In my late teens I exchanged one dream, to marry a vicar, for another: to inspire great poetry. My favourite poet was Goethe, who wrote several series of beautiful poems inspired by his long line of beautiful mistresses. (Odd, looking back, that I didn’t dream of writing my own material and finding a handsome chap ... Read More
What follows was intended as a competition entry, but they wanted 1000 words and there wasn’t any more to say. I like to practise ’emotional economy’. The master of that is Colm Toibin, by the way. ‘My Writing Day’ or ‘What I did yesterday’ I lived other people’s lives, mainly. The lives of my imagined ... Read More
When I first moved to Oxford in 1975 I was amused when my elderly neighbours called me ‘my duck.’ I haven’t heard that recently. I love these regional variations and I’m sorry they are dying out. My parents lived in Cornwall and a colleague who visited there was so delighted with the Cornish habit of ... Read More
When I was a social worker listening closely was a big part of my job and I’m sure that has helped me to write believable dialogue. What one deduces from what other people say is another matter, I think. Some of my musings on this have informed my novel ‘Timed Out’. In the passage quoted ... Read More
Here’s a trick my mind plays. I’ve just seen the film ‘Brooklyn’. I loved it – wonderful acting, perfect dialogue (screenplay by Nick Hornby), beautiful to look at. As we went in, I told my friend that the Colm Toibin novel is one of my favourites and so I wouldn’t be wondering what Eilis would ... Read More
