Launch: Debbie Wastling’s The Soundtrack of Their Lives

INTERVIEW BY MALLY BECKER

Debbie Wastling hails from Yorkshire, UK, and writes British historical novels although she lives in Los Angeles. A prolific writer of plays, musicals and music since high school, she writes grants for arts education.

How would you describe your story and its themes in a couple of sentences?

What happens to a young couple when the flush of love fades? The year is 1925 when flappers and jazz abound. The Yorkshire people, who lived in Hull, struggled through the Depression into the World War II years, and this family saga tells of two suffragist sisters and Amos Bell’s relationships with both (and his mistress!). Popular music of the period swings along with each chapter.

What drove you to write The Soundtrack of Their Lives?

The first book in my series, The Flying Scotsman Sings, became longer and longer as I delved into the history of the famous train and my grandfather, who drove it as his occupation for almost 40 years. The Soundtrack of Their Lives became the next part of their story.

Your characters are based on your family members. How did you bring them to life on the page? Did you veer from the historical records in writing them?

I only met two of the people in this story, so it is a fictionalized tale of how they lived from the 1920s through to 1949. I knew my Aunt Bunty, who features strongly in The Soundtrack of Their Lives. She was an incredible baker, took my mother into her home when she was in her teens, and taught her how to be a fine seamstress.

The dates the characters moved into their new homes and got married are accurate. Their children were born on the dates stated, as verified by birth and marriage certificates and home sale records. The train crash in the book also happened, but we do not know if Amos Bell helped with that event, as no records exist from the LNER train employees that I could find. But he became the leader of the clean-up crew due to his war records.

What was the most surprising thing you discovered in researching The Soundtrack of Their Lives?

That women got the vote in the USA before England! USA was 1920, and UK was 1928 (some women could vote in 1918, but the majority of women did not have the vote until 1928). I also found out that my grandmother was a suffragist from local newspapers and that she was part of the less militant group seeking the vote. They used peaceful campaigns to change the law and allow women to acquire voting rights.

What made you dedicate your book to, “…those men and women who worked for the Flying Scotsman”?

My first book in the series, The Flying Scotsman Sings, was the story of Amos Bell and his romance with an opera singer. I dedicated that book to my cousin, who began its research. By the second book, Soundtrack, I had ridden on a Flying Scotsman train, which is still around and is brought out for day trips around the country. During this trip, I saw a huge team of dedicated people who are needed to get a steam train working and out on time. And in 2023 they were all volunteers!

Your novel comes with its own soundtrack! You connect a song of the times to each chapter. Why was that important to you?

I have been a musician since I was seven. The wartime music helped my story stay authentic, with each chapter named after a song that was popular. Songs such as “The Best Things in Life are Free” or “Need A Little Sugar in Your Bowl,” set the mood and time period for the reader. This music can be heard on my audible track, too. Younger readers may not know these classic songs from 1919 to 1949, but for those who remember some of the songs, I hope it will set the mood for authentic historical reading.

What were the biggest challenges in covering almost thirty years of your characters’ lives in a single book?

I wrote one book and it turned into three. And even hardy historical readers find more than 90,000 words to be a long book. So I edited them down. Historical writers must develop copious editing skills before their editor sees the long draft, and they must find the inciting turning points within their novels to keep readers’ interest.

My characters were also real people in my mother’s family who did extraordinary things (as many people do every day). I had to learn the skill of balancing their stories with events that might have occurred. The wartime writing is true history. My home city Hull had more bombs dropped on it than London, due to being on the flight path back to Germany.

How has your professional background in theater influenced your writing?

Listening to actors pronounce words incorrectly, especially words written by Shakespeare and Noel Coward, makes you attuned to dialogue written by playwrights. I also taught classics at the Stella Adler Academy, where I worked with students from non-English speaking countries. That allowed me to learn that, even if you do not speak English, the strength of the story brings people into the playwright’s or author’s world. So theatre has influenced my storytelling ability and my ability to write interesting dialogue. Plus Dickens was a huge influence. I am one of those people who has read every one of his books. That was a writing education in itself.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you started writing historical fiction?

Some reader somewhere in the world will know more than you about the historical events you are writing about – so dig and dig deeper and do your research. I love that part of the process, but it takes months.

What’s the last great book you read?

Jennifer Coburn’s Cradles of the Third Reich, a shocking historical tale.

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