I Think It All Began Somewhere Near Here

When I was little I drew a lot. I drew, I didn’t write stories. Only, at some point, the two combined and I started writing and drawing comic strips. And I wonder whether it was at that point where It all began.
But until yesterday, when I found the above, I hadn’t seen any of my creations in almost twenty years, I’d assumed they’d been thrown out. Until yesterday, when I found the above, which, oddly enough, is the one I can clearly, vividly, remember drawing. I drew it on my bedroom floor on a Saturday afternoon. I was somewhere between 8 and 10 years old. It was spring. I drew it with a silver Parker propelling pencil I’d been bought for my birthday and I seem to remember that I mispelled ‘pirates’ intentionally. (Yes folks, I was An Individual even then!)
The Pirots and Hunters was a one-off (which, I suppose, makes it even cooler to have found it). I did considerably more editions of an Addams Family/Munsters inspired one (which I can still draw today) – as well as a robot one which looked spookily like Wall.E (which I can also still draw). I do hope they turn up one day.
So there you are, folks. A glimpse into my childhood. 
Below is what’s on the back of the above. I think I must have thought it important that people know EXACTLY what it was, which must be why I wrote everything twice. So it goes.

Fiona Robyn Interview

It is with great pleasure that I welcome poet, novelist and all round lovely lady, Fiona Robyn to my blog, for the latest stage on her blog tour in support of her debut, The Letters.


So, let’s get going…

 

The Letters, Fiona, who’s it for and what’s it about?

The Letters tells the story of workaholic divorcee Violet who leaves her old life behind to go and live by the sea, where she starts receiving mysterious letters written by a girl in a mother and baby home in 1959.  This novel happens to have female lead characters and so may appeal more to women, but that was never my intention – it depends if male readers are comfortable enough with their masculinity to be seen reading it in public!

 

Do letters play a significant part in your life?

They used to – I had a good pen friend from the age of 13 until we were 20, but we tend to meet up instead these days.  Email certainly plays a significant part, and some of my emails are longer ‘letter-like’ ones.  I feel very comfortable writing my thoughts down and use journals a lot.  But there’s nothing like a face to face chat with coffee with cake.

 

You’re a therapist by day – does that help with your writing?

I never use anything my clients tell me in my novels (that’s a very strict rule) but I’m sure the privilege of hearing about people’s hidden lives acts as a kind of ‘compost’ for my muse.  It also reassures me about some of the things that my characters think or do – if I think it’s a bit far fetched, I just remember some of the things real people have told me over the years.  We never really know what’s going on inside another person.

 

And with such an involved day job, how do you find the time to write?

I see clients from 3 until 8 so it fits perfectly with a writing life – as long as I remember to take a bit of time for myself in the middle of the day!  I’m very lucky to be able to make a living doing something I love, and also have plenty of ‘free’ time to write. 

 

You’re also a poet. Could you talk to us about that? Do you see it as a break/release from fiction/your job?

I haven’t written any poems for a while now, unless you count the mini-poems on a small stone.  I’ve been too busy for the poems to find any gaps in my life to slip through.  I’m sure they’ll return. 

 

Is writing poetry a different process to prose?

In some ways it is.  You have to hold less in your mind if you’re writing a poem – it’s all there in front of you.  You need to make sure every single word is working hard.  You become immersed in a novel over time – I like that.  But in other ways it’s the same – stepping out of the way and letting the words come, then polishing them up until they shine. 

 

Why do you blog?

I love the immediacy of blogging – have a thought, write it down, and it’s out there!  I really enjoy making new connections with people, and blogging has facilitated that for me.  And I’m also always on the lookout for people who might enjoy reading my books, and blogging is a way to let the world know what I do.

 

You’re coming to the end of a (fantastic and extensive) blog tour – how’s it been?

Great fun!  I’m constantly amazed at how different people have different responses to The Letters and Violet, and I’ve been asked some very searching questions!  I also feel very grateful to everyone for their time and support.

 

A little bird told me that you’ve an interest in Buddhism and meditation, would you say that’s evident in your writing or is it something that has more to do with your writing process?

My spiritual practice helps me learn to pay attention, which is exactly what my writing helps me to do.  Telling the truth also feels very important – the truth about who I am and where I am, whether I like it or not.  That’s where we need to begin.

 

What do you imagine your ideal reader looks like?

I used to think I’d like a clever male critic type to approve of my work, but now I think I’d say ‘ordinary people’, whatever they are!  Maybe people who don’t read very often, or who would never touch poetry with a barge pole.  I hope people will enjoy the language in my books (and I’m not talking about the bad language!).  I hope people will be touched.

 

What’s next for you? What can we expect from your next novels? (I’ve heard there may be a couple…)

Yup – 62 year old Leonard will be reluctantly investigating a mystery in The Blue Handbag in August, and then Ruth will be deciding whether or not to end her life in her three month diary in Thaw in Feb next year.  I can’t wait! 

 

Anything to add?

Thank you very much for having me Nik – great questions!



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And if you’d like to see the other stops on Fiona’s tour, click here.

Book Lovin’ – Does this happen to you?

I’m reading, and utterly loving, Slaughterhouse 5 at the moment. But here’s the thing – it isn’t just the words and story I love. It’s the typeface, the cover, the feel of the book, its weight, its texture, its size. I felt the same about Willful Creatures, by Aimee Bender (seriously, I stroked that book!) among a few others (Leading The Dance, The Time Traveler’s Wife, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Love That Dog) but, I don’t know, there’s just something about Willful Creatures and Slaughterhouse 5 that makes holding them – the thing, thinking about it, almost as enjoyable as reading it.

Is it just me?

What a Review!

There’s little nicer to read as a writer than a good review of your work, and when that work’s for children, as my book I Met a Roman Last Night, What Did You Do? is, and the good review is from someone who isn’t a proper grown-up (quite yet!) then that’s even better. So, yes, reading Jacob’s intelligent and thoughtful review here made me very happy.

What also makes me very happy is being interviewed by the terrific Caroline Smailes. I read her second book, Black Boxes earlier in the year and utterly loved it; it’s the best book I’ve read this year – and I was lucky enough to interview her here.
So as much as I’m hobbling around on a dicky foot, and as much as the antibiotics I’m taking to cure the reason for such hobbling are making me feel just a little bit horrid, I am rather happy.
Thank you, Jacob, and thank you, Caroline.

What Do You Write On?

A question for you folks: What do you write on? And I mean in a laptop sense. It’s getting to the stage where mine’ll need replacing soon and I was hoping you’d be kind enough to share your laptop experiences, good or bad.

I’ve been on a Sony for the last couple of years and it’s been ok, but not without its problems.
And I wouldn’t have a Mac – too much to re-buy programmes et al. even though they are very pretty.

Ick and Mumblings

This has not been a good few days. I’ve had the most painful rejection ever. And today I’ve learned that the cellulitis I had last summer never went away, which would go a fair way to explaining why I’ve not felt myself for far too many months. It came back, and how! yesterday. So I’m in pain again and feeling sick on antibiotics.

But I have been able to see things (writing, my life) in a different light. A clearer one. There are more important things to life than writing and when you’re driven to be succussful (even with the best of intentions) you can miss important things, and nothing’s worth more than happiness. So folks, as hard as you need to work at this writing business, make sure you stay happy and make sure those around you are happy too.
Keep the balance right.

Why Hurting Can Help

About eighteen months after my book was published I was informed it contained a typo. Where it should have said reins it said reigns. Now, I’ll not lie to you (how could I – and why would I want to?) – I was gutted. And embarrassed. I’d missed it – and not through being illiterate or sloppy. My book was not perfect. That editors had missed it too, and readers (as far as I’m aware) was no comfort. It really stung. 

And I told people about it, I mentioned it to author friends of mine. And most of them said don’t worry. It’s fine. Lots of books have typos. And although it’s not ideal, it’s not something that should cause anyone to give up writing.
And their warmth and their words helped. (It’s still something that irks me, but I’m over it.)
I received an email from a member of my writing group earlier. She’d had her first poem published and whoever had published it had made a mistake. It was formatted (cleverly) in a specific way and had ended up in the finished booklet wrong. Formatting out the window.
And I could see why she’d be upset. I know how much time she’d spent on it, and she wondered how it could have missed.
And I could tell her that I knew how she felt. And that, really, it was okay (the poem, to be fair, does look great even though it doesn’t look the same as she’d intended) and that people do make mistakes. And, I think, I cheered her up.
The most important thing is that it was published. Nothing should take the shine off that.
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I hugely enjoyed this interview: Tania Hershman dribbling with Elizabeth Baines. Curious? Go have a look.