Jenny Lecoat: Chaos Isn’t Great for Focus

Jenny Lecoat was born in Jersey, Channel Islands. Her parents were raised during the islands’ German Occupation, both from families involved in resistance activity.

Lecoat moved to England aged 18, where, following a drama degree, she spent a decade on the alternative comedy circuit as a feminist stand-up, also writing for newspapers and women’s magazines. She presented TV and radio series before becoming a writer in television, working in sitcom, drama, sketch shows, and children’s programs. A love of history and factual stories brought about her feature film Another Mother’s Son (2017), which starred Jenny Seagrove and John Hannah. Her first novel, Hedy’s War, published by Polygon in 2020, was reissued as The Girl from the Channel Islands and became a New York Times bestseller. Find her on X (Twitter) and Facebook.

Jenny Lecoat

In this interview, Jenny discusses the real-life personal history that helped inspire her new historical novel, Beyond Summerland, her advice for writers, and more!

Name: Jenny Lecoat
Literary agent: Lisa Highton, Jenny Brown Associates
Book title: Beyond Summerland
Publisher: Polygon (U.K.)/ Graydon House (U.S. & Canada)
Release date: July 4, 2024
Genre/category: Historical Fiction
Previous titles: The Girl From the Channel Islands
Elevator pitch: On the island of Jersey in 1945, two families discover that the end of Nazi occupation does not bring peace, and their long-awaited liberation is not all they dreamed it to be.

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What prompted you to write this book?

Two members of my Jersey family, who sheltered a Russian slave worker from the Nazis, were sent to concentration camps in 1944 after being betrayed by anonymous neighbors; my great aunt never returned. The informants were never brought to justice after the war.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

It took over three years to complete a satisfactory draft; I spent the first 15 months working with an entirely different, quite ambitious structure, but in the end it just didn’t work. So, I basically had to start again, telling the story a different way. The fact that in the same period I moved house and was involved in massive renovations didn’t help—chaos isn’t great for focus! Then it was another 18 months to publication.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Mainly how long the process can be. The edit only took about six weeks, but decisions on things like titles and covers can go on for months.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

It’s disheartening to realize that even after 30-plut years as a writer, it’s still possible to make a fundamental mistake, like I made with my first draft. But experience allows you to not panic and to crack on with finding the solutions. Ninety-five percent of this job really is about doing the work, not about waiting for divine inspiration.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope they’ll find interesting female characters struggling with huge dilemmas, a page-turning story, and echoes of our contemporary world amid the 1945 setting—human nature never really changes.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

I learned my craft in screen, where every moment is carefully planned advance, and I still think it helps to plan the story out before you start on the text. It means you can identify problems early on and, hopefully, save time later. Even if you have to change your map halfway through, as I had to, it’s still important to have one!

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