Here is my interview with Jennifer Young

Name:Jennifer Young

 

Age: As old as my tongue and a little bit older than my teeth!

 

Where are you from:

From the Midlands originally, but I’ve lived in Edinburgh for more years than I care to admit.

 

A little about yourself ie your education, family life etc

I came to study geography in Edinburgh and I’m still here! I have two teenagers who pretty much look after themselves so that leaves me free to work as a writer — and to study. I’ve just submitted my final project for a Masters in Earth Science with the Open University and I’m wondering what to do next.

 

 

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?

My latest news is pretty exciting — my second novel, No Time Like Now, will be published by Tirgearr publishing on 28 October. And in the meantime I’m ploughing on with the next one…

 

 
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

I bet most writers say the same thing here. I’ve always written, for as long as I can remember. I can’t help myself. I really don’t know why, except that I’m not happy if I don’t. The world is full of stories that really ought to be told.

 

 
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Although I’ve always written I never dared to call myself a writer until my first book (Thank You For The Music) came out this year. I’d had short stories published in magazines before, and I’m also a freelance science writer. But I couldn’t quite believe I was a writer until the book was out.

 

 
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

The very first ‘long’ book I ever wrote was a Cold War thriller and I’ve a funny feeling it was inspired by a teenage crush. It was truly awful. More than that I’m not prepared to say!

 

 
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?

I think my style is still developing. When I just sit down and write, what I produce is very brief and very personal; once it’s been edited it changes. I like to write in the first person because I feel that it brings me very much closer to the heart of the character. But I usually write a third person point of view too, for contrast.

 

 
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

I’m dreadful at titles. It’s a bit of a running joke. I have a book full of titles that I think I might use but none of them ever fits so I scratch around for ages and usually just take a line from the book. But today may be a breakthrough because the perfect title for my current work in progress just came to me as I was walking along the street.

 

 
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I write romance so it isn’t particularly complex. But No Time Like Now definitely has a message — it’s about forgiveness and the need for people to talk, and listen, to one another.

 

 
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?

Would that be telling? None of the main plot. But I always write about places I know — in this case Majorca — and the story is set in a university field centre so I’ve drawn upon some of my own student experiences for the background.

 

 
Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I know people say that every book is autobiographical and I do think that you have to put some of yourself into your writing. But I write fiction and even if I start of from an experience of mine — or someone else’s — by the time I’ve finished the original is completely reworked into something else.

 

 
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?

Possibly the most difficult question you’ve asked! I think it may have been The Lord of the Rings, if only because thats the book I can remember my mother reading when I was quite young. And I like fairy stories. One day I’d love to write a version of a fairy tale but with a modern twist.

 

 
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

The person whose writing has most influenced what I currently write is Mary Stewart. I love romantic suspense and her books are perfect examples of the genre. As to a mentor, I went to writing classes with a tutor called Mary Gladstone — and she’s inspirational.

 

 
Fiona: What book are you reading now?

I’ve just finished reading Philippa Gregory’s The King’s Curse. I’m too lazy to write historical fiction but I love reading it. And I love the way she sticks to the known facts but lets her imagination run riot wherever there’s something about which historical fact is unclear.

 

 
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

I recently read The Norfolk Mystery by Ian Samson and loved it. I don’t know if he’s a new author (I think not) but it seems to be the first in a series and I’m desperate to read more.

 

 
Fiona: What are your current projects?

With No Time Like Now coming out soon there’s plenty of work to be done there. And I’m working on the next book (provisionally entitled A Portrait of My Love) which is set in Italy. The trouble is it’s turning into two books as once I’ve sorted out my hero and heroine I find that two minor characters are left begging to tell their story too. And who am I to say no?

 

 
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

Do other writers count as an entity? Other writers, both individually and in writers groups, have helped me through the bad times and celebrated with me in the good times. Without them, I wouldn’t be writing. There’s a school of thought that writers can be jealous and selfish — I’ve never found that.

 

 
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

I think so. I’m a freelance science writer and a copywriter as well as a novelist. I earn my money from it… I think that’s the definition of a career.

 

 
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

I would find a better title!

 

 
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I honestly don’t. I just know it’s something I’ve always done; although the type of writing I’ve done has changed through the years — poetry, short stories, novels, non-fiction. You name it, I’ve tried it.

 

 
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?

“The pebbles spitting under my feet, I broke into a run and, even before I got there, I knew that I’d found a body.

It was a woman, face down in the water. At some time in life she’d tucked her hair into a practical red bandana, probably at the same time as she’d donned her olive green shorts and walking boots, before she’d strapped a maroon rucksack to her back. The side of her head might have been covered in blood not long before, but the water had washed it away leaving behind an ugly dent in her left temple. I reached down to touch her, and her body — washed by the soft sea — was warm under my fingers.

I tried to scream — an effort that was not only futile but monumentally unsuccessful, because though I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I stood for a moment until bile rose within my throat and I turned away, retching, while a clammy sweat crawled over my forehead. The last dead body I had seen was my mother, quiet and calm in a bed in the hospice, not the violent victim of a sudden death. But a body is still a body, and a memory is still a memory.

My legs shook. I must call someone, though the poor soul was clearly beyond help. Caught as I was in the claws of panic, I couldn’t think who to call or how to find them. I had a phone but, because I had no-one that I ever needed to talk to except occasionally Domenica about what we needed to get from the cash and carry and who was running late, I never took it with me when I went out. She always scolded me about that. ‘What if you have a fall along those cliffs,’ she’d chide, ‘or if we need to find you?’

The bleak facts were that nobody ever wanted to get hold of me and I’d never yet had a fall, but that must be what had happened to this poor woman.

Still shaking, and shivering even in the sun, I scrambled over the point and back to the beach. I wasn’t that far from the field centre; when I got there, Domenica would know what to do. Or there might be a boat, someone whose attention I could attract. I scanned the horizon and yes, there was a boat.

‘Help!’ I shouted, jumped up and down, and waved. ‘Help!’ But the boat was too far out and, although I shouted until my words ricocheted off the cliffs behind me, and jumped up and down waving my arms like a mad woman or a desperate one, the occupants ignored me. What could they have done anyway? It was too late to save her. Though I hated to leave her, I set off back down the way to the centre.

And then, thank God, a figure appeared swinging easily along the beach with the action of the outdoorsman completely at home in his surroundings. I was so glad to see him that I didn’t even care that it was Tim.”

 

 
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Plotting. I still haven’t found the ideal way to work; at the moment I find that I write a first draft and then go back and correct all the inconsistencies in the plot.

 

 
Fiona: Who is your favourite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Philippa Gregory is probably my current favourite. I love her books on the Wars of the roses and I love the way she focuses on the lesser-known characters of history. She draws me in completely.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?

I wish I did! I’m very strongly influenced by location (and I also write travel articles) but the stories follow my travels not the other way round. I’d love to be able to justify some proper research!

 

 
Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Tirgearr have in-house designers, who are terrific. I’m hugely glad I don’t have to do any designing myself.

 

 
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Usually it’s actually getting the words down on the page but in this case the first draft was incredibly easy. I did it last year as part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I had the first draft written in less than a week. Editing was difficult, though.

 

 
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

I learned that with a little bit of self-discipline there are no excuses. If I was stuck I just wrote badly until I was through the scene and went back and edited it later.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?

Every writer is different so what works for me won’t necessarily be best for someone else. But I would say: “don’t get it right, get it wrote”. Then at least you’ll have something to work with.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

My readers, and all others: if you like a book, tell the author. Review it or post it on our Facebook pages… We’re desperate to please and desperate for people to enjoy what we write. So please let us know!

 

 

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

No. I read a lot when I was a child. I remember a green book with poems in it though I can’t remember what it was called. And I must have read all the Chalet School books.

 

 

 

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

Football. Sigh.

 

 

 

Fiona: Is there one person past or present you would meet and why?

Just one? Probably Elizabeth I. She wasn’t without her faults but her achievements, under the circumstances, were extraordinary.

 

 

 

Fiona: What do you want written on your headstone and why?

“Writer and friend.” Because that’s what I try to be.

 

 

 

Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?

I’m a bit of a gym bunny. I love watching sport. And I’m trying to cure myself of my sudoku habit, because it’s starting to take over my life.

 

 

 

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?

I don’t watch much TV because I’m usually too obsessed with sudoku! But I love sport and travel programmes. And I had a terrible weakness for a series called Gold Rush on some obscure channel. Sadly it’s finished and I missed the last programme; so now I’ll never know if 17-year-old Parker struck gold or not.

 

 

 

Fiona: Favorite foods / Colours/ Music

I couldn’t live without cheese; I love the colour blue; and my life would be poorer if my kids didn’t introduce me to indie music which I’d never otherwise have listened to (think Bastille, The Killers and The Vaccines).

 

 

 

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?

I think I’d like to have been a travel guide. I live in the most beautiful city in the world and I love showing people around. It would be nice to be paid for it!

 

 

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?

My blog is called Reading, Writing, Wandering http://jenniferyoungauthor.blogspot.co.uk/  though I don’t blog as often as I should (though it’s on my list of things to do). I’m also one of five writers who contribute to a blog called Novel Points of View http://novelpointsofview.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Young_Jennifer/no-time-like-now.htm