We are so thrilled to chat with Jacquelyn Middleton, author of London Belongs to Me. Here, Jacquelyn shares a few facts about herself and reveals five authors that have inspired her writing!
My mum. She always encouraged me to write. When I switched career paths from broadcasting to writing, she was not only supportive, but she was also my biggest fan. Every time I showed her a freelance article, she would say ‘you really should write a book.’ She passed away in 2010 and my greatest regret is that I didn’t do it while she was alive. There are little things—names, places—in the book that were included as a tribute to her. My mum meant the world to me, and I wanted a way that she could live on in my story.
My phone for jotting down ideas, and a crooked pile of books—some to be read, some favorites—that I like to keep close by.
I only started to attend comic cons in 2014. I’m a late con-convert, but I’ve more than made up for it.
- Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White. Not only is Charlotte’s Web my favorite novel from childhood, but it’s also the most beautiful story about friendship that I’ve ever read. Friendship is a major theme in London Belongs to Me, and I wanted Alex Sinclair to discover—just like Wilbur did in Charlotte’s Web—just how valuable and life-changing friends can be. Even now, the last paragraph of Charlotte’s Web never fails to make me cry.
- 84 Charing Cross Road, and The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff. Have you ever wanted to visit somewhere so badly that it made your heart ache? In Helene Hanff’s memoirs, I found a kindred spirit who shared my longing for London. This same desire spurs on Alex Sinclair, the protagonist in my novel. Read Helene’s books and watch the movie—actress Anne Bancroft playing Hanff? Perfection.
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Too often being a fan gets a bad wrap. People think of screaming girls, stalkers and sunlight-deprived nerds who live in their parents’ basement, but many fans don’t fit into any of these stereotypes. Fangirl was one of the first novels I read that celebrated fandoms and geekiness. The characters in London Belongs to Me don’t apologize for their fandoms either, and hopefully they will inspire readers to fly their fangirl/geek flag with pride, too.
- My Love Affair with England: A Traveler’s Memoir by Susan Allen Toth. Before I visited Britain for the first time, I would read this memoir and feel like I was walking in Susan Allen Toth’s shoes. Her descriptions, her reactions … her love for England and all its quirks, beauty and history, made me realize that I wasn’t the only one destined to get all giddy at the sight of a red phone box. My visits to London now number in the double digits, but my heart still skips a beat when I see a phone box, black taxi, or Big Ben.
- Stephen Beresford. If I hadn’t interviewed writer Stephen Beresford, London Belongs to Me might still be the book that I hoped to write some day. He has this wonderful ‘just do it’ attitude that made me sit up and listen. The first play he wrote, The Last of the Haussmans, was picked up unsolicited by London’s National Theatre. His first screenplay, Pride, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture, and won a BAFTA. If that’s not inspiration to stop procrastinating, and jump in with both feet, I don’t know what is!
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