I’ll start with
a confession – my name is Richard and I’m a coward. An agent once
suggested that I should use a female pseudonym to further attract my
largely female readership. “No way!” I declared with indignance,
“people are going to have to accept me for who I am.” That
evening I considered Rebecca, Rosemary, Rachel and Rita before opting
for the cowardly compromise of using R J instead of Richard. In
retrospect, I should have resisted the change because being a man
writing Romance is worth shouting about. I’ve often been told by
female readers that it has provided them with some fascinating new
insights into relationships.
Actually, I
didn’t set out to be a romantic fiction author, I just got placed
there because I write about relationships. Of course, plot is
important, but my fiction is character-driven. A fellow member of my
local writing group, Cambridge Writers, suggested that since I wrote
“sort of” romance I should join the Romantic Novelists’
Association. I did so and was soon to discover that only one percent
of members are male. I stuck with it, put my novel forward for their
New Writers’ Scheme, got accepted, received a highly positive
review, was a finalist for their Joan Hessayon Award (yes, the only
male), and was taken on by an indie publisher at my first RNA annual
conference.
My writing
explores the tragi-comic journeys of characters in search of or
attempting to hold on to relationships while carrying cartloads of
baggage – ex husbands and wives, stroppy teenage children,
uncompromising bosses. As in real life, what may seem either an
insurmountable obstacle or a devastating event at the time, can end
up over the passage of time to be regarded with amusement. Why on
earth did I get so worked up about that? Why didn’t I end that
relationship years ago?
The idea for The
bench by Cromer beach came during a visit to this beautiful,
largely unspoilt, town on the North Norfolk coast. There is a line of
benches overlooking the sea along the clifftop, frequently occupied
by elderly citizens. One man, peering down onto the beach,
particularly caught my attention and a fictional version of him is
featured in this novel. He is one of five main protagonists whose
lives intertwine over time. Why the bench in the title? It’s the
starting point of the novel. What he thinks he is witnessing as he
sits there turns out to be far removed from the reality.
The bench by
Cromer beach by R.J. Gould
Five people in a
sleepy English coastal town. One year that changes everything.
They seem to have
it all. They’re in good health and are financially secure. They
live in a pleasant and comfortable town. But as their lives
intertwine, cracks emerge and restlessness grows.
For Clive, is
retirement the beginning of the end? Can fun-loving Saskia break free
from her adulterous husband? Will Andy marry his childhood
sweetheart? Is Jamie prepared to change his dishonest ways? Might
Ellie’s happy marriage be shattered by temptation?
Heart-warming and
heart-breaking collide in this novel about aspirations, expectations
and the realities of everyday life.
R J Gould is
published by Lume Books and Headline Accent and is the author of five
novels: A Street Café Named Desire, The Engagement Party,
Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies and The bench by
Cromer beach. He is a (rare male) member of the Romantic
Novelists’ Association. Having been selected for the organisation’s
New Writers Programme, his first novel was short-listed for the Joan
Hessayon Award. Ahead of writing full time, R J Gould led a
national educational charity. He has published in a wide range
of educational journals, national newspapers and magazines and is
the co-author of a major work on educating able young people. He
lives in Cambridge, England.
