In this episode, Andrew interviews celebrated author Paullina Simons about her latest novel, Light at Lavelle. It tells the story Finn Evans, a Bostonian banker who at the end of the 1920s finds his life unexpectedly swirling into the orbit of Isabelle Lazar, a young Ukrainian farmer. Light at Lavelle takes readers on a journey over the breadth of its five hundred plus pages of romance fiction through stories of war, unspeakable hardships, and the unexpected unions that arise during these difficult times.
In the following interview, Paullina talks about her own emotional journey of bringing her characters stories to life, especially as she is the first person to get to know them and hear their stories. Paullina also talks about the emotional connection that her readers have built up with her over the years since her worldwide best seller debut Tully and her bestselling novel The Bronze Horseman. She also talks about bringing herself into the world of her novels, amongst many other fascinating topics.
Light at Lavelle is published in Australia through Pan Macmillan, who provided a copy of the book for the purpose of this interview. Light at Lavelle releases in Australia on 31 October 2023 and is available online and in all good bookstores.