on my list as well! Is there anything lockdown has made you think about/want to do?
E: Honestly? To help people more, especially those struggling with health issues. The lack of proper help for my daughter has meant I’ve had to do a lot of my own research, which in turn has led me to alternative and complementary therapies, like homeopathy. That doesn’t mean I’ve stopped believing in traditional medicine, but I do think it can be beneficial to practice a combination of both. I’m therefore seriously thinking about studying and practicing homeopathy. Whether I actually follow that through, and if I do, whether I continue to write alongside it, remains to be seen. So… like the title of my third book I guess… ‘Time Will Tell!’
E: Thank you so much for a fabulous Q&A session, Anne. Now… fancy another drink!
I do and it’s been a pleasure to see you here and I hope life gets better for your daughter as lockdown eases and the NHS catches up with itself.
You can find out more about Eva Jordan and her books here and follow her on Twitter: @evajordanwriter