Guest Post with Luisa A. Jones
Luisa, welcome!
Thank you for inviting me to share some information about Before the Mountain Falls on your blog today, Jan. I’m a huge fan of your books, so it’s a pleasure to be here.
Thank you. Please tell us a little about yourself and your writing.
I'm a Welsh author of historical and contemporary romantic fiction. I'm particularly interested in families and relationships. My stories are emotional and character-driven, and are all mainly set in Wales.
What do readers expect when they pick up a Luisa A Jones book?
I hope readers expect to be drawn deeply into a character's mind, and how they think and feel as events unfold. My characters are people with problems, griefs and painful dilemmas. But readers can expect an uplifting ending.
What was the inspiration for Before the Mountain Falls?
To introduce conflict, and to make for a more interesting story, Norma's Welsh hosts needed to be very different from her. I made Norma vivacious and irreverent – an irrepressible young blonde who wears make-up and likes to sing in the pub and go on dates. Her hosts, then, became staunchly religious, traditional, morally upstanding and teetotal. Her arrival would challenge their attitudes and shake up their household.
When researching Wales in the early days of the Second World War, I found out a lot about pacifism and learned that some Welsh nationalists objected to the idea of hosting English evacuees. This gave me more rich ingredients for conflict. I also learned about the eviction of fifty-four Welsh-speaking families from Mynydd Epynt, a mountain in mid-Wales, to clear the land as a military training area. I was so moved by this history, I knew I had to include it as a way to show the impact of the war on ordinary rural Welsh families.
Can you summarise your novel in just a few sentences?
Norma Sparrow, a pregnant Londoner who has been abandoned by her fiancé, reinvents herself as a respectable wife to escape scandal. Taking up a chance to be evacuated from London, she is billeted with a disapproving Welsh minister who is fighting his own battle against the modern world encroaching on his home. Soon Norma finds herself caught between the safety of the identity built on her deception and a love that demands the one thing she can’t afford to give: the truth.
Which came first, the characters or the story you wanted to tell?
The characters came first. The vision of Norma, then the Welsh Powell family she'd clash with.
When writing historical fiction, how do balance the history with the fictional story?
I love to include lots of historical details, but fiction won't sweep a reader up and make them feel immersed in the characters' lives if it reads like a history lesson. I aim to adopt the approach of collecting information in spadefuls, but using it with an eye dropper. I try to make the details inconspicuous – just a part of the character's everyday life. That way, it doesn't get in the way for a reader who knows nothing about the background, or indeed an expert who would be jarred by reading anything inauthentic. It's a delicate balance, and I can only hope I succeed!
Which scene was the hardest to write?
I can't say which was the hardest scene to write, without giving spoilers!
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I've had to become a plotter so that my publisher knows if my next book idea is one they want me to write. I use Save The Cat as a structure, with a few tweaks. But my characters have a habit of introducing surprises as they come to life in my head while I'm writing.
How would you like your readers to feel when they've finished reading Before the Mountain Falls?
I'd love it if readers finish Before the Mountain Falls feeling uplifted, glad that things worked out for Norma, and hopeful for her future. It would be even better if they feel curious to find out more about Wales in the Second World War, and especially the evictions from Mynydd Epynt. Best of all would be if the story inspires someone to visit the mountain and enjoy the views that inspired Norma's reaction to the scenery in the book.
On a more general note, do you have a particular writing routine?
I don't really have a writing routine. I'm not very disciplined, and I'm very busy. Ideas tend to come to me slowly. For this book, I ended up booking a week's unpaid leave from my day job to blast through the last 30,000 words of the first draft, but it was exhausting (and costly!), so I wouldn't want to do that again except as a last resort.
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Thanks so much, Jan, for allowing me to share on your blog today. Your feedback on one of the early drafts was so encouraging, and very much appreciated. It's a joy to be one of your “writing buddies”!
Thank you, too, Luisa. As you know, I've loved this latest novel right from its early draft. I'm thrilled, but not surprised, to see how well the novel is doing now it's been out in the world for just a few days. Congratulations!
Readers, here is my review of the novel. I hope you can tell how much I loved it!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8450653967
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BLURB:
She fled to survive. She lied to belong. The truth could shatter everything.
1939. Norma knows what the world does to women in her position. Pregnant, unmarried… abandoned. And when the man who promised to marry her is arrested for murder, she has only one option left: run.
A borrowed wedding ring. A fake name. A one-way ticket to Wales. Mrs Finch never existed before that train journey, but now she’s Norma’s only chance at survival.
The remote valley of Pontybrenin should be her hiding place. Instead, even as the world teeters on the brink of war, it becomes the first place Norma’s ever felt seen. Billeted with a stern church minister and his family, she finds friendship, family and a love that makes her want to stop running.
But every day she stays is another day someone might discover who she really is. And as she falls deeper into this life – and this love – Norma will have to choose between the truth that could destroy her and the lies that are slowly suffocating the person she’s becoming.
A deeply poignant tale of resilience, found family and second chances – heartwarming, captivating and impossible to forget. Perfect for fans of When the World Fell Silent and Anna Stuart.
BIO:
Luisa A Jones writes captivating and emotional fiction with characters you’ll root for from the first page. Her first historical novel in The Fitznortons series, The Gilded Cage, was a #1 Amazon bestseller in Victorian Historical Romance.
She is currently writing a new series for Storm Publishing, set in Wales during the Second World War. The first book, What We Left Behind, was published on 30th May 2025.
Luisa A Jones lives in South Wales but loves to travel all over Europe in her classic VW camper van. She studied Classical Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London and has always been fascinated by history.
BUYING LINK: https://geni.us/729-cr-fbo-am
WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/Luisa-A-Jones-232663650757721/
https://www.instagram.com/luisa_a_jones_author/
Thank you for reading. I hope you like the sound of Luisa's new book. I highly recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction, beautifully told, with relatable characters, an authentic sense of time and place and an uplifting ending.
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