Luxembourg finance worker turns author

British national and finance worker Robert Schofield was on the verge of giving up writing when his other life, as a prize-winning author, took off.

Frustrated by countless rejections from publishers, the father-of-two submitted the manuscript for his first novel to the 2010 Luxembourg National Literature competition on a whim.

“I thought there's no point spending every waking moment writing books that won't get sold,” explained Robert, adding: “But, I thought I will try one more time and then I won a prize in the competition in Luxembourg. I was very flattered and honoured to be awarded, especially because the book is in English.”

Robert's novel, titled The Fig Tree and the Mulberry, was published last year by éditions Saint Paul with a 1000 edition print run. It tells the story of a young girl sent away from her family in England to live with a family in New Zealand during World War II and being sent back six years later.

What makes the story all the more poignant is that it is loosely based on the real-life experiences of Robert's mother, Maureen.

“My mother was a six-year-old child who was sent to New Zealand alone, without the rest of the family. This is a very fictionalised account of her story but there are various episodes from her story: such as the torpedo attack and the fig tree in the garden.”

The author, who has never set foot in New Zealand, was able to imagine the setting from his mother's vivid descriptions recounted to him as he was growing up. He said that the story had been in his head for many years before he began putting it to paper while he was away from home on business trips over the course of four years. At the time, his two daughters were around the same age as Anna, the book's main character, a factor which he said helped him to accurately describe the story from a young girl's perspective and even fool the competition judges into thinking the author was a woman.

His mother, now in her seventies, has since read the book and, according to Robert, was surprised at how accurately it described the feelings she experienced of being “rejected” by one family only to be rejected from another when she returned to England at the end of the war. For Robert, who has lived in Luxembourg and worked at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg for the last ten years, having his first book published was a nerve wracking prospect. “Normally, I'm dressed in a suit talking about finance. This is a different Robert Schofield. It's been nerve wracking letting on to colleagues that I've a different side to my personality,” he explained.

Even before the career turn-around Robert had already begun work on other books, among them a children's book, which is to be published later this year by Editions Guy Binsfeld. The Hoogen-Stoogen Tulip is a picture book about the first black tulip but has a double layer of meaning, making a comment on the exploitation of poor farmers by rich bankers. “It's supposed to be amusing for parents who can read it to their children,” said Robert.

He's also looking for a publisher for a new financial thriller and love story set around a robbery in Luxembourg, meanwhile he is currently working on a more light-hearted book about a marketing company. “Writing fiction is very different from my work. That's one of the things I find very fulfilling and why I write,” he said.