A CONVERSATION WITH
Lorraine Brown What inspired you to write The Paris Connection? It started with a story my brother told me several years ago. He and his girlfriend had been traveling across Eastern Europe by train, and she had got up to move seats because she couldn’t sleep, and when they woke up, the train had divided and they’d ended up in completely different places! They found each other again pretty quickly, and they are still together and have got three children, but I always thought it would be a brilliant start to a novel!
You’ve cited the film Before Sunrise as an inspiration for this book. Where do you find that inspiration showing up most in the story? I think Before Sunrise is probably my all-time favorite romantic movie. I love the way it’s such a simple premise—they meet on a train, they have a connection, they take a chance on each other. In The Paris Connection, Hannah and Léo have a similar kind of unexpected almost-instant connection, and this is a theme I wanted to explore throughout the novel. And what I loved about the film was that it felt so realistic, as though it was something that could happen to any of us at any time, and I think a lot of that came from Richard Linklater’s brilliant dialogue. Because I used to be an actor, I thought a lot about how to make my characters’ conversations flow and feel very natural—I wanted the dialogue to sound like something you might overhear on any train platform and I wanted their reactions and responses to each other to feel believable.
As a London native yourself, why did you choose to set your novel in Paris? I’ve been to Paris about nine times now and it feels like a city where anything could happen. Certainly for me, the romantic city breaks to Paris I’ve been on have never gone as smoothly as I’d hoped/imagined! It felt like the perfect place to set a story about complicated relationships and I loved imagining my characters getting to know each other against a backdrop of gorgeous architecture, quaint little patisseries, and stunning parks and gardens. I’m also obsessed with French food—there are lots of glasses of wine and cakes in The Paris Connection!
Was it hard to fit all the action into the course of one single day? Yes! I wanted readers to feel as though they were reading the story in real-time, but that brought with it a whole set of problems, such as how to have Hannah and Léo visit the Parisian sights we all know and love, like the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Élysées, but also include some of Léo’s own secret locations. (He’s a Parisian native, so he would want to take her to some of his favorite local spots.) And how to have them do all of this in just a few hours. I decided that it felt more realistic to have them on a motorbike, as this way the worst of the traffic could probably be avoided. I actually walked the route myself in December 2019, when I went on a day trip to Paris do a bit of extra research and there was a transport strike and no buses, Metro, or taxis. I walked from place to place (and was exhausted by the end of the day!) but decided that they could just about get from location to location in the time frame I needed them to, although it would be very tight. I also spent a LOT of time working out train times!
How did your education and training in psychotherapy inform the character development in your novel? I started training as a psychodynamic counselor at almost exactly the same time that I began to take my writing seriously, which was a lot of hard work but also the best thing that could have happened to me in terms of writing a much better book. Some of the feedback from early readers was that the main protagonists in my book didn’t quite feel three-dimensional enough, but as soon as I started my course and began to understand why we are the way we are, why we behave in certain ways, and why we are often attracted to a particular type of relationship, it became much easier to add backstory and depth to my characters. I wanted Hannah, Si, and Léo to have had difficulties in their lives and for that to be impacting who they are now. It felt important that I—and, hopefully, the reader, too—could understand what was holding them back from going after what would truly make them happy.
What is the importance of having a working-class protagonist in your novel? This is something that felt really important to me because I’m from a working-class background myself. My dad came to London from Jamaica in about 1960 and worked as welder
in a factory and my mum was a care assistant in a residential home for the elderly. The women’s fiction I read when I was young didn’t reflect my experiences at all (not helped by the fact I was mainly reading books set in the glamorous worlds created by Jackie Collins and Jilly Cooper!), and even with the later romantic comedies like Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget seemed to be living in a different kind of world to the one I was operating in (although of course I loved the book anyway!). I wanted Hannah to be more like me and lots of other people I know who haven’t been to university, who haven’t had opportunities handed to them on a plate, and who have struggled financially at times, particularly when living in an expensive city like London. I wanted the book to reflect real life, I suppose.
When is a time that you, like Hannah, have found yourself at a notable crossroad? How did you make a choice about which path to take? I’m sure there have been lots of times, but what sticks in my mind is the moment I decided to try writing for the first time. I’d been to drama school and had graduated full of hope and confidence. I got an agent, I practiced my craft regularly at classes, and I even spent two months in Los Angeles. I had moments when I thought my career was going to take off, but it never did. So I took a full-time job working as a school secretary in London because I needed the money and thought I’d only be there for a year or two, still convinced that I’d get that one acting role that would change everything. And then I got dumped by my theatrical agent (on my birthday!) and shortly after that my dad died. I felt really flat and lost and had no idea what I was going to do with my life and began to think hard about what else I could do that would tap into that creative side of me, since that was clearly what made me happiest. The only thing I could think of was that I’d always wanted to write a novel, but I assumed that would be setting myself up for more heartbreak, because surely breaking into the publishing world was just as unlikely as making it as an actor? But then my mum sold my dad’s car and gave me a few hundred pounds to spend on a treat and I decided to sign up for a creative writing for beginners course at Central Saint Martin’s (an art school in London that has a cameo in The Paris Connection!), just to see if I could write at all and if it was worth giving it a try. I loved the course immediately—writing came much more naturally to me than acting ever had and I consistently got pretty good feedback from
my classmates and tutor. I think that was the moment I knew I’d found something else I loved, and I decided pretty quickly that I was going to take it seriously with the ultimate goal of becoming a fulltime writer, giving up my job as a secretary and having the fulfilling career I’d always dreamed of. It took me a decade, but I got there eventually!
What was your experience in Penguin Random House UK’s 2017 WriteNow program? There were various points at which I began to believe in myself as a writer a little bit more, or which gave me the push to carry on when I began to doubt myself, and winning this competition (designed to launch the careers of writers currently underrepresented in the publishing industry) was one of them. It started with an event at the Penguin Random House offices—there were three events, and I attended the session in London. Fifty aspiring writers were invited to listen to talks from industry professionals, meet other authors, and have a one-to-one chat about our work with an editor. When the eleven winners were announced, and when I realized I was one of them, I literally nearly cried. It felt like the beginning of something—which it was—although it would take me a year and a half of being mentored by an editor at Penguin Random House and lots of rejections from literary agents before I finally found my stride and did the redraft that got me an agent and ultimately a publishing deal. There were lots of moments along the way when I thought it wasn’t going to happen!
What does the writing process look like for you? The first thing I do is to come up with the hook of the story—an idea that I can “pitch” in one or two sentences and which feels exciting and clear and which people respond to with interest when I tell them about it. Then I take a month or two to carefully plan out the novel—I use the book Save The
Cat, which was originally designed for screenwriters. I enjoy imagining the story in quite a filmic way, and it helps me to think about pace and where to put highs and lows and where to build tension, etc. I’ve started using some writing software called Scrivener, which enables you to create a pinboard of scenes that you can move around onscreen (although I’ve also used actual Post-it notes stuck on paper in the past). I write one Post-it note for each major scene, noting down what my main character is trying to achieve, what the obstacle is, the location, and if I have any particular dialogue I’ve thought of and want to remember. Then I write a first draft, which might take another two months or so—I try to write about 2000 words a day if I can, although this certainly didn’t happen while I was attempting to homeschool my son! Then comes my favorite part of the process—the second draft. I really enjoy having something down on paper that I can work with, shuffle about, expand on, etc. In normal times, I like to print out a few chapters at a time and edit them in a coffee shop—I much prefer being surrounded by people and noise while I’m working!
What’s next for you? I’m working on my second novel, which is another modern love story, about two people who live opposite each other in a block of flats in London and who are struggling in different ways and who don’t realize that what they really need is each other. I’ve also just finished a screenwriting for authors course and I’m having a go at writing a romantic comedy for TV. At the same time I’m carrying on with my counseling work, which I really enjoy, and am currently working in the student counseling department at the University of Cambridge.
Reading Group Guide 1. At the beginning of the novel, Hannah and Si are rushing onto their train to Amsterdam. Discuss the series of events that lead to them being split up in the middle of the night.
2. Under what circumstances do Léo and Hannah first meet? What are their reactions upon discovering they’re actually en route to Paris?
3. What goes wrong when Hannah arrives in Paris and tries to make
her way back to Amsterdam, and what forces her to stay in the city for the morning?
4. Discuss your first impressions of Léo. In what ways is he different from Si?
5. What quintessentially Parisian things does Hannah do and see? If you had a day to spend in Paris, what activities would you plan and why?
6. How does Hannah’s previous trip to Paris dictate how she feels about the city in the present of the story, and how does her time with Léo change her mind about it? What is she able to see with a fresh perspective?
7. Discuss how the trip changes Hannah’s mind about her
career and love life. Why does she ultimately decide to pursue photography, and how does Hannah’s relationship with art mirror Léo’s relationship with music?
8. An important theme in The Paris Connection is that the
unexpected detours in life can turn out to be some of the most valuable experiences. To what extent is that true in this novel?
9. What do you think is in store for Hannah and Léo?
Starlight - Muse Let Me Know - Flume, featuring London Grammar Tilted - Christine and the Queens Paris - The Chainsmokers Let Me Down - Jorja Smith, featuring Stormzy Comptine d’une autre ÉTÉ, L’APRÈS-MIDI - Yann Tiersen (from the Amelie from Montmartre original soundtrack)
All Goes Wrong - Chase & Status, featuring Tom Grennan Nightcall - Kavinsky Warning Sign - Coldplay La Ritournelle - Sébastien Tellier
Croque-Monsieur RECIPE
Ingredients BÉCHAMEL
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter ¼ cup all-purpose flour 1½ cups whole milk 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg Kosher salt
ASSEMBLY 8 6 3 1
slices ½”-thick country-style bread oz. ham, preferably Paris ham (about 8 slices) oz. Gruyère, grated (about 1½ cups) teaspoon herbes de Provence
Serves 4
Preparation
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Add flour and cook, stirring, until mixture is pale and foamy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add milk, stirring until mixture is smooth. Cook, stirring, until sauce is thick and somewhat elastic, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard and nutmeg; season with salt.
DO AHEAD:
Béchamel can be made one day ahead. Let cool; press plastic wrap directly onto surface and chill. Preheat oven to 425°. Spread bread slices with béchamel, dividing evenly and extending all the way to the edges. Place 4 slices of bread, béchamel side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet; top with ham and half of cheese. Top with remaining slices of bread, béchamel side up, then top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with herbes de Provence. Bake until cheese is brown and bubbling, 10–15 minutes.
DO AHEAD: Sandwiches can be made (but not baked) one day ahead. Cover; chill. Recipe by Rita Sodi and Jody Wil iams b o n a p e t i . c o m / r ec i p e / c r oqu e -m o n s i e u r