Do you believe in a previous life lived?
Ellie is living the dream – a high flying career in London and a luxurious apartment overlooking the Thames as part of a hedonistic lifestyle. So why does a tumbledown, haunted-looking cottage in the bleak wilderness of the North Yorkshire Moors bewitch her? Why does she feel compelled to buy it?
Her life is about to change: a new lifestyle, new friends, the secrets they keep, and the nightmares that haunt her. What can it all mean?
Gradually, Ellie is drawn into a magical world like nothing she had experienced before – with mysterious, spellbinding and dangerous results.
Early reviews of DREAM DIE REPEAT have been fantastic and all 5*. So if you are looking for a gripping witchy tale that you can’t put down then go off and buy Jules Langton’s book.
Available to buy from Amazon
This time I would like to introduce you to Jules Langton who became a published author this year. DREAM DIE REPEAT is her debut novel and I don’t think I will be spoiling anything if I say that it won’t be her last! Here’s an insight into her writing life.
When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?
As a child I was a voracious reader, as soon as I could read, I was hooked. I was always making up stories, role playing, and telling bedtime stories to my younger sister, I even started my own series! I loved writing letters to pen friends overseas, and writing down song lyrics, so writing and storytelling was in my blood from an early age.
I had an inspirational teacher Mr Wilson, between the age of 9-11, and he pushed the literary boundaries, we were reading Of Mice and Men, Cider with Rosie, Lord of the Flies, and Ray Bradbury science fiction at a young age. It was always in the back of my mind that I would like to write a book one day, and having the opportunity to do an Open University Creative Writing course in 2019 was a game changer … then came the pandemic and my imagination ran riot, the story getting darker as lockdown was extended.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your book?
I submitted a short piece for the creative writing course. We were given a picture of a woman on a bus, she was wearing a red jumper and on her knee was a Pekinese with a red jumper and bow. I decided to take her off the bus, she was a newbie witch and had changed her best friend into a dog, but she couldn’t change her back. She was going to the next town to find the local wise woman who could help, this gave me the idea of writing about Witches.
Since then, I have read books published over 400 years ago about witchcraft, and have been on road trips to Pendle, Lancaster Castle, and Haworth, for some witchy and gothic vibes. I am obsessed with the Bronte’s and have recently also read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I have been visiting the magical town of Whitby and the North Yorkshire Moors since the early 1980s, and the sympathetic restoration of our inherited 18th century cottage was the inspiration for Lavender Cottage. We did have a storeroom filled to the brim and as we stripped the 1980’s paper we found Victorian rosebud wallpaper, Georgian green paint and initials carved above the fireplace.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
Before I put pen to paper, I listened to podcasts from other authors which gave me inspiration on where to start. It was interesting that each author had their own unique ways. Some liked a quiet space to write in, others liked the buzz of a coffee shop, or had music in the background. One of the authors said that his characters actually spoke to him. I remember thinking this was a bit crazy at the time, but this is the thing that I most resonate with now.
DREAM DIE REPEAT was intended as a one-off novel, but fortunately for my readers Ellie has a very loud voice and wants to tell me more of her mysterious magical journey. So much so that Book 2 and Book 3 in the series have now been written, and I have the seed of an idea for book 4, watch this space in 2023!
What do you think makes a good story?
I would recommend that you write in the genre you enjoy reading yourself, the genre I am writing in is magical realism. For me a good book has to have a twist and a turn, and a sense of mystery. I want to be left with a feeling at the end of the book that I didn’t see the ending coming. When you read a book you really invest your time in the story, and what I find so disappointing is where there is an obscure ending. What I mean is, I am ok with a happy or sad ending, but I really want a good conclusion to the story.
If your book were made into a movie, which actors would play your characters?
As my story has developed I have often imagined that it would make an excellent series or movie. I would cast Cara Delevingne as my main character Ellie, she has the right sort of sassy attitude, not suffering fools gladly. As a model she would add that touch of effortless glamour.
The perfect rugged gothic actor to play Seb would be the sublime Ian Somerhalder who plays Damon in The Vampire Diaries. Bella Ramsey would be perfect to play Hettie, Ellie’s past life character, she has that otherworldly charm. Sandy, Ellie’s mother would be played by the ever-glamorous Goldie Hawn. Ellie’s birth mother Anna would be played by Helena Bonham-Carter, and Lottie would be played by Lucy Boynton. I need inspiration for three more of my characters – Lizzie, Sarah, and Alice!
