Spotlight on: Lianne Dillsworth

Hiya, I’m Lianne Dillsworth. My debut novel, Age of Monsters, which is set in Victorian London, will be published in March 2022 by Windmill in the US and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the US. Age of Monsters tells the story of mixed-race heroine Zillah, who finds herself playing the role of a freak on the stage. But Zillah’s headline act as ‘The Great Amazonia’ is a fake, and if her real identity is discovered, her precarious existence will be shattered. When a new act is introduced - a black woman with vitiligo exhibited as a ‘Leopard Lady’ - Zillah is forced to confront the dark side of her profession. And when the woman goes missing, Zillah risks everything to save her and, in doing so, herself, too.

What about Zillah’s story do you think will captivate readers?

Zillah’s character was so much fun to write. She’s feisty and streetwise and even when she’s vulnerable she often finds a way to come out on top. That said, she’s in a precarious position, maybe even more so than she realises and she finds herself facing some difficult choices. I hope that readers will want to root for her. 

You bring Black Victorian London wonderfully to life – were there any parts of your research you found particularly compelling, or surprising?

Thank you! I love the period and did an MA in Victorian Studies a while back so the research was one of the best bits of the whole writing process for me. The first thing that surprised me really was the sheer size of the Black community in London at that time, around 10,000 people. And then I started reading more about particular individuals and their occupations. There were black prize-fighters, publicans, sailors, servants, soldiers, actors - so very many stories to tell. London was a multi-cultural city then as it is now. I wanted Age of Monsters to reflect that.

What are some of your favourite Black Historical novels?

Ooh, good question. I recently read The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill and enjoyed that very much. The Long Song by Andrea Levy, The Emperor’s Babe by Bernardine Evaristo. And Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart of course. A couple of years back I went to a reading at the Southbank Centre to celebrate the book’s 60th anniversary. It was an amazing experience to see it performed in that way. I’ve got a couple on my TBR pile, too – The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, which I’ve heard so many good things about. 

Could you tell us about your journey while landing an agent?

Now I look back it feels as though things happened quickly but it felt like such a lengthy process at the time. I remember reading any and every bit of advice I could find in the run up to submitting and working and reworking my synopsis until it was something I was happy with. Happy might be the wrong word – something I could live with that felt like it gave a good idea of what I was aiming for is probably more like it. Entering competitions along the way helped because they all had slightly different requirements and that process of increasing and decreasing the word count of the synopsis, deciding what I needed to keep in and take out really helped me to get to the heart of what the book was about and what was most important in it. Now I start my writing process with the synopsis. It helps me think about the book as a whole and which bits need to be at the forefront of my mind whilst I’m writing. 

I’d followed Juliet on Twitter and read her blog posts but even though we shared a favourite book, The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber, I hesitated to submit to her. Two things happened that gave me the push I needed: encouragement from one of my writing buddies and a Twitter exchange with Stacey Halls. This was around the time of the Black Lives Matter protests and Stacey had opened her DMs to black writers who had questions about writing and the publishing industry. I’d read The Familiars and asked Stacey for advice on characterisation. She gave me some great pointers and when I said that I was looking for an agent she said that I should try Juliet as she was a big fan of historical fiction. I did some more research, adapted my cover letter in line with a blog that Juliet had posted, and then pressed send. I couldn’t believe it when Juliet said she liked my writing and wanted to offer representation. 

What has been a highlight of the publishing process so far?

It’s all been pretty special to be honest, but I’ve been overwhelmed by the support on Book Twitter. You often hear it said that writing can be lonely but there’s a real sense of community and fellow feeling. From the time when Juliet posted that I’d become a client through to the announcement of the publishing deal in The Bookseller I’ve had so many well-wishers. It’s lovely to hear people say they are looking forward to reading Age of Monsters and I can’t wait to celebrate with the friends I’ve made through writing who’ve cheered me on when things have gone well and commiserated when they haven’t.

What are you writing next?

I’ve been playing round with a few ideas for a while now, but I think I’ve finally settled on one that has me randomly waking up in the middle of the night to write notes on it – always a good sign! It’s still coming together in my mind but I’m thinking gothic themes, some form of love story and another mid-Victorian setting. The idea generation stage before any actual writing gets done is always my favourite bit. I’m a planner so there’ll be lots of post-its involved and maybe even a mood board.

There’s also some work to do on The Sun Sets in the East, a novel which I started during my MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. It was shortlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2020 and I just found out that I came runner up, which I’m really excited about. I’d like to build on the draft I submitted to that competition with a fresh edit. 

Lastly, I’ve been struggling to find some historical short stories. That’s something I’d quite like to explore at some point.