I’d like to introduce my long-distance blogging friend and fellow writer, Evelyne Holingue, and congratulate her on the publication of her new novel, All the Mountains We Can Climb.
Evelyne’s early life followed a predictable path. Born and raised in a small town in Normandy, France, she moved to Paris, got married, started a career. Then in 1990, the unexpected. Her husband decided he wanted to start a new career in the USA. Eventually his work took the family from the West Coast to the East Coast, from California to Massachusetts and Maine. And everywhere they went, Evelyne honed her writing skills and published her work.
Having followed Evelyne’s blog for several years now, I can say that her love and appreciation for both the United States and France comes through in everything she writes. And even though we’ve never met in person, I’m sure that if we ever did, I would find Evelyne every bit as open-hearted and intelligent as she is in her writing.
But now let’s hear from Evelyne about her new Young Adult novel, All the Mountains We Can Climb.
Every story begins somewhere: an image, an idea, an incident, a dream. Can you tell us what the spark was that led you to write this story?
First of all, I want to thank you, Nicki for inviting me on your blog. Then, I want to say that I feel the same way about you and hope to meet in person some day.
Although my novel is the product of my imagination, the seeds were planted as I drove my children to school. Witnessing too many crosses, makeshift memorials to honor loved ones killed on a gorgeous yet treacherous road I took twice a day triggered the idea of a story about tragedy, grief and healing, and above all forgiveness.
Half Dome, Yosemite
All the Mountains We Can Climb is set in California’s Sierra Foothills and Yosemite National Park. How did you become familiar with that area?
In the early 2000s my husband and I purchased a home that we intended to keep as a vacation home. Quickly we decided that we wanted to live in the Sierra Foothills. Our children were still young and we would be able to have the pets we kept promising them. We would also enjoy the proximity of Yosemite National Park, which soon became a favorite for bike rides, trail hikes, skiing, and just easy walks through nature. The park is very busy from Memorial Day to Labor Day but belongs to the locals in between. I have hiked a lot in Yosemite and always wanted to include a hike in one of my novels.
Could you tell us a little about your main character, Noelle?
Noelle is a musician, who plays the alto saxophone. Since middle school she has planned to study music in college. Her mind was not yet set on a specific school until she survives the car crash that kills her father and sister when she’s a high school junior. Noelle hides from everyone, including her mother and her two best friends, what happened a few seconds before the accident. In return, she obeys her mother’s rules, established in the wake of the tragedy. At the height of grief and guilt Noelle believes that applying to the college she visited with her father on the East Coast is her way to honor his memory. She must, however, break the promise she made to her mother to stay in California. The novel is built around this pivotal decision.
Did you introduce any French characters and elements into the story?
I cannot write without weaving French elements through my stories. There are several French characters in All the Mountains We can Climb. Noelle’s father and his twin sister who’s Noelle’s beloved Aunt Adrianna are the children of French-born parents who moved from France to Boston before they were born and returned to France when the same children started college. They died when Noelle was a toddler. Later on, Aunt Adrianna married a French man, a chef who runs a few restaurants in the area and also divorced his French wife now back to Paris with their teenage sons. The two boys will unexpectedly arrive in town, right after Noelle’s graduation, taking her last summer before college to a different direction.
Who reads Young Adult Novels? In 2014, you published Chronicles from Château Moines, a middle-grade novel. What draws you to writing for children and young adults?
Teenagers and adults read YA novels. I suspect that adults buy more YA than teens do, in fact. When I was running schools’ book fairs I met mothers who loved YA literature even more than their own kids did. The readership we call New Adults reads a lot of YA literature too.
I read a lot and you can find a mix of Picture Books, Middle Grade, YA and also women fiction in my home. I discovered YA literature through my own children and was instantly drawn to the genre. Mostly because I find adolescence to be an extraordinary period of our lives but also because I vividly remember how I felt when I was a teenager. However, YA literature is a very competitive market, and I regularly consider turning to women’s fiction. In addition, I also write for much younger children and I have great hopes for one of my manuscripts. I’m not at liberty to say more for now, though. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Thank you, Evelyne. I wish you every success with this book and for that unnamed manuscript too.
https://www.amazon.com/All-Mountains-We-Can-Climb/dp/0988390523/
Lovely interview! This is on my TBR list. Congrats again, Evelyne!
Thank you so much, Jennifer. Congrats to you, too, on your novel being featured on Teen Vogue. So cool and well deserved.
I’m glad you stopped by, Jennifer. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Nicki for inviting me on your blog. It is an honor to find myself featured on one the most thoughtful and interesting blogs I read and also to get a chance to be introduced to your readers. Your introduction is so kind I blush 🙂
Thank you again.
Much success and congrats on your latest book! YA holds a special place for me as that’s when I discovered reading. I remember fondly making a beeline for that section! I love the positivity, the lack of violence and “adult” stuff, but real issues are still very much tackled. Good luck.
When I was growing up, I just read books. If there was a category called YA, I didn’t know about it. Of course, Little Women was YA, and I read that. I wonder how they chose and arranged the books in jr. high and high school libraries in those days.
Oh, so very many crosses and flower memorials on the California highways. I’d never seen such a thing on the East Coast. I can see how that would inspire a writer.
Driving on hilly, curving roads feels safe when you’re used to it. At least you don’t have as much traffic to contend with as on the big freeways. It’s easy to become overconfident, and teens don’t always have the control they think they do. I lost my favorite cousin when we were in high school. He was mowed down by a logging truck.
The number of memorials along California roads gave me the idea for sure. The book, however, is really about what follows and haunts Noelle, the main character. How do you move on after tragedy when you are the only survivor and didn’t tell anyone of the last seconds before the crash? That’s her challenge. Thank you for your comment, autumnashbough.
Sounds very interesting!
I agree. Evelyne has set up an interesting and realistic problem for the young woman.
Thank you for introducing us to Evelyne, Nicki. Her books sound fantastic! I always enjoy reading YA.I’ll certainly want to read this one. What a great cover, too!
Thank you, Jill, for stopping by. I think this is a book you’d enjoy reading. A story about a young woman with a tragedy in her past and difficult decisions in her future has all the ingredients of a good read.
Thank you, Jill. If you read the book and enjoyed the story and believe it can talk to young adults, do not hesitate to add your feedback, either on Amazon or Goodreads. It’s always much appreciated by authors.
So lovely to meet you, Evelyne! I’ve loved YA and MG books since I was a kid. Congratulations on the publication of your young adult novel! It sounds very compelling. What a great cover! I’m hoping for your success.
Thank you for introducing us to Evelyne, Nicki!
I hope this brief interview gave you a general idea of the book. I think it’s well worth reading, especially for anyone who likes YA fiction.
Thank you, L. Marie for your kind words. I also think that the cover designer did a good job.