My Parthian Books stablemate Debz Hobbs-Wyatt talks about her debut novel While No One Was Watching, a taut thriller set against the backdrop of the killing of JFK…
Please introduce yourself and While No One Was Watching
Hi I’m Debz and I work as a professional editor and critiquer as well as a small publisher, to pay my way but my real job is an author.
I gave up my day job five years ago to live the dream and have since had close to 20 short stories published, was shortlisted in the Commonwealth Short Story Prize last year and won the Bath Short Story Award last year too! And to add to a year of lovely successes that you never think will happen to you, Parthian Books published my debut novel While No One Was Watching.
The premise of the novel is what happens when you turn your back and is about a little girl who disappeared from the grassy knoll at the exact moment Kennedy was assassinated and is still missing 50 years on.
So why a novel set against the backdrop of the Kennedy assassination?
Well why not? No actually, she says — waving the banner for the short story — I really learned my craft writing short stories and this idea came during that phase and started life as a short story.
I liked the idea of a psychic holding a child’s silver locket and saying to a reporter that it belonged to a little girl who disappeared the day Kennedy was shot and is still missing. And I loved the idea of taking an iconic moment in history and looking at what happened at the same time; something overshadowed and yet for one young mother, a moment that changed everything.
It’s a moment in time so many remember, even though I wasn’t born, but it’s a significant historical moment and one I know continues to fascinate. Although it is a catalyst for the story and is very significant — the story is actually set now and has many layers.
How did you plan and research the book?
I never overplan with a first draft as I like the magical things that happen when you don’t, but I did a lot of reading for this, as you might imagine. While the Kennedy assassination is significant and needs to be represented accurately, at the same time I would never overload with facts. It adds authenticity though so you need to research.
The short story was a good blueprint to work from when adapting into the novel. I used the same characters, same voices but got to know them a lot better!
What is the most surprising thing you discovered along the way?
That sometimes you think it’s you creating a character when really they’re writing themselves. Lydia Collins my African-American psychic just talked to me and showed me her story! Being a writer is a creative licence to give in to the inner voices!
If you could have done one thing differently, what would that be?
I wish I knew what to say! I always felt the original ending wasn’t filmic enough and I talked to my lovely editor Cerys about this as she said the same. I was really happy with the final reworked ending, so would I have done anything different? I don’t think I would.
What do you hope your reader will take away from the book?
I hope they will see an old story from a new angle. I hope they learn something new, not necessarily about Kennedy but about being human, about love, loss and how everything can change in a single moment.
Follow Debz on Facebook and on Twitter or visit her blog. And buy her book from Amazon here!
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