This week I am thrilled to be interviewing author Rose Servitova. Rose will be sharing with us details of her writing life, telling us all about her book ‘A Completing of The Watsons‘, which was released on 10th October 2019, and answering a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

Rose Servitova is an award-winning Irish humour writer. Her latest novel, “The Watsons” (a completion of Jane Austen’s unfinished work) won Bronze at the International SPR Book Awards 2019 and has been described as “an extraordinary piece of work.”

Her debut novel, “The Longbourn Letters – The Correspondence between Mr Collins and Mr Bennet”, described by The Jane Austen Regency World Magazine as “laugh-out-loud hilarious” received international acclaim on publication.

Rose makes author appearances at literary events in Ireland and the UK. Past events include The Jane Austen Festival Bath and Chawton House. She is currently writing a completion of “Sanditon” as well as another novel set in 1930s Ireland, called “Ida”, while cohabiting with two children, a husband and a disgruntled cat.

I enjoyed writing stories in school. I remember one story about an old washing machine that was being replaced by a newer model. It started with “Pooh! Not those smelly socks again!”

The earliest one was Enid Blyton, then LM Montgomery with the Anne of Green Gable series, then Austen, the Brontë’s and Agatha Christie.

Jane Austen’s bicentenary was in 2017 so the year before, I said “if I don’t write a book now, I’ll never write it” and I really wanted to write something about Mr Collins from “Pride & Prejudice” in time for the bicentenary celebrations. Hence I wrote a humor book called “The Longbourn Letters – The Correspondence between Mr Collins and Mr Bennet”.

A pantser through and through. I work out lots of the plot in my head as I go and I find going for a long walk, when I’m in the midst of writing, can really solve any challenges I come up against.

I live in a cottage with limited space and have never had a dedicated space until six months ago when, during the pandemic, I did some minor alterations and created a writing corner for myself. I love it. It’s bright with a lovely view. I keep fresh flowers in front of me, drink from my favorite mugs and when I sit there, I feel like a ‘real’ writer.

Up until the pandemic, I wrote on my lap while laying across the sofa. It was too easy to be distracted by children, husband or television. When you sit in a dedicated space, others are less likely to invade your privacy.

Where Rose Servitova Writes

The joy I feel when I write. Recently, during a very difficult episode in my life, when I felt overwhelmed and paralyzed with fear and upset, the only thing that brought me relief was sitting down and writing. The very act of writing is when I feel most like ‘me’. I just love words and the act of writing them.

When I decided to complete Jane Austen’s unfinished work, “The Watsons”, I knew it would require a different kind of research. First of all, I knew Austen’s works quite well already but I really did have to immerse myself in all her works again as well as the fragments and shorter works e.g. Lady Susan and read all her letters. I had such a sense of her voice that I felt confident to pick up a pen and finish her story of “The Watsons” and what would become of her characters in as true a fashion as I could.

My aim was to be loyal to her style, voice and wit. I also read biographies on the life of Austen as I felt that many of her themes and preoccupations rang true from her own life experience or that of her family.

I am going to throw out an estimated time frame of nine months but I feel I could have completed it earlier if I had the sense to get someone to read over it, maybe at draft four. I ended up with about nine drafts in the end before I felt it was finished and I was happy with it.

I am just drawn to the past and always have been. I’m now working on two manuscripts. The first is a completion of Jane Austen’s “Sanditon” in the manner that I feel she might have finished it and the second is about an Irish servant girl, Ida, working in ‘The Big House’ in 1930s Ireland and the complex relationship with her masters’ daughter, Alice.

Jane Austen had already named the lead characters Emma Watson and her sister Elizabeth Watson. It was very tempting to change them as she already has a protagonist Emma (Wodehouse) and Elizabeth (Bennet) but then I felt that she always repeats names and there is no fear of them stepping on each other’s toes.

Emma Watson is a classic Austen heroine. The struggles she encounters are largely internal – emotional and conscientious ones. She wants those around her, particularly her family, to be happy but is troubled when this includes decisions regarding her own life and happiness. She has a great friend in her sister Elizabeth, who is witty and warm.

Elizabeth makes no bones about the fact that she’s hunting for a husband and just about anyone who can put a roof over her head and keep her from destitution will do. There are two other husband-hungry sisters and two brothers – one who is harsh and one who is nice but both pushing Emma to accept a man she does not love, for their own selfish ends.

Two favorite characters of mine are the incredibly witty bachelor, Mr Shaw and the comical, hypochondriac father, Mr Watson.

Huge satisfaction and pride that I undertook something that few writers would have the audacity to do – picking up where Austen left off.

Carpe Diem.

The current Cat-in-Residence is ‘Fluffy’. We love him so much.

“Nora” by Nuala O’Connor (about Nora Barnacle, muse and wife of James Joyce) as it’s our book club read this month. Also reading ‘Rose’s Story’ which is a spin-off of the 1970s television series “Upstairs, Downstairs” about the life of one of the servants. I always have a motivational or spiritual book on the go too.

I would happily play one of the guests at the ball, who might be seated a little too close to the punch bowl.

I would love to wander around Hogwarts for the day and take a stroll onto Hogsmeade with Hagrid, Harry Potter, Hermione and Ron. I would love Professor McGonagall to join us too as I think she’d be great craic when she’s off-duty.

“Two sugars, plenty of milk. Cheers.”

I would like to say a big thank you to Rose Servitova for sharing with us details of her writing life and for a wonderful interview.

Share your thoughts on our interview with Rose Servitova in the comment section below!