Lucky 13 for author and mother with film deal

AUTHOR Cesca Major says she feels lucky.

Her latest novel — number 13 — is being given the Hollywood treatment by actress and producer Reese Witherspoon.

“It is my first one that sold to America, which is really nice,” she says.

Cesca, who will be hosting two sessions at next month’s Henley Literary Festival, says the book, Maybe Next Time, helped her with her own work-life balance.

The 41-year-old lives in Pangbourne with husband Ben, son Barnaby, seven, and four-year-old twin daughters, Inessa and Lexi.

She says the story came out of the shared yet isolating experience of the coronavirus pandemic.

The book tells the story of frazzled mother-of-two Emma, who is married to Dan, the true love of her life.

The couple take time out each year to remember their anniversary until one fateful time when things go awry. However, Emma is given a chance to relive the day.

“I think Maybe Next Time was a slight cry for help as a busy working mum,” says Cesca.

“It was written during covid, that strange Groundhog Day time we all lived, and essentially is about getting your priorities straight. It’s also a reflection, I suppose, on all women really, not just mothers, who take on all the extra stuff.

“It’s a look at what’s important and what isn’t and how we let this happen.

“Those are the themes, I think, when looking back at that time. It was almost a bit of therapy, working some of that stuff through.

“Working mums seem to be the ones that say, ‘Oh my god, I feel this in my bones’, you know?”

Like many writers, Cesca had a “slightly strange” path to writing.

“I used to work in television,” she says. “Then I became a history teacher but I was always writing.

“My debut novel came out in 2015 and I’ve been a full-time author since then.

“I’ve written under four or five different pseudonyms as I write in different genres.

“I write under my initials, C D Major, which is darker stuff, crime and sort of supernatural.

“Then I used to write romantic comedies [as Rosie Blake] and also wrote a couple of what they call ‘UpLit’ under another name [Ruby Hummingbird].

“It has been a funny, roundabout way to get to where I want to be. I mean, you learn something from every genre.

“I do screenwriting as well, which I love. I basically write full-time and look after the kids.

“It’s amazingly flexible and works really well with motherhood… it’s just the escape of doing something for yourself.”

She is looking forward to the literary festival.

“I’m really lucky,” she says. “The festival has always supported me, since way back, when I had my debut book, The Silent Hours.

“Bless them, they had me on a book panel then. I think they’re wonderful and just such a nice team.”

This year, Cesca will join authors Eva Rice and Georgina Moore to talk about their latest novels.

Oxfordshire novelist Eva, daughter of star lyricist and Hambleden resident Tim Rice, is best known for her bestselling 2005 novel The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets.

Her latest book, This Could be Everything, follows a 19-year-old girl, who is trying to find hope during dark times with the support of an escaped canary.

Cesca says: “I fell in love with The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, as everyone did, so this is really exciting.”

Georgina, who publicised books before she started writing them, lives on a houseboat on the River Thames with her husband, two daughters and dog.

She has written her first novel, The Garnett Girls, which tells of the adventures of three sisters growing up in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.

Cesca says: “Georgina is a very well-known publicist in the industry and I know her very much by reputation, so it should be fun.”

She will also host Locally Criminal with Shiplake’s bestselling thriller writer Simon Kernick, Marlow crime writer Suzanna Beard and Simon Mason, who has written Oxford mysteries.

Cesca says she will be interviewing these three authors “with my
C D Major hat on”.

She adds: “I’m always curious when the audience members are keen to write anything themselves.

“I like it if anyone wants to discuss writing or ask me questions afterwards. I love finding people that haven’t got the confidence to start, so a few writing tips are always flung in as well.”

• Locally Criminal with Simon Kernick, Susanna Beard and Simon Mason is at Henley town hall on Sunday, October 1 from 6pm to 7pm. Cesca Major talks to Georgina Moore and Eva Rice at Henley town hall on Thursday, October 5 from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. For more information, visit www.henley
literaryfestival.co.uk