About Sara James

In my debut novel, Mothering Sunday, I drew inspiration from the stories of strong women during the 50s and 60s who were forced to give up their children. There are plenty of horror stories but I wanted to believe that out of all that tragedy there was a possibility of a happier resolution. I know a couple of people who were successfully adopted but these are the stories we don’t hear much about. Another influence was my own family history.

My mother temporarily abandoned my sister and brother when they were young, and I didn’t know the true emotional repercussions of that abandonment until many years later. My mother was haunted by her mistake and although she tried to make amends, the initial wounds never quite healed. I believe the effects of abandonment ripple through generations and I hadn’t realised how this affected me until I started writing. As a mother, I can’t imagine having to give up a child, but it happened to many women in the ’50s and ’60 and still does.

My primary interest lies in relationship stories, especial how our relationship with our original family shapes our future relationships. I’m interested in people. We are the stories.

On a personal level. I have four children and live with my photographer partner Alexander James, our Bengal, KitKat, and his friend Margot, the Dachshund, splitting our time between London and Wiltshire. We also spent 10 years living in Spain with our family because we wanted our children to be bi-cultural. For work reasons we returned to live in London but whilst in Spain, I developed a passion for the language and the Spanish people and hope to incorporate both cultures into my novels.