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I wrote this book when I was 14, when I was a dreamy, bookish adolescent who could listen to the teacher with half an ear and write the book at the back of the class. My main reading at the time was novels set in Roman, Greek or medieval times. A weekend trip to Anglesey with my Mum gave the backdrop for the starting point, and travelling back in time was always a favourite fantasy. I believed my main character, Karen, was fictional, but with hindsight I realise she was me. Once started, the ideas flowed thick and fast and before the end of one chapter, the next would suggest itself. I did some additional research but even so slipped up on a couple of things that the editor later spotted, for instance the Romans had no tomatoes: they were brought to Europe from America centuries later. I was thrilled when a publisher accepted it, and of course a huge fuss was made about such a young author. However, I spent the rest of my teen years trying to live it down. Boys didn't go for clever girls and if anyone mentioned it at a party I knew my chances were snookered. The book has been gathering dust in my memory for decades, so I was frankly astonished to be contacted by a private publisher last year, wanting to re-issue it. However, when I look at it again, I'm surprised how good it is, and friends of mine are now begging for copies and reading it themselves. These days I'm a Speech and Language Therapist, but I've had a variety of jobs, including teaching English to foreigners, working in a bookshop, leading pony treks in the Welsh Mountains and running riding holidays in the Scottish Borders. I'm an outdoor person at heart, love animals, wild places and wine. I have two sons who are the best thing in my life, even though when I was younger I thought I didn't want children. If you want to write, just sit down and get on with it. Then go over what you've written, reduce and condense by at least a third, delete the word "I" wherever possible, and don't stick to a strictly chronological order of events. |
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I
was born in 1950 in Gloucestershire. My father died when I was a child, and I
moved to
Describe your book ‘The Green Bronze Mirror’ in 30 words or less.
Teenage girl Karen finds an old mirror which
transports her in time to the
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
I think that the hardest part is going over
what you've written, reducing and condensing.
What books have had the greatest influence on you?
The
books which most influenced me were the works of Rosemary Sutcliff, especially
Eagle of the Ninth.
Briefly share with us what you do to market your
book?
Apart from my activity in Freado, I am a member of
the Independent Author Network, and also active on Twitter and Goodreads, and
Harper Collins' peer review site Authonomy.
How do you spend your time when you are not
writing?
My main
intereses are long-distance walks, horses and blues music.
I'm an outdoor person at heart, love animals, wild places and wine. I have two
sons who are the best thing in my life, even though when I was younger I
thought I didn't want children.
What are you working on next?
I have no writing projects until I have more time - after retirement.
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