Interview with Caroline Smailes

Caroline Smailes’ first novel, In Search of Adam was published in August 2007. I am pleased to interview her about her online experiences and her third novel Black Boxes.

Do you feel that the networking tools you use make it a worthwhile investment of your time? Do you have to balance the time between promotion and writing?

Definitely! I really would question any modern writer who is not utilising some of the social media available to them. For me blogging, maintaining a website, Facebook and Twitter are part of my daily routine. I truly believe that they help me (as a writer) to reach a wider audience and to interact with readers. This, like most things in life, carries negatives too. Any writer using social media has to be aware and has to set themselves firm boundaries. I have learned (through mistakes) that I need to be very precise with my use of time and there are certain topics that I will never blog/Twitter about. It would be very easy to become absorbed in the online world and for my writing to be neglected, so I believe that the true success in the use of social media is the finding of balance. For me, it's about having fun and interacting with all the tools that are available. I tend not to take myself too seriously and this makes the whole experience more pleasurable.

Have you found blogging to be a wholly positive experience or would you issue any cautions?

I am lucky that the vast majority of my readers are truly friendly, open to interaction and 'get' me. I have had quite a few abusive comments left on my blog and clearly my writing is not liked by everyone. I love blogging and the connections that I have made from it, so the negatives do not in any way outnumber the positives gained. I would suggest that any blogger has some form of statistical tool, so that they can keep track of visitor ISP. This would allow the recording of the author of any abusive comments.

I bought and read your Black Boxes because I saw it on your blog. It is a stunningly original mixture of styles and ideas. Have you ever experimented with other genres such as play scripts or poetry?

Thank you so much! And no, I've never attempted any other genre. I have a feeling I'll take another course, at some point, to learn about play scripts as I am becoming increasingly interested in that form.

Black Boxes breaks taboos about the sexual experiences of young people and the difficulties of post natal depression. Where do you get your ideas from?

An over-active imagination and real life. In my fiction, I tend to draw on the real and then twist into fiction. In Black Boxes, I pulled on my own experiences of postnatal depression, mixed it with imagination and also drew from some of my teenage diaries. As I don't initially plot and plan, I tend to find that my ideas come from the taking of small steps with each character.

I read your blog about chaotic writing, which made me laugh. How is novel 4 coming along, is it breaking any taboos?

I've nearly finished the first draft of novel 4 (currently titled '99 Reasons'). It's possibly my most experimental novel, but in a subtler way and I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenge of writing it. It's about family life and no taboos are being broken, just yet!

Do you have any tips for us 'soon to be graduates' of the MMU Writing School?

First off, huge congratulations on finishing the course and on soon-to-be graduating! I know how difficult a course it is. My tips to anyone attempting to enter the world of publishing would be to develop a tough shell, be prepared for a few knocks but to never ever lose sight of the end goal. It's simple advice, but really you should never ever give up. I'd love to hear about the successes of fellow Writing School graduates.

I am so grateful to Caroline for giving her time to answer my questions and I wish her luck with the fourth novel.

Interview with Paul Burston about his new novel The Gay Divorcee

Paul Burston has written three books: Shameless, Star People, Lovers and Losers. His latest novel, The Gay Divorcee is pubished by Sphere on May 7.

The Gay Divorcee is described as 'a hugely entertaining tale about love, marriage and the lies that happen in between'.

I am thrilled to have interviewed Paul and wish him every success with the new book.

photo by Miguel Sobreira

How did you start your career in writing?

I never planned to be a writer. Although I'd always written for my own amusement, I never imagined I'd make a career of it. I came to London to study English and Drama at university. Then, after I graduated I had no idea what to do so I dedicated myself to being gay. I joined the gay policing group GALOP, and became an AIDS activist with ACT-UP. I was media liaison officer for ACT-UP, which meant I met a lot of journalists. And I thought, "I could do that". My first job was at City Limits. I also freelanced for the gay press, and helped launch Attitude magazine. I joined Time Out in 1993 and I’ve been very happy there. We won the Stonewall Award last year, which was nice. And from the journalism it wasn't such a big leap to writing non-fiction books, and then fiction.

Tell me about your books.

My first novel Shameless was published in 2001 (a year before the TV show of the same name!) It was well received and shortlisted for the State of Britain Award. Then came my 'difficult second novel' Star People, which wasn't as well received and wasn't nominated for anything! My last novel Lovers & Losers did better, and was shortlisted for the Stonewall Book of the Year. The Gay Divorcee is the culmination of everything I've learned on the job as it were. Everyone tells me it's my best book by far, and who am I to argue? It's also more personal. It's about a gay man who's planning to get married, which is something I did myself two years ago. Only unlike Phil in the book I didn't have a wife lurking in the background! It's a romantic comedy, a gay comedy of manners, and it has earned comparisons with Armistead Maupin (for which I'm flattered) and Jackie Collins (hmm)

When do you write best?

I write in the mornings mainly, in my dressing gown, with lots of coffee. There's no great secret to writing. You don't wait for the muse to strike you. You just have to get on with it. Coming from a journalistic background, I don't have time for all that writers block stuff. I have to deliver copy on time every week. So it's a good discipline. Blogging helps too. It certainly helped free me up as a writer. It's like exercising a muscle. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. I've already started work on my next novel (I can't say anything about it yet). The gap between them gets shorter each time. Many thanks for that Paul.

You can find more information about the book on facebook 'The Gay Divorcee'.

Gunnerside Lead Mines

Desperately avoiding the writing that I should be doing for the approaching deadline, we went for a long scramble up to the ruins of the lead mining industry above the village of Gunnerside in the Yorkshire Dales.

The landscape is scarred with industrial ruins and hushes. Huge slag heaps and slopes are covered in waste on which very little will grow; making some parts look like a lunar landscape. Entrances to mining levels are intriguing; the walls shimmer for a way before disappearing into darkness.

A broken water feed pipe disappeared into a black hole. We threw stones down but didn’t hear them hit the bottom.

An air receiver buries into the landscape; it looks like a small submarine. The rivets are beautiful.

Ruins of smelt mills, crushing mills and bouse teams furnish the landscape. Dave found an old nail and hinge up a chimney, he photographed them and hid them again.

The landscape should be spoilt but the ruins blend with the coppery and grey colours of the dales. They accentuate its wild bleak beauty and make exploring fascinating. Mining would have been dangerous and the mortality rate was high; it is certainly not a place to romanticize. Arthur Raistrick wrote extensively about the area and the industrial past. Anyone interested should hunt out one of his many books on the subject.

Interview with Jasmine Aherne about her new novel Stranded

This is Jasmine's first published novel and is due to be out in May. Jasmine is currently a student on the MA Creative Writing course at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has two other novels which she hopes will be published soon. You can find her at www.jasmineaherne.com or you can follow her on Twitter jasmine_aherne.

Tell me about your book.
My first novel is called Stranded. It's about Rachel, a woman who flies to New York to surprise the man she thinks is her fiance. She gets a nasty surprise when she meets his wife. Needing a shoulder, she turns to Will, a stranger she met on the plane, who helps turn her disaster of a holiday into something better. However, just as she's prepared to go home happier, her belongings are stolen in a hit and run... and she finds herself turning to Will yet again....

It's a sweet love story.

It'll be released on May 7th by Pink Petal Books (www.pinkpetalbooks.com) in e-format. Paperback will be available later in the year.

Where do you get your ideas from?

That's a hard one. From everywhere. From my friends, my family, and other books I read. I love the cinema - if I'm ever hitting a dry spell I'll go see a film, it always gets me thinking.

What is your optimum writing environment?

I'm quite lucky in that I can usually write whatever is going on - music etc. But I can't concentrate is the house is dirty! I have to clean first. I think my ideal environment would be my own office, but I'll have to sell a ot of books before that'll be an option...

How has the MA Creative Writing Course at MMU helped develop you as a writer?

In all kinds of ways. It's so lovely to have a support group to pitch ideas at, and I've found everyone to be so honest and critical - but in a creative, helpful way. It's also made me consider writing styles I hadn't thought of, and introduced me to some very talented writers and poets. The course has also given me the confidence to submit my work to more publishers and agents than I ever had before.

What is your second novel about?

My second novel, Between the Lines, will be published by Wild Horse Press (www.wildhorsepress.webs.com) in June. It's about an emotionally scarred writer who globe-trots to avoid making comittments.

Do you find that your skills as a poet help your novel writing and vice versa?
Definitely. I think poetry is a lot more difficult though - you need to condense what you want to say into fewer lines and there are more forms to choose from. You only have so much space and so much of a reader's attention to make impact in a poem, I find it a lot more demanding.
Thank you so much for giving this interview Jasmine and best of luck with the novels.

Stone walls

Had a fascinating morning talking to a master craftsman about building stonewalls.
They were raising money for and I got some more ideas for poems about walls which will be written when I have finished the essays.

My teenage daughter did not quite understand how interesting it all was but she did take some lovely photos for my website www.traceyhope.co.uk. They were a really good bunch of people and very helpful. They run courses for people interested in learning the craft www.ydswg.co.uk

My husband took this witch's face in a tree trunk.

William Hague's visit and Comic Relief

Well Comic Relief day was interesting. I was cajoled into dressing as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz which made the job of teaching excited teenagers much easier. It all brought out the humbug in me.

Plus the fact that William Hague was visiting to open a new computer room. The school day was been completely re-arranged around him and they even brushed the grass. Anyway, fortunately, he did not bump into staff dressed in silly costumes. However, I did make the mistake of telling my class that the photo-copier technician was a secret service agent sweeping for bombs. All hell let loose. One kid did a somersault off a desk. It is incredible that after all my years in teaching, I never learn.

Anyway, Cartimandua has been on my mind again and I have redrafted her poem into three short poems (bargain three for the price of one). Cartimandua was the Brigantian Queen who ruled these parts and had quite an interesting life and set of lovers.

Pompei and Yorkshire

Not a lot of inspiration to be had from garden centres and sick children. Although I am sure Larkin could have found something to say.

Instead have been looking at mosaics from Pompei and thinking about Cartimandua, the Brigantian Queen who allegedly betrayed Caratacus to the Romans. She left her husband, Venutius, for Vellocatus, her husband's armour bearer. I reckon she was a typical Yorkshire woman making choices for her people and when she got tired of it, I imagine her in Italy enjoying the Roman life. Interesting woman to write about.