It’s been awhile since I’ve had a blog post, but today is an exciting day! My friend and fellow author E.G. Bella is releasing her book Cabin Girl today! I’ve read this story twice and I am so excited to order a copy of the finished novel! It is such an amazing story, and I’ll have a post with my review of it next week.
You can visit Bella’s website at https://egbella.com/ and as of today, you can buy Cabin Girl here.
In honor of her publishing date, I get to participate in her launch tour. The full tour schedule and book giveaway can be found here. Today, I get to interview Bella about her book. I hope you enjoy her answers as much as I did!
***
S.K: “When did you first have the idea for Cabin Girl? Has the story changed a lot since then?”
Bella: “I first had the idea for Cabin Girl back in 2018, when I was tasked with writing a novel as part of a high school writing program. It began as a story about an Irish girl in Spain who wanted to be a doctor and see the world, but felt trapped by the need to take care of her family. Then she would get kidnapped by pirates and eventually struggle to choose between trying to get back home, or seizing the opportunity to explore the world like she wanted.
“Elements of that story are still there, but the main message of the book has changed dramatically. Instead, that Irish girl (who is actually in Ireland now) still wants to learn about medicine but for her ailing mother. She still gets kidnapped by pirates but returning home to her family is her goal the entire time. The more I wrote about the characters, the more I realized that the original themes just didn’t fit them as well as the themes in the book now. It’s much easier to root for Éirinn when she’s not contemplating abandoning her family, haha.”
S.K: “Were there any books, movies, etc. that gave you motivation and ideas for your book?”
Bella: “Absolutely! The biggest, and probably most obvious one for people that are familiar with it, is Treasure Planet – the sci-fi Disney adaption of Treasure Island. I was particularly inspired by the vivid characters and touching growth in that movie. The book Treasure Island itself also held some inspiration, mostly in the setting and battle scenes. And even though this book is very different from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, I drew plenty of inspiration from their general fun and adventurous pirate vibes.”
S.K: “Are any of your characters based on real people?”
Bella: “Not so much in personality, but there are a lot of names of family members that I used throughout the story in some way. For example, I used my younger brother’s middle name as a pirate’s name, one of the meanings of my sister’s name as a pirate’s nickname, and the first three letters of another sister’s name as a pirate’s name. And that’s only three of them. My entire immediate family is in there one way or another.
“In addition, the character of the Captain is hugely inspired by my older brother, who passed away in 2014. He shares a name with the Captain, and he and I used to ‘play pirate’ together very often as kids. One of his favorite movies was Treasure Planet, and his favorite character in it was Silver, so as I’ve written the Captain’s character, my brother has been in mind the entire time (although thankfully their personalities are very different). Cabin Girl is dedicated to him, as I know he would have enjoyed the story.”
S.K: “Was there anything that surprised you about the story or your writing process? (No spoilers, please! 😉 )”
Bella: “Hmm…no spoilers… I guess a few of the most surprising things came from research. I learned a lot about pirates and that time period that I didn’t realize –even though I probably should have realized that many of the stereotypical pirate things that popular media portray are just dramatized rumors. I tried to include a bunch of those unique little details in Cabin Girl.
“The characters also continually surprised me! They have been the easiest, most vivid parts of the entire book to write, but when they come alive so much, some of the facts that naturally crop up about them have surprised me. It’s like getting to know a friend. You spend more and more time with them and continue to find out facts you wouldn’t have guessed at the start.”
S.K: “What was your favorite part about writing Cabin Girl?”
Bella: “To branch off the last answer, my favorite would be getting to know the characters. I’m a sucker for a character-focused story, and have loved getting to write such a broad variety of cast members in Cabin Girl. From Éirinn, to the Captain, to the assorted pirate crew members, to her family, each character has led me on such a fun adventure as I’ve followed them on their journeys.”
S.K. “What was the hardest part?”
Bella: “In the technical sense, writing the descriptions. That’s not my strong suit. I see settings so clearly in my head that I tend to just assume that readers can see the same thing I am, even though I…haven’t written any of it down. So I definitely had to work on that in my later drafts.
“Otherwise, in a larger sense, it’s been figuring out how to tackle deep, and often dark, topics in a hopeful and faith-based way. Cabin Girl doesn’t shy away from covering some hard subjects and painful backstories, and I wanted to make sure that I never started glorifying any of that darkness. We need the dark to notice the light, but there’s always a risk of immersing ourselves too far into it. A lot of prayer and seeking advice from people I trust has gone into those sections.”
S.K: “What’s one thing readers should know about your book?”
Bella: “That’s tough. I guess if I could boil it down to one thing, I want readers to know that Cabin Girl is ultimately a novel about learning to trust that God will come through for you. We may not all relate to being kidnapped by pirates, but we’ve all dealt with dark, scary, and what feels like hopeless moments in our lives. And I’ve learned, just like Éirinn learns, that God is always working – even in those horrible moments. And He always comes through, often in the most unsuspected, unpredictable, and crazy fantastic ways. We may feel alone, but we never are.”
S.K: “What’s one thing readers should know about you?”
Bella: “Probably that I’m passionate about stories that whisk you into their worlds and leave you better than you were before. And by better, I mean more hopeful, more courageous, more uplifted, and/or more confident in your faith and your future than you were. Stories have such an amazing potential to help us grow and learn, and I plan to continue writing books that (hopefully!) utilize some of that potential. Even in my novels that aren’t explicitly Christian, there will always be truthful and hopeful themes.
“Also, a bonus fact: I may seem shy and awkward, but I truly do want to get to know as many other readers and authors out there as I can. It makes my day to chat with someone about books, so please don’t be shy about reaching out! Whether that’s shooting over an email, messaging me on Instagram, leaving a comment on my blog, or anything else, short of physically showing up at my door, I’ll love it. I don’t bite!
“Thank you so much for having me on your blog today!”
***
Thank you for this interview, Bella!
Don’t forget to check out her website and get a copy Cabin Girl!