Sue Palmer’s latest story, The Shell Secret, is the newest arrival in our Gift Shop. We caught up with her to ask a few questions about her writing, her new Cornish adventure and why it’s a perfect fit for our Gift Shop.
Please tell us why and how you become an author?
Getting lost in imaginary worlds, where everything was possible, where extraordinary events took place, and where children ruled the day, gave me the most exciting reading life as a child.
I loved the storytelling, the outdoor adventure, the risk and danger of it all and it’s why I now write for 8–12-year-olds. I want to create my own thrilling plots, memorable characters and immersive settings, which make my stories sing and children want to keep turning the pages.
Like many authors, my route to publication wasn’t the five figure, three book debut publishing deal, but a bumpier, more meandering journey that took some time.
After a degree in German and International Studies, I did as my grandfather (from Falmouth) suggested and got ‘a proper job.’ This involved taking the first graduate job I was offered and joining the Financial Services industry. It was only when I stopped work to look after my sons, that I took the opportunity to do the thing I’d been wanting to do for years (and perhaps instantaneously become a best-selling author?).
Hundreds of rejections, three writing courses and several years later, I had my first two books accepted by a small publisher. It was only then that I realised that there is so much more to being an author than writing the story. To get myself out in the world and meet the readers I was writing for, I put together curriculum-based workshops for schools, which I have now delivered to thousands of KS2 children across the UK.
My latest book, The Shell Secret, also took its time to appear in the world but I eventually found the perfect publishing home for it at Candy Jar Books and couldn’t be more excited to see it now in schools, libraries and bookshops.
What do you hope young readers will enjoy most about The Shell Secret?
I hope children will find the mystery of the code intriguing, challenging and exciting and, just when they think they’ve worked it out, discover they haven’t. I’d like to imagine young readers with their jaws open at some of the perilous situations that Alice and Jasper find themselves in.
I’d love children to enjoy the relationship that develops between Alice and Jasper, including some of the funny ups and downs that they have on the way – just like lots of friendships. If any of my readers want to visit a Cornish beach, coastline, rock pool, castle, cave or pasty shop after they’ve read The Shell Secret – I’ve done my job.
The WW2 mystery runs alongside Alice's personal journey, what drew you to including elements of that period of history?
There were several prompts that led to me including a WW2 strand to The Shell Secret.
During WW2 my grandfather, who owned a shop at 7 Arwenack Street, was not only running his own bakery, but working for several hours a day at the Cooperative, baking bread for some of the 27,000 US troops amassing around Falmouth in preparation for the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach. Family stories about WW2 in Falmouth sparked a real interest in what had happened, how and why and I’ve woven some of these themes into The Shell Secret.
Many years ago, I read a story about the evacuation in June 1940 of 100 children and some of their teachers, from the Jews’ Free School in London to Mousehole. I was intrigued about the children’s reaction to seeing the coast for the first time and how well they became integrated in the local community. It led to me including a theme about current day displacement in The Shell Secret. This is Kamari’s story and is based on the real-life refugee crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010.
In my research for The Shell Secret, I discovered a wealth of material about life in Falmouth during the war, from the personal stories told to me by my grandfather and family, to the memorials dotted around the town. At Pendennis Castle, Kimberley Park War Memorial or standing in front of the St. Nazaire Raid Memorial on the Prince of Wales Pier, there are tales everywhere of bravery and the determination of the Falmouth community to do what they could to support the war effort.
Are there particular stretches of Cornwall’s coastline that shaped the story's setting?
Absolutely. With Cornish family and long summer holidays in Falmouth, this part of the coast was key to shaping my story’s setting. Locations such as Pendennis Castle, Little Dennis, Gyllyngvase, Castle and Swanpool beaches, gave me rich images from which to write scenes. Picnics on the beach, fiddling around in rockpools and memories of fishing boat trips from the back of my grandfather’s shop in Arwenack Street to Flushing and St. Mawes, also sparked reams of ideas for my story.
What is it about Cornwall’s coastal landscape that makes it such a powerful backdrop for adventure and discovery? How does it inspire you?
I once described the sea as being like a moody teenager one day and as serene as a ballerina another. It’s an ever-changing environment, where two days of colours, light, sounds and smells are never the same. Whenever I’m on a beach, on the rocks, in a cave, or on a coastal path, particularly if it’s windy, I revert to the 10 year old me again – totally absorbed by the unique swishing and crashing of the waves, vast horizon views and the exciting sense of freedom and possibilities.
Cornwall also has a such a rich history of fables and myths associated with it. I grew up hearing stories about pirates, shipwrecks, as well as natural disasters and can’t help but be inspired by this dramatic setting.
The more I researched for The Shell Secret, the more I learnt about the creatures that live tough lives on the Cornish coast. Spending time with marine conservationist and author, Heather Buttivant, gave me a real appreciation for the constant threats that our rockpool habitats face from climate change, pollution, and coastal erosion.
National Maritime Museum Cornwall sits right on the Falmouth waterfront, surrounded by the kind of coastal world Alice inhabits in the book. How does it feel to have the Museum Gift Shop stocking The Shell Secret?
I truly can’t imagine a better home for The Shell Secret. Knowing the museum shop’s location, I’ve calculated that my story sits on a shelf that is only a few metres away from the coastline that inspired it. This makes me feel so thrilled and very grateful.
It’s a perfect location for my book and I hope that children who read it, get a real sense of its celebration of everything Cornish – from the people, its past, the sense of identity and pride, to Cornish commitment to protecting its amazing coastline and fragile habitats.
What projects are you working on next, do you see any more Cornish-set stories on the horizon?
I have been asked if I will return to the fictional town of Trevellen to see what Alice and Jasper get up to next summer holidays but, for now, they don’t need me.
This gives me chance to concentrate on something new, which will probably involve another coastline adventure, a spot of world history and a creature or two…
