On the Couch – my protagonist Alexandra talks to Vicky Newham

Not surprisingly, people associate me with sofas.  Some think I am a sofa, or a Sofia.  Well anyway, this week I swapped my Literary Sofa for a therapist’s couch and my head for that of Alexandra Folgate, protagonist of my novel Paris Mon Amour – click here to read the post.  Alexandra was interviewed by psychologist Vicky Newham – an intriguing experience, especially as it mirrors the way the novel is narrated.  It’s been interesting hearing readers’ reactions to this (and indeed all) aspect/s of the book.

Thanks to Vicky for hosting Alexandra and for asking her such searching and challenging questions, which she tries – as always – to answer in all honesty. I’ve long been fascinated by therapy and love encountering it in books, films, etc.  No doubt I’ll say more about this at some point.

This is, of course, sensitive territory, and not something anyone would throw into a novel for the sake of it, or at least I wouldn’t. Therefore I was delighted by the positive response from Vicky (who also happens to be a fellow author, linguist and francophile) and will add a link to her forthcoming review.

NOTE ON THE PICTURE:

I’ve seen a lot of ‘deep’ graffiti in France over the years and snapped this recently on the outside of the Marché Couvert Saint-German (covered market) in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. It doesn’t appear to be a quote, as I originally thought, and as usual there are various ways it can be translated and interpreted.  Literally, it says ‘Removable faces/ have one and the same look/ as far as the eye can see.’ This immediately makes me wonder what’s underneath…