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Where are you from? I was born in a little country village in Hampshire, but now I live in Northamptonshire, surrounded by sheep and horses. It’s pretty noisy right now, as all the lambs are baaing in the fields.
Tell us your latest news?
My first novel, Hootcat Hill, has just been published by Orion, which is amazingly exciting. Although I’ve had lots of books published, somehow a novel is different. Perhaps it’s because, unlike retelling myths, where I have a set framework to write within, the characters and plot of a novel are entirely my responsibility, which gives me more freedom to say what I want. Scary but satisfying.
When and why did you begin writing?
I guess it’s a family thing—my father and uncle both wrote (and then my mother started in later life), so I was around writers from birth. I started off as a poet—I was always scribbling down poems, mostly not very good ones. It was a way to make sense of the world, and I loved the way that, in a poem, every word has to be considered—to count and weigh heavily as part of understanding the whole. Writing for me just seemed a natural progression. I read continuously, millions and millions of words pouring through my brain. I guess some of them must have stuck and come out again as my own books.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I first had an inkling when I won a poetry competition. But a writer of books? That’s easy. It was Wednesday, January 16th 1991. I was pregnant and despairing that I was going to bring a child into a world of war (it was the day the first bombs fell in the Gulf). I had sent a little picture book text off to a publisher, and as I was sitting watching the ground offensive unfold on tv, I had a phone call to say it was going to be published. I knew that if I was going to be allowed to tell stories, then I still had a voice I could use, and it gave me hope. That’s when I knew I was a real writer.
What inspired you to write your first book?
Rain, midges, the Scottish hills—and pregnancy hormones.
Who or what has influenced your writing?
Influence is a funny thing—my writing has been shaped by all sorts of diverse people and books, and it would take far too long to list them all. But apart from the usual suspects, honourable mentions would probably go to Joseph Campbell, an endless source of information on how myth affects us all; Dylan Thomas for showing me that words can be put together in a way that punches you in the stomach; Dickens for cliffhanger storytelling; and last but not least, the wonderful women fantasy writers, Diana Wynne Jones, Robin McKinley and Ursula le Guin for showing me possibility.
How did you come up with the title……?
I was helping my son research a project on owls, when we came across the word ‘hoot cat’—a dialect word for barn owl—in a library book. It stuck in my head and wouldn’t go away. As soon as I knew Hootcat Hill was a place, I had a title, and everything else stemmed from there.
What books have most influenced your life most?
I was brought up on Andrew Lang’s Fairy Tales, Kipling, Carroll, Kingsley, E. Nesbit—all the classics. I read all sorts of strange things—Mrs Ewing and others who nobody now has ever heard of, as well as endless myths and legends from all cultures. Narnia was a revelation (I never even noticed the Christian proselytising), and The Lord of the Rings made me feel that here was a book I could go on reading for the rest of my life. I read so much that it’s hard to make choices here—my favourites are all on my website!
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Ursula le Guin, without a doubt. Her books have a feel and a literary consistency about them which I admire and aspire to. She allows herself room to tell her tales, and she’s not afraid to tackle hard subjects in a way which doesn’t ram them down your throat, but inserts them into your brain in such a way that you really think about them properly.
What book are you reading now?
I’ve just started Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon—A Journey through Yugoslavia. Fascinating stuff but quite dense. I read at night, and it’s a heavy tome, so I’ve been waking up with it crushing my chest.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
In the children’s field, I am a great admirer of Alison Croggon’s Pellinor series, and can’t wait for the final one to appear later this year.
What are your current projects?
I’m working on a pair of new novels for older readers. Still in the very early stages, but suffice to say that when they’re finished, readers may look at werewolves in a different light!
What do you see as the influences on your writing?
My books have their roots deep in myth and legend, and all my writing is informed and influenced by that. I believe that myths (which discuss all the great questions: life, birth, death et al) touch our lives at the deepest level of consciousness, and I take great pleasure in reinterpreting and reinventing them for the modern world. Retelling both Greek and Celtic myths for children has been incredibly important for me—these stories must never be lost—but they must also be continually updated to have resonance with new generations. The world we live in is so scary and intimidating for kids—I see part of my job as showing them that although there are monsters out there, of whatever kind, mental or physical, they can be beaten.
Do you have to travel much concerning your books?
I travel when necessary. I’m very lucky in that I have lived in and visited lots of places in the world, so I can draw on those memories when I need to. But sometimes there’s no substitute for going somewhere and feeling the atmosphere, breathing in the smells, and seeing it for myself. Going to Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor was a really important turning point for me in Coll the Storyteller’s Book of Enchantments. I knew immediately that I’d found Merlin’s hideout. I also like to go away to do a serious tranche of writing. I finished Hootcat Hill in a remote part of Donegal in Ireland, which was the perfect place to be.
Who designed the covers?
Different people for different books. The brilliant Kathy Lewis designed Atticus and Coll, and the in-house Orion team did Hootcat Hill. I love it because it’s so original, and absolutely captures the mysterious and exciting feel I want the reader to have.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Getting to the last page. Once I’d done that, I had a frame I could build within and expand on at leisure (or as much leisure as any writer has with a deadline looming). I thought I knew where I was going, but very often my characters (especially Linnet when she was being a stroppy teenager) had other ideas, so I had to change everything. Being a writer is a weird process—having all those voices talking to you in your head. No wonder some people think we’re all mad.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
If you’re going to write a novel, for goodness sake keep a note of eye/hair colour, clothing, timeline etc. In films it’s called continuity, and it’s a real pain if you don’t do it. Realise that you are going to write an awful lot more ‘backstory’ than goes into the finished book. But you have to know all that stuff to be convincing as a writer. Go and look at the first paragraphs of great writers. The first paragraph is your hook—if you lose the reader there, you’ve failed. So make it brilliant.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I’d like my readers to know that bullying is not something anyone should put up with. Linnet in Hootcat Hill is bullied because she is a bit different. How she comes through this is an important strand of the story, and if it gives hope and help to even one person then I will have succeeded in what I set out to do, as well as, I hope, telling a really exciting story that’ll have readers on the edge of their seats.
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