Interview by Natascha Scrivener
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m married and I have two cats. I’m about to turn 32. I’ve lived in Suffolk for 8 years. I like lots of things, including city breaks, bubble baths and Earl Grey tea.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I was about 20 years old when I first had an idea for a novel and decided that writing fiction was something I really wanted to do. However, I’m not sure I seriously considered myself a writer until earlier this year, when my debut novel was published and I gave up my office job to write full time.
What challenges did you face whilst writing 'Girl Reading' and after you had finished it?
The challenges are forever changing. There’s always some new problem to overcome – and not necessarily just with the creative process. Whilst writing Girl Reading, I often had to find ways of overcoming my doubts about my own ability, in order to carry on. Lack of time to do everything I want is another issue, which I’m sure all writers come up
against. And the silliest things can scupper your writing day, like when your computer crashes!
What inspired you to write it?
I happened to read an article on a newspaper website about a book of portraits of women readers; they had asked some authors to choose their favourite picture from it and to write a short paragraph explaining why they liked it. The piece included contributions from PD James, Joanna Trollope and the poet Carol Ann Duffy. I was really struck by the range of portraits, by the different styles and media. But it wasn’t until several weeks or months later, that I realised I had begun to see female readers in pictures, and in life (on the bus, the train, in a cafe), and I began to think that perhaps there could be a novel in this?
What books have influenced your life most?
In no particular order: Plato’s Republic; The Hours by Michael Cunningham; Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own; Hamlet; The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; Miss Garnet’s Angel by Salley Vickars; Every Day is Mother’s Day by Hilary Mantel.
What book are you reading now?
The Art of Happiness by HH Dalai Lama and Howard C Cutler.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Normal stuff like socialising with friends, watching DVDs, playing in a band, going for a swim. I love theatre and art. And I can while away hours on Twitter too.
Why do you feel you had to tell this story?
Girl Reading really emerged out of the fixation I had with the archetype of female readers in art. There is something very beautiful and intimate about watching someone read; and something quite magical – and a bit strange – about the way artists have captured sitters reading over the centuries. The idea became very strong and after a while it took on a life of its own.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Make time to write because the more you do it, the better you will become. Writing is like music or painting; you improve through practice and experience. Choose an idea for a novel which you really believe it, love and are enthusiastic about. When you are ready to approach agents, follow the advice in the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, which is excellent; be professional about it; and please don’t feel discouraged by rejection, because all writers have experienced it. Finally, just do it. If you love to write, just do it.
Don’t put it off.
When did you first start writing, what made you feel the need to express yourself in this way?
When I was at university, I started to think about writing a book and I began to read novels more proactively than I had done before. For me, the idea is extremely important; it should grow and grow inside you, until you can’t contain it anymore and you have to write it, because the alternative would be unbearable. But writing without a strong idea would be very difficult for me; if I never had another good idea, I probably wouldn’t write again.
Do you write poetry or non-fiction at all?
I last wrote poetry as a teenager – and it was pretty bad! I like to tweet and I blog from time to time. I’m not sure if I’ll ever write a non-fiction book.
What kind of work are you most drawn to reading yourself? Do you find yourself reading work similar to your own, or completely different?
A safe bet for me is usually ‘literary women’s fiction’, which is what I write, but I like to think that I’d give anything a go. I’m in a reading group, so I regularly read books I wouldn’t automatically choose and sometimes those are the books which surprise you most. One of the best books I’ve ever read was In Cold Blood by Truman Capote –
but someone had to make me. I also read non-fiction for research, which is different again.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
Nothing in Girl Reading is autobiographical, in the sense that it’s about me or my life. The characters and stories are all made up, unless they refer to real historical figures – in which case they are interpretations. However, the most obvious personal experience which did make it into the book was Jeannine’s job as a parliamentary assistant, because my first job out of university was working for an MP. So I was able to write with some authority on how it felt to work in Portcullis House.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
They are all my favourites for different reasons, of course! But I think the chapter set during the Great War stands out because of Gwen – who is a teenager in love and ruled by her hormones. She was just hilarious to write about. Really, she wrote herself.
How did you come up with the title?
It’s a reference to the convention in painting to call pictures of female readers, ‘Girl Reading’, even if the sitter is a fully grown woman.
What project are you working on now?
I’m working on my next novel, which is top secret!
Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
No, I don’t think so. I think that Girl Reading is finished and stands alone. I can’t imagine going back to it.
What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
Girl Reading is my published debut novel, but it’s the second book I’ve written. My first first novel got turned down by about 20 – 30 agents. Actually that was ok, because I was quite stoic about the fact that rejection is part of being an author. The hardest moment came when an agent expressed an interest in my first novel and requested to see the whole manuscript; I got hugely excited and sent it off . . . and then they sent it back to me saying, ‘thanks, but no thanks,’ they didn’t want it after all! That was very upsetting, because my hopes had been raised and then dashed. The best compliment I’ve ever had was from Hilary Mantel, who was the first person to see a finished draft of Girl Reading – and who recommended it to her own agent as a result. It was absolutely the highest compliment anyone has ever given me about my work.
They say that to see the world with complete honesty one should look to comedians, artists and poets, what do you think emerges naturally from your work?
I believe it’s true that we’re hardwired to respond to art and stories. We’ve been making art since the time of cave paintings and I’m sure our earliest ancestors also told stories, laughed at jokes and made music too – it’s just that we don’t have a record anymore. When I wrote my novel, I had certain ideas in mind that I wanted to convey to the reader. However, I also think it’s the reader’s job to make up their own mind about what emerges from it, and that will be different for different people. Essentially, I think that whenever we read a book or look at a painting, we see what we want to see.
All writers have several words that come up over and over again, words or sentences that they just can’t help but use in their work. What are 3 of your absolute favourite words?
Intuition. Colour. Breath.
Name your 3 favorite poets or writers. What about their work are you most drawn to? What about their work are you most inspired by?
It’s extremely hard to pick just three for the rest of my life – itall depends on the mood and the day! But at the moment, I’m thinking a lot about Evelyn Waugh, whose work is just beautiful and really captures a lost era. His books are very character-led, rather than following the obvious arc of a narrative, so they turn out in unexpected ways. I’ve been listening to Pulp recently, so I’m going to mention Jarvis Cocker’s lyrics, because they’re so dirty, but wonderfully crafted, and very English. And Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who wrote a rather sinister story called The Yellow Wallpaper, which is as near to perfection as you can get.
Do you think that creative writing courses help or hinder the creative process, and do you think creativity can be taught?
A creative writing course wasn’t right for me, but I can see that there are advantages: you get support from your tutor and your peers; you have a structure to follow; you get feedback etc. Clearly it works well for some people, because there are lots of creative writing course success stories. But at the end of the day, I think that writers (creative and non-fiction) improve through practice and experience. That’s the bottom-line.
Thank you so much for letting us interview you, Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you for asking me! It was a pleasure. What a lot of thoughtful questions. I hope I did all right?
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