By Rosie Watson
AN ASHLEY Down writer has made the leap from penning short stories and plays to publish her debut novel, Peachy Wonderful.
Sophie Holland’s book was shortlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award 2024, an international writing competition for unpublished and self-published novelists.
An epic family saga set in a fictional south-west town, Peachy Wonderful also features a scene set at Bristol Old Vic.
Sophie, who has worked for 15 years as a speech and language therapist at St Michael’s Hospital, has a deep commitment to environmental action, volunteering with national charity, FoodCycle.
She is also a passionate advocate for opportunities that enable young people to express themselves creatively.
Since 2014, she has co-directed Bristol’s Portal Youth Theatre on Gloucester Road, known for its hilarious alternative nativity plays.
As a writer, Sophie takes her inspiration from the complexities and nuances of language, communication, family, community, nature and drama.
Peachy Wonderful follows three generations of the Starling family, re-united for a ruby wedding celebration, who are blown apart by the old tensions between a father and daughter who harbour very different versions of the past.
The novel cycles between the past and the present, revealing the family secrets hidden across the generations. It draws on themes of memory versus invention, emotional truth versus recorded history, and what we take versus what we leave behind as we grow.
Sophie said of her debut novel: “It’s a joy to have my first book published!
“Such a thrill to have a wider readership, and to get feedback about this story; this family I have ‘lived with’ for many years. The book feels like the culmination of over 15 years of working on my writing, and it also feels like a beginning… there will be more!
“For me, all the juicy stuff in literature is in family, relationships, loss. I was inspired to write PW (which began as a short story) after a family reunion holiday that got me thinking about being cast in a role within a family unit, and being unable to break out of that role, particularly when families get together through time. It’s something that has resonated with readers.”
Peachy Wonderful is on sale at independent Bristol bookshops, including Gloucester Road Books and Max Minerva’s.