an interview

Well I'm back! There will be more on my lovely but exhausting holiday tomorrow but firstly, before I can be distracted any further, as promised an interview with Fiona Robyn.

Fiona is the author of several books, including the novels The Letters and The Blue Handbag. On Monday her third novel Thaw came out which, as the regular reader will know, she is promoting with a Blogsplash.

In honour of this momentous event Fiona very kindly agreed to answer some pressing questions regarding life the universe and octupi (SY = me, FR = Fiona)

SY: My earliest writing memory is making a picture book about a kingdom under the sea. I was about 6 and the octupi all had 16 legs. Do you have a similar writing memory dating back to childhood? If not what was your earliest realisation that you needed to write?

FR: That sounds like a good story! I do remember stapling folded paper together to make books, designing the cover, writing the first couple of pages, and losing interest. Thankfully I’ve learnt the skill of completion since then. I also loved books from an early age, Roald Dahl was a particular favourite. I didn’t start writing until I was 18, but words were already in my blood.

SY: Tell us a little bit about your writing day. Do you have routines and rituals or are you more spontaneous? What are your favourite procrastination tools?

FR: I have a wide range of procrastination tools, from feeling hungry to suddenly needing to dust the living room. I’m very creative. I need to sit myself down first thing in the morning, and make myself stay at my desk until I’ve written 1000 words, although that does vary depending on what stage of the novel I’m at. I do light a candle before I start writing. A good (writer) friend gave me the candle holder.

SY: Your first two novels, The Letters and The Blue Handbag, were published last year. How was "the road to publication" for you? Long and winding or smooth and straight?

FR: Long and winding, I suppose, as it took six years after finishing my first novel to find a publisher, but I know it can take much longer. In retrospect, I’m pleased it took so long, because I had a lot of opportunity to learn how to deal with rejection. That’s a vital skill if you want to be a writer. I was also able to write exactly the kind of books I wanted to write, without having to worry about an audience, agent or publisher, as I didn’t have any of those things.

SY: Your next novel, Thaw, is out now. It tells the story of a woman deciding whether or not to end her life and explores what makes a life worth living. Can you share a little about where this story came from and what it was like to write?

FR: The book came from the same place as all the others; they begin when the main character turns up in my head. As I get to know the character, their story emerges. It was quite difficult to write sometimes, as the book is hard hitting, but I’m very fond of Ruth and I hope my readers will grow fond of her too.

SY: Finally Fiona, you have decided to publicise Thaw with a "Blogsplash" in which as many bloggers as possible will publish the first page of the novel on their blogs. How did you come up with this idea?

FR: It’s a bit of a gamble to blog the whole book, it might mean I don’t get any sales at all, but I wanted to make sure that as many people as possible knew about the project and the Blogplash felt like a way of getting the word out. Bloggers have always been very supportive to me, and I knew they’d be up for it! Let’s see if we can still make 1000 blogs. I’m at 245 so far so it’ll be a big push!

To buy Thaw right now go to Amazon UK or the Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery).

Thank you Fiona and best of luck with the new book!

one last thing before i quit

Off on holiday tomorrow. We're staying this hotel for the first couple of days and apart from a necessary pilgrimage to Howarth I intend to do nothing at all. Then off to Leeds and Derby for ink!

So Radio Silence until Thursday, when I will be back with an interview with Fiona Robyn in celebration of her New Book (go on, buy it, you know you want to!)

Namaste Bloggers :D

things i love thursday (4)

*cycling to and from work - I'm finding myself really looking forward to this each day now. I love being able to incorporate my exercise into my routine - it gives me extra "me" time in the evening. Plus the cycle home really clears my head of work troubles.

*gin and tonic on a weeknight - I don't know what prompted this but Himself poured me a G&T last night. I never drink in the week so it felt naughty in a good way!

*my hair is getting so long!

*I have a week's holiday next week. We're going to Yorkshire, staying in a gorgeous hotel and getting tattooed :D

*slow but good progress on that novel I'm writing.

The Misguided Bus: An Odyssey

If you read the comments to yesterday’s post you may have seen mention of the Guided Bus. This innovative method of public transport has become quite infamous in Cambridgeshire, mostly because of the fact that after years of planning it is still not up and running.

This Wiki article says that plans for this have been going on since 2001 but I first remember talk of the Guided Bus (or the Misguided Bus as the local press have “hilariously” nicknamed it) back in the days when the Brontosaurus roamed the earth, Kurt Cobain was still alive and I was doing my A Levels. I have people working for me who weren’t born then. Eighteen years later and it is still not built.

But what on earth is it? When I first heard of it I had visions of a bus travelling slowly down the middle of the road, guided by a man waving a flag like in the days of the early car. The Guided Bus however is basically a cross between a tram and a bus. It runs on special concrete tracks, allegedly zipping through the traffic most of the time. Then, when it needs to, it can also run on the road. It has two special sets of wheels for this purpose, which is a bit Inspector Gadget. The main point of all this is to connect areas of Cambridgeshire that have had no public transport for many years since our local railways were closed down. Currently many of the buses are just travelling around on the normal bus routes displaying signs that say "I'll be on the Busway soon, will you?". Surely, at this rate their "road wheels" will be worn away before they get on the busway.

The best thing about the Guided Bus is that cycle paths have been built along the sides of the tracks, which means that I can get to work without having to go on the road at all. However, I still don’t have a plan B for getting to work on rainy days, so for my part I hope it’s not much longer before the Guided Bus starts running.

The delays have been so great, and so many deadlines have come and gone that the Council is no longer even bothering to tell us a proposed opening date. Until then I guess I’ll just have to wear my sexy red waterproofs when it rains (which I’ve just noticed it is currently doing!).

the time has come, the walrus said

The time has come to stop being a hypocrite. The universe has decreed it.

(bikes in Cambridge - www.stockphotopro.com)

Himself and I are pretty passionate about the planet we live on (and I have to be honest here, Himself does all the hard work and research, I just do what I'm told). From what we eat, to where we shop, to where we go on holiday we try our very best to keep our carbon footprints and our plastic bags as minimal as possible.

Except I have one great weakness. My car (Himself doesn't drive so he can continue to polish his halo). I know, I know. It's not even a new car, with low pollution, let alone a hybrid or electric car. It's a 14 year old heaving rustbucket. But I love it. I use all sort of excuses for driving places from "you try carrying 15 yoga blocks around with you on the bus" to "I've got fibromyalgia *whine whine*". Yeah, quite. I really don't use it that much, there's just times, like going to work, when it's just more....convenient.

But really these days I have no excuses. I live in Cambridge, the City of the Bicycle, I no longer need to carry 15 yoga blocks anywhere and honestly, my health is under control.

And then yesterday, a message from the gods. My car went in for a service and came out a write off. The work it needs will cost about twice as much as the car is worth.

I was so upset. Himself worked out how much money I'd spent on the damn car in the last year and I had a minor heart attack. He then pointed out that I could get a lot of taxis/pairs of shoes/glittery eyeliners for that money. I smiled.

So this morning I cycled to work. It's a 6 mile (about 10km) round trip. The 3 miles to work takes me about 25 minutes at the moment but I'm hoping to get that down to 20 minutes over the next few weeks. It felt good to be cycling, I felt I could be in a much more mindful place on my bike than in my car and oh but how good it felt cycling past the queues of traffic that I usually sit in!

So for now, we'll see how things go. We're going up to Yorkshire at the weekend so I will be hiring a car for that. it does mean I will have to cancel the teaching opportunites that I had lined up as I physically will not be able to get to the venue, but everything happens for a reason. Maybe the universe is telling me to focus my energies elsewhere.

I'd like to think I could live without a car. I'm taking it one day at a time.

In the meantime I would like this panier set!