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Was your childhood ambition always to be a writer?
If not, what inspired you to start writing? |
Yes, I think I always had it at the back of my mind. I used to enjoy writing essays and stories at school. I also wrote poetry (probably very bad poetry) and the beginnings of novels – I never managed to finish them! I have loved reading for as long as I can remember – that’s probably the first necessity for a writer..
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How long have you been writing? |
For over twenty years. My first novel was published in 1989.
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What do you enjoy most about writing? |
Those days when the story seems to write itself, when I’m so deeply involved in it I don’t notice the passing of time.
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Which writers do you admire? |
Classics – Jane Austen and the Brontes, of course. Mrs Gaskell and Wilkie Collins (for his intricate plots).
I also enjoy reading early twentieth century women writers, including Elizabeth Bowen and Nancy Mitford.
Contemporary – Hilary Mantel, Sarah Waters, C.J.Sansom, Susannah Clarke, Joanna Trollope, Patrick O’Brian.
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