If you want to be a writer, it helps if you are also a reader. Reading not only gives you an idea of the types of stories that others are writing, but it also helps to give authors a rhythm, approach, and structure to their writing. Author Cenarth Fox is a reading-centric writer. As a result, reading has led him to write his historical fiction novel, A Plum Job. Find out more about his book, his writing process, and love of reading.
About the author and book
Author name: Cenarth Fox
Author links
Book title: A Plum Job
Genres: Historical Fiction, Literary Thriller
A Plum Job book summary
In 1939, Germany’s military might smashes through Europe leaving the Allies trapped at Dunkirk with the Nazis in Gay Paree.
Louise Wellesley is a gorgeous and aristocratic young Englishwoman desperate to become an actress, but her upbringing demands she attend finishing school, the Buckingham Palace debutante ball and remain at home until the right chap comes along.Such young ladies do not cavort semi-naked upon the wicked stage, but war brings change and when you’re in a foreign country and living by your wits while facing arrest, torture and death from the French police, Resistance, Gestapo and a double-agent, you bloody well better remember your lines, act out of your skin and never ever bump into the furniture. Oh, and it helps if your new best friend is Edith Piaf.
Book excerpt
One of the soldiers held up his hand and the car slowed then stopped. The General wound down his window. The soldier looked in, saw the uniform and Iron Cross and immediately saluted. Juliette pushed the Luger into her companion’s ribs. It was his cue to chat.
‘I am General Fashingbauer. This is my niece. I am driving her to the station for her journey to Marseilles.’
The soldier was aware of the power of the man.
‘I beg the General’s pardon but I have strict orders to check the papers of all females.’
In fluent German, Juliette joined in. ‘But surely the niece of this outstanding officer is beyond reproach. Please, I will miss my train.’
Oh the agony of decision making. If the soldier let a wanted woman pass, his life would not be worth living. If he failed to believe a General, his next posting could be to Oblivion. The soldier decided.
‘I am sorry, Herr General, but I insist on seeing your niece’s papers.’
Fashingbauer and the Luger became even more intimate. He lost his cool. ‘Listen you little shit, I am a highly decorated Wehrmacht General and I’m ordering you to let us through.’
The soldier hesitated then raised his rifle pointing it straight at the General. Poor Wolfgang now had two firearms aimed at him. Well only one actually. Juliette raised the Luger and fired hitting the soldier’s shoulder. He screamed and fell.
‘Drive!’ screamed Juliette.
The car took off and the second soldier dived to avoid being hit. The car smashed through the barrier. The second sentry scrambled to his feet and fired. Fashingbauer didn’t need any encouragement to accelerate.
Juliette’s heart and the car were both racing. She’d shot two Nazis and kidnapped another and all before breakfast.
Review excerpts
“I found the book fascinating, weaving fact into an intriguing web of fiction.” – Gene Swinstead
”The scenes are exquisitely set and the characters fully fledged. For the fan of historical fiction, A Plum Job is required reading.” – Scott Skipper
“A Plum Job is about passion and perseverance, about missed opportunities and great losses. Against the backdrop of a fresh world war and suspicion on both sides it is more than just a tale of a wannabe actress. The fictional tale Fox has woven through historical events is captivating and filled with drama and excitement, it’s even a little bit heartbreaking to be honest.” – Amy Brownlee
“I found the light and shade worked very well. Reading about Plum was a pleasure but I kept laying the book aside after the Nazi episodes for a day or so of recovery. It is a book so intelligently put together.” – Trevor Blum
Talking Shop
What do you want readers to take away from your books?
Pleasure and an increased desire to read more.
Name a fact or detail about your story that readers will never know is there.
A radio mast in Poland is called the Silesian Eiffel Tower and is where WW2 began.
What’s the best review/compliment that you’ve received about your book?
“She’s a natural. Louise Wellesley, aka Plum, is beautiful, brilliant and the Renaissance woman in pre-war England. Her native-born acting ability lures her to the stage to the horror of her straight-laced father, but her determination triumphs, and she draws the attention of an agent—in fact a secret agent. With war looming, Louise assumes the role of Juliette Beauchamp at the Folies Bergère in Paris while waiting for the password that will activate her role for the Secret Intelligence Service. When the Nazis invade Paris, two cousins, one a Wehrmacht tank commander and the other a Gestapo officer, clash over the ravishing actress. One yearns to make love to her, and the other to kill her.
Cenarth Fox tells his story with prose that carries the reader along its fluid course—often with a wry dose of humor. A Plum Job is a tale of two lives, one the life of a cheeky English schoolgirl, the other a bold and independent young woman who bares her breasts on stage in Paris and outwits the Gestapo. The scenes are exquisitely set and the characters fully fledged. For the fan of historical fiction, A Plum Job is required reading.”
How long did it take to write your book from the day you got the idea to write it to the day you published it?
18 months, but this was my first completed full-length novel. Now I’ve written 15 and have got the time down to 3 months.
How long have you considered yourself a writer? Did you have any formal training, or is it something you learned as you went?
I’ve had no formal writing. I began writing as a teenager not planning to be a writer; it just happened. I wrote limericks for newsletters then songs. I got involved in theatre and then started writing plays and musicals. I had radio plays broadcast and started writing fiction.
If you don’t make a living exclusively writing, what is your day job? How, in any way, does it relate to your life as a writer?
I resigned from teaching in 1984 to write fulltime.
Do you have a writing ritual, odd habits, or superstitions?
Working from home with a separate office in the back garden means a short commute to work and a daily routine of walk the dog, have breakfast and then to work.
What skills have you acquired or information have you learned from writing?
I hope I’m always open to learn new skills. I’ve written a great deal about Sherlock Holmes – 2 plays, a musical, a set of 5 children’s books, a novel and an illustrated talk so I’ve learnt a bit of Arthur Conan Doyle, his famous creation and Victorian England.
Did you consult with any professionals or people who lived through a particular event to help you craft your story?
Always. Talking to people who’ve been involved in an event or have studied same is always beneficial. I’ve found most people are glad to give you the time and the benefit of their experiences.
Book 3 in the Plum series involves the Freedom Trails from France to Spain used in WW2. There are many people who still walk these trails today and are willing to give advice and information.
“What If” Scenarios
If you could have one person that you admire, living or dead, read your book, who would it be?
Rev. Dr. Donald Caskie (the Tartan Pimpernel) who features in A Plum Journey.
If you could be in a writer’s group with up to four famous writers, who would they be?
Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, Val McDermid and Ben Elton
Your favorite character that you’ve written comes to life for one day. What do you do together for 24 hours?
I sit and listen as Patrick Bronte (father of the scribbling sisters) tells me about his Irish childhood, his short-lived teaching career, his unsuccessful romantic adventures, his wonderful wife, his heartbreaking misery and if he would like a copy of my book about him, Cassocked Savage.
Your book becomes a best seller. What do you do next?
Double check my bank balance and then repay my wife for her many years of fabulous support.
Would you rather own your own bookstore or your own publishing house, and what would you sell or publish?
I would own a bookstore and only stock books created by indie authors.
You have the means to hire a full time assistant to help you with your writing. What tasks do you give them to do?
Research, research and research again.
You have final say over who reads the audio book version of your story. Who do you choose?
Stephen Fry. He, Patrick Bronte and Plum all went to Cambridge University.
Just for Fun
What legacy do you want to leave behind?
A love of reading.
A movie or a piece of music that changed your life.
The 1939 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Decades later it helped me create The Schoolboy Sherlock Holmes.
Favorite place you’ve visited/place you want to visit.
The Yorkshire village of Haworth, home of the Brontes.
Food you’d like to win a lifetime supply of.
Raw cashew nuts.
A talent you have and a talent you wish you had.
Writing comedy and orchestrating music.
When time travel is achieved, do you go forward or backward?
Back to Dickensian/Victorian England.
Buy it!
Buy a copy of A Plum Job here, and help support local bookstores! This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission on any sales.
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I love World War fictions; the more mystery and everyday life thrown into the upheaval the better! A Plum Job is a clever name and the characters sound entertaining. Thank you for sharing!
I love historical fiction.My favorite is about ww1 or ww2, then add mystery to it and I just have to read it. This book A Plum Job just fits the bill.
I’m very intrigued by this novel. I’m definitely going to have to look into it more. Loved that you summarized and reviewed the book as well as interviewing the author!
I would love to read the book as I have a large military library both actual and fiction and have alsoe written two books on the Boer War and WWI.
I would love to read the book as I have a large military library both actual and fiction and have alsoe written two books on the Boer War and WWI.
Congratulations Cenarth for another book to add to your collection.
Congratulations Cenarth for another book to add to your collection.
As a fellow writer of war books I congratulate you on your latest publication.
Sounds fantastic