Category Archives: Writing

A STUDY OF STUDIOS: AN INTERVIEW WITH ART AUTHOR ROSIE OSBORNE

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Rosie Osborne, author, While still in her teens, author and award-winning photographer Rosie Osborne made a vow to herself. She promised that by the time she turned 30 she would have published a book collecting her exclusive access-all-areas interviews with some of the UK’s most dynamic contemporary artists such as Sylvette David and Danny Fox. 

All those years later she achieved her ambition and the result is fascinating new coffee-table tome Free Spirits. We caught up with Rosie to find out more…

Q. Free Spirits is obviously aimed at art lovers, but what do you think is its unique appeal?

A. I hope that it offers an insight into the private side of artistic practice, and the everyday struggles and triumphs that artists experience. I think there’s a very human side of art that can sometimes be hidden by the polished gallery shows or the museum retrospectives and that’s what I have tried to delve into.

Q. All the interviewees must have been fascinating to speak with, but are there any that especially stand out to you?

A. Interviewing British artist Danny Fox last year was fascinating. Fox is a self-taught painter who grew up in St Ives, Cornwall, where I spent a lot of my childhood. As a teenager, he worked long hours in restaurant kitchens, washing up dishes to save up to buy paint. I remember him saying at the time that if he was offered a job with more responsibility, he’d turn it down, because he didn’t want to take up the mind space that he needed for painting. I went to his first exhibition in St Ives when I was 15 and was really moved by his painting style. Although Danny didn’t go to art school or have any contacts, he moved to London, where his work started to gain more and more recognition. Over the years following, his paintings were featured in shows all over Europe and America, and he is now based in Los Angeles, California. Danny’s work ethic from day one always inspired me, and his paintings are amongst my favourites, up with Picasso and Matisse. Last year, 15 years after attending his first exhibition, I interviewed Danny back in Cornwall. It was so interesting to discuss all of the years that had passed, especially back in St Ives, where it all started.

Q. You interviewed artists over a space of 17 years. Does this mean there are more interviews yet to be published and, if so, what are your plans in this regard?

A. Yes, I selected 13 interviews for Free Spirits, but I’ve got around a hundred interviews ready for publication. I publish some interviews on my website, but I hold on to lots in order to wait until what feels like the right time to release them.

A.  You were only a teenager when you started conducting the interviews. Did you find any resistance to your interview requests and how did you overcome this?

A. I’ve learnt that it’s really important to use rejection to propel you to move forward. Many of my requests to interview my favourite artists as a teenager were left unread, or I just never heard back from them. Over the years, I started to see it as a process of elimination. Four artists out of five may not have replied, but one often did. Putting everything into making that one interview as good as it could possibly be would mean that the likelihood of future artists saying ‘yes’ was much more promising. I saw it as a process, like any person learning to improve or perfect their trade. Nothing comes easy. I truly believe that if you can learn to take rejection on the chin, and turn it into a positive force, nothing can hold you back from getting to where you’ve always wanted to be.

Q. How would you describe the importance of contemporary art to those who may not be familiar with it?

A. I think that in order to attempt to understand contemporary art, it helps to look back to what came before it. Picasso said that, “Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction”. Everything in art is consciously, or subconsciously, a reaction to something that has come before it, so the symbolism or meaning of a piece of contemporary art can sometimes be linked to something that came hundreds of years before.

Q. If you could travel back in time, which one artist from the past would you like to speak with, and what would you ask them?

A. I’d love to interview Henri Matisse, towards the end of his life when he worked from his studio in a wheelchair. After undergoing surgery for cancer, he lost his mobility. Instead of giving up, Matisse drew incessantly and rediscovered the medium of paper cutouts. He talked about how he felt completely reenergised, and called the last 14 years of his life “une seconde vie” (his second life.) I’d love to ask him about this stage of his life, and how the work that he was able to do in the studio, in a sense, saved him.

Q. Your book features a wealth of photos with the artists in their studios. Why did you think this important to include?

A. It’s impossible to describe some of the studio scenes in the book with words! They’re all completely different: some are orderly and tidy and some are filled floor to ceiling with collected objects and everyday items alongside art materials. A studio space that I really enjoyed documenting a couple of years ago belonged to Cornish artist Samuel Bassett. I tried to take photographs of his working space that were really honest, so that the reader feels as if they’re standing in the room, observing every detail. His small studio was filled with surfboards, crates of paint, sofas, packs of cereal, saucepans and all of his kitchen items, along with works in progress and paint dripped over absolutely everything. It was great fun spending time there. It’s honestly impossible to describe, but the images say it all! Artists’ working spaces are often very transient places. As Samuel no longer paints there, the room was painted white, ready for the next artist, and the spirit of that room has changed and become something else. That’s why I felt compelled to try to record the atmosphere in that room in some way.

Q. Free Spirits also serves as a memoir of your personal development. What achievements to date are you most proud of?

A. Getting the book out into the public sphere felt really significant to me. I promised myself at 17 years old that I’d publish the book before I turned 30. Free Spirits came out the day before my 30th birthday. It’s definitely the personal accomplishment that I feel most proud of.

Free Spirits by Rosie Osborne is available now, priced £30 in hardcover. Visit www.rosieosborne.com 

 

SISTER SCRIBES GUEST: JANE WENHAM-JONES ON THE BIG FIVE O

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Following on from the RNA article in Frost last week I’m delighted to welcome Jane Wenham-Jones – novelist, columnist and presenter  – to Sister Scribes today. Thank you, Jane, for answering our many and varied questions.

 

First off the blocks. Plotter or pantser? Or does it vary by what you are writing (short story, novel, ‘how to’ book etc)?  

I started off as a Pantser, but I am now – through bitter experience ha! – a plotter. I plotted my last novel – The Big Five O – fairly forensically as it follows the stories of four different women and I needed to make sure it was balanced and the timeline worked. When I wrote a weekly column, however,  I would often just begin writing and see what came out… And I tend to write articles with just a vague idea of the content. I am on my tenth book as we speak and I have a one-sentence description for each chapter on a sheet beside me, but whether the novel will end up like that is another matter…

What, for you, is the very hardest part of writing?

Getting started. I am such a procrastinator. My son used to say he could always tell when the novel wasn’t flowing because even HIS shelf of the airing cupboard had been tidied…

And what is the most rewarding?

Writing “The End” (There’s nothing like it!!)

Photo credit Bill Harris

What do you see as the greatest success of your writing career? And what was the deepest disappointment?

One came from the other. When the publishing house that took my first two novels didn’t want the third (“too many serious issues”) it felt like the end of the world. I really thought it was all over. But this led indirectly to my writing Wannabe a Writer?, which in turn has led to many opportunities and has apparently, and gratifyingly, helped lots of writers (many of them now more successful than I am!) get published. I now have a patchwork ‘career’ which I love, and all the interviewing I do – I’ve done events with hundreds of top authors and celebs – which brings me great joy, started from one event for that small publisher who took me on for my third novel. As one door closes etc …

As you know, Sister Scribes is all about women writers supporting each other through their writing journeys. Do you have a ‘go to’ bunch of fellow female writers you value and rely on? If so, how did you meet them and how do you support each other?  

The RNA (Romantic Novelists’ Association) is a wonderful institution and I have made many terrific friends through it, who have been wonderfully supportive. I email often with Katie Fforde, Judy Astley, Janie Millman, and others and it is good to have someone at the end of a screen who knows what it’s like when one is only capable of pairing the socks…

What are your wishes and ambitions for this year and this decade?

My own chat show anyone?

And finally.  I LOVED the Big 50.  So funny and warm. How do you celebrate big birthdays yourself?

Ah thank you so much x It was fun to write. I love a party but I tend to cower when it comes  to  big birthdays. I spent 40 in a darkened room and ran away for my 50th. But now – having lost people far too young and had a life-threatening illness myself, I think how ridiculous that all was. If I haven’t been crushed by a passing bus by the time I’m sixty, I shall have a ball!

 

The Big Five-O by Jane Wenham-Jones is published by Harper Collins in paperback and in e-book formats. www.janewenham-jones.com @JaneWenhamJones

JANE WENHAM-JONES REFLECTS ON TEN YEARS OF PRESENTING THE ROMANTIC FICTION AWARDS

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One of the most anticipated highlights of Romance Reading Month is when the announcement of the shortlistees for the Romantic Novel Awards is made which this year will be on the 3rd Feb. The awards themselves will be held on 2nd March 2020 at The Leonardo Hotel, Tower Hill, with prizes in nine categories of Romantic Fiction as well as the award for Outstanding Achievement.

Jane Wenham-Jones has hosted the RNA awards since 2011. Here she reflects on ten years of sparkly gowns, celebrity guests and Awarding Excellence in Romantic Fiction.

“It is usually around this time of year that I start spending an inordinate amount of time looking at frocks. When I first presented the Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards, it was with Tim Bentinck – David from The Archers – and I wore an over-the-top glittery affair in fuchsia, which set the pattern for the next ten years. In that time, I have got stuck in a dress, had to involve a veritable team to zip me up, and had the formidable Catherine Jones (ex-army) shove an authoritative arm down my front to tape up my cleavage so I didn’t do a Judy Finnegan. Who, as it happens, made the night when she gave out the awards with the lovely Richard Madeley a couple of years later.

Photo credit Marte L Rekaa

The award ceremony is one of the highlights of my year. It is glorious to celebrate the very best in romantic fiction – a massively-selling and important genre that warms hearts worldwide – and uplifting to see the very real joy on the faces of the winners. I usually mispronounce the name of at least one of these and quite often drop my notes, but thanks to our marvellous celebrity guests we laugh on.   I have choked with hilarity with the Reverend Richard Coles, developed a small crush on Barbara Taylor Bradford  and gazed in awe at the beauty and elegance that is Dame Darcey Bussell. Prue Leith, Fern Britton, Alison Weir and Peter James have done the honours too, and were all funny and as hugely supportive as you would expect.

The Romantic Novelists’ Association does much to dispel the image of the romantic author floating in a cloud of pink chiffon dreaming of tall, brooding, macho men sweeping small fluttery females off their delicate size threes and the annual awards are a celebration of the reality and diversity of writing about love, as well as a jolly good excuse to drink lots of champagne. The next one is going to be extra special as it falls in the year this brilliant organisation gets its bus pass. We have a famous guest to hand out the gongs, an exciting new award in memory of the late, great Jackie Collins and more on the various short lists than ever before. I’ve got the dress early. Bring it on and Happy Birthday RNA!”

www.janewenham-jones.com

To celebrate 60 years of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Romance Reading Month will run throughout February #RNA60 #RomanceReadingMonth

Throughout the month the focus will be on different ways that readers can access romantic fiction and will be highlighting different sub-genres and authors as well as supporting libraries during #LoveMyLibraryWeek On Valentine’s Day the RNA will be launching a new Facebook Group, the Romantic Fiction Book Club. The group has been created by a number of RNA members to provide a safe and cosy place for romance lovers to chat about their favourite books. The RNA will also be championing romantic fiction from underrepresented authors. RNA Chairwoman Alison May said, “We have bursaries available for new and mid-career authors from under-represented groups. We invite authors and readers to share their diverse romance novels using the hashtag #RNADiverseRomance.”

If you would like more details about Romance Reading Month or the Romantic Novelists Association then please visit www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: SUSANNA BAVIN ON THE APPEAL OF THE SHORT STORY

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Hands up everyone who remembers the First, Second, Third etc Pan Book of Horror Stories, Edited by Herbert Van Thal. I loved those scary stories when I was in my early teens. Looking back, some of them weren’t entirely suitable for a young reader, though that didn’t stop me lapping them up. My favourite was a ghost story by E F Benson (who wrote the Mapp and Lucia books), called The Confession of Charles Linkworth. I had a phase of reading it every Sunday afternoon before tea and, even though I ended up practically knowing it by heart, it frightened me silly every time. The hero of my newest book, The Surplus Girls, is named Gabriel Linkworth, as a nod to that story.

That was the second E F Benson short story I had come across. The first was The Room in the Tower, which featured in a book called Ghosts! An Anthology, which I received as a Christmas present. Unfortunately, the story was rather wasted on me because I didn’t altogether understand it. It is, in fact, a vampire story and I sort of knew that when I read it, but I was a very literal-minded child and this was in a book of ghost stories and therefore Julia Stone had to be a ghost… didn’t she?

I have always been a reader of short stories. In particular I love the collections that were put together in 1930s, with titles such as The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts and Mysteries and A Century of Humour, which was one of a series of A Century of… books. What better way to be introduced to writers such as Wilkie Collins, Guy de Maupassant, O Henry and W W Jacobs? My first taste of G K Chesterton was the wonderfully funny The Tremendous Adventures of Major Brown, which I re-read regularly. The Mammoth Book mentioned above even contained a ‘sealed section’ at the end, with stories to make you ‘glance over your shoulder and perhaps even start when there is a creak on the stair.’

A writer whom I came to love was A J Alan, whose wit and humour could find mystery in the most ordinary situations. It was often the style in these 1930s anthologies to top each story with a few sentences of author biography, beside which was a pencil sketch of the man (it was almost always a man) himself; but there was only ever a fancy question mark in the place where A J Alan’s portrait should be. He was famous for reading his stories on the wireless and his identity was a closely guarded secret, as befitted the mysterious nature of his tales.

And I adored Anthony Hope’s The Dolly Dialogues. I bought myself a first edition after enjoying the two chapters that featured in A Century of Humour. They are clever and teasingly romantic observations of life and love.

The most recent collection of short stories I’ve read is Jan Baynham’s Smashing the Mask and Other Stories. Although there isn’t an official theme to the book, a thread of the supernatural runs through several of the tales and in each one Jan creates a different sort of atmosphere, from the deep sorrow of a ghostly mother to the chilly horror of a long-ago murdered girl to the traditional creepiness of helping a stranger. She also uses painful directness to tackle the all too recognisable dilemmas of hoping against hope to meet a long-lost child and struggling to be brave in a situation of coercive control. Jan has produced an intriguing collection filled with insight, a variety of moods from the uplifting to the poignant, and more than one clever twist in the tale.

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: CASS GRAFTON ON WHY WRITING IS A NEVER-ENDING ADVENTURE

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For me, pursuing a career as a writer is not just a journey; it’s an expedition into a world I’m still discovering. It’s ‘the world inside my head’ meets ‘the world out there’, and they are only on their third date. It seems fair to say, therefore, that I’m not only a writer but also an explorer.

I’ve been published since 2013, a combination of solo and co-writing across seven novels, some indie published and some with a publisher, Canelo Escape. Everything I’ve written so far has had, at its core, a love story —I love romantic storylines.

So, how is my writing career now on its third ‘date’? It’s to do with the genre of romance and the many categories that further define it. I’ve published in two of these ‘sub’ categories: historical romance (Regency era) and time-travel romance. These were the first two ‘dates’, and they went quite well—I’m certainly going to be seeing them again—but for now I’m rather excited about my upcoming third. This date is with contemporary romance.

When I was young, I dreamed of writing love stories, but always in the present day. No breeches and fluttering fans; no flitting to and fro through the centuries courtesy of a charmed necklace. My dream was of writing modern romances—relatable, believable and with characters doing everyday things, but always, ultimately, falling in love.

I’ve been toying with the idea behind The Cottage in a Cornish Cove since the days when my hair was a box-shaped perm, my shoulder pads needed scaffolding to support them and keeping in touch with non-local friends was done by a landline phone or with good old pen and paper.

Although the story I’ve now written bears little resemblance to those initial ideas other than the inciting incident that sets the plot in motion, I view it with the affection of an old friend, one of those worlds inside my head that simply took a long time to emerge and meet the world outside.

So what’s it about, I pretend to hear you cry?

It’s a heart-warming tale of discovering all you never wanted is exactly what you need.

Much of Anna Redding’s happiness as a child came from the long summer holidays spent with an elderly family friend, Aunt Meg, in the charming village of Polkerran.

With Aunt Meg’s passing, Anna is drawn back to the West Country, relocating to the Cornish cove where she was once so happy. Settling into her new life, and enjoying her work for the older, reclusive and—to be honest—often exasperating Oliver Seymour, Anna is delighted when Alex Tremayne, an old crush of hers, reappears in Polkerran and sweeps her off her feet.

The stars finally seem to be aligned, but just as Anna thinks all she’s ever wished for is within reach, a shock discovery reveals she’s living a dream that isn’t hers…

 

As for those other dates, is the adventure over? Definitely not! They are part of my on-going expedition, my journey as a writer, so I won’t be deserting them. Ada Bright (my co-writing partner) and I still have a third time-travel romance up our sleeves, and I have two Regency romances in the works, which I hope to finish soon.

In the meantime, though, if you’re up for a bit of eavesdropping on my third date, come and join us in gorgeous Cornwall, wallow in the quaintness of Polkerran, get to know the locals and fall in love with romance all over again.

The Cottage in a Cornish Cove will be released on 11th February 2020.

 

SISTER SCRIBES: JANE CABLE ON PLANNING FOR CREATIVITY

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It’s the first morning of the decade and I’m making plans. Or rather I’m ordering dreams and prioritising my wish list, licking them into some sort of order. But shouldn’t the magic of creativity just be allowed to flow?

To my mind that’s a ridiculously self indulgent approach when you have chosen writing as a career. Having some sort of plan is so much better than sitting at a crossroads scratching your head. I have so many ideas for books I’ll probably never write them all – but which should I be following up? And what else needs to be done to make them successful?

Over the last few years I’ve developed a plan for planning – an easy ‘to do’ list for January 1st (or thereabouts), which keeps me on track.

  • Scrawl a quick review of the previous year in two sections – what went well, and what didn’t. Coming straight off the top of your head helps focus on what’s been important to you; what you need to do more of and what needs putting right.
  • Consider how you’d like to develop your writing life this year in each and every direction. For me the most important things are to understand more about (and hopefully write!) books with stronger hooks, and to find out more about winning at Amazon. Once you’ve worked out what your priorities are, allow yourself to dream a little – where would you like to be in five years’ time? How will this year’s plans help you to get there?
  • Now you have the basics you can set out your goals for the year. In my business life I had many clients who used the SMART system (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely) and they’re a pretty good rule of thumb for writing too. Except I quibble a little with ‘attainable’ here, because I like to think in writing we continue to grow beyond our current skill sets – and what’s wrong with stretching ourselves anyway?
  • Next write down what you’re not going to do this year. It may sound a bit negative, but most people are prone to a bit (or a lot) of time wasting so cutting the draining tasks from your life is actually one of the most productive things you can do. One of my weaknesses is volunteering for too much so I’ve promised myself nothing new this year.
  • Then write down what you are going to do – the things that will make the biggest difference to your reaching your goals. What works in your writing life? What makes you feel good about it? What do you have to do more of to succeed?
  • The last part of my plan is to break down my goals and put them on a timeline. I do a rough quarterly guide, then an action plan for the first few months of the year. This will develop as projects move on. I also use quite small boxes for each month so I’m not tempted to overfill them and tackle too much too soon. I have a tendency to want everything to happen now, so this is very useful in spreading the workload. And, of course, it leaves room for some all important flexibility. Because even in the most ordered of worlds, real life happens.

So all this comes with a caveat: you can only plan everything when you are in control of everything. And in writing, as with most careers, you’re not. I was expecting my next book to be out by now, but it isn’t. Nobody’s fault – just one of those things. And I suspect when I look back this time next year there will be other things that haven’t happened too. But without any plan at all, I wouldn’t even know where to start.

 

 

A PUBLISHER’S YEAR: DECEMBER – PUBLICATIONS AND PROSPECTS

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Hello and welcome to the final Sapere Books update of 2019! We’ve had a fantastic year and it’s all thanks to the incredible authors who have trusted us to publish their books. We aren’t signing up many new authors at the moment because we already have such a great list we are looking after, but we are leaving our submissions page open in case anything pops up that we just can’t say no to!

We are rounding up the year with the publication of some more brilliant fiction. Over the past few weeks we have reissued three of Alan Williams’ classic espionage novels, published THE OCCUPATION – a brand new Second World War saga by Deborah Swift, launched the last book in David Field’s Tudor series and republished PATERNOSTER – the first book in Kim Fleet’s time slip thriller series. We also reissued THE WARNING BELL – a historical novel by award-winning author Lynne Reid Banks.

All of our authors are busy with new works in progress and we have lots of exciting projects to launch in the new year. As well as our thriving fiction list, we will soon be launching our non-fiction list. Richard Simpson, one of my fellow co-founders is currently looking for military history books, in particular backlist titles, and he is preparing the first few to launch on our second anniversary next March.

Thank you to everyone who has been following these update, and to Frost Magazine for hosting us, and we hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year! We are very excited to see what will happen in 2020. Watch this space!

 

Amy Durant

SISTER SCRIBES’ WOMEN’S WRITING WISDOM 2019

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During 2019 Sister Scribes were lucky enough to welcome women writers we admire and have some connection with to Frost and in the process we learnt a great deal. With a new year approaching, here as some of the choicest nuggets to mull over.

 

Alexa Adams: My network of women who I can depend on, confide in, and trust has exploded, and I have a hard time recalling how I ever got by without them. These friendships are the most unexpected gift that writing has bestowed on me, and for them I am immeasurably grateful.

Carol Thomas: Three top tips for working collaboratively:
1) Take a little time to find your way, but also be prepared to step up. Somewhat obvious but … the key to collaboration is collaborating.
2) Be prepared to compromise. Working as part of a group will require it at some point.
3) Be actively supportive of others; you’ll get more from it than you might think. Rightfully so, when it comes to working in a group, you tend to get out, what you put in.

Catherine Boardman: Telling stories is what I love to do.  The solitary nature of sitting down to write suits me perfectly.  Yet it is the support and friendship of fellow female writers makes the procrastination so much more fun.

Daisy Tate: THERE ARE NO FOES in the world of women’s fiction. Along this windy path I’ve walked, I have only met people who are there to help others.

Dr Gaby Malcolm: Ignore anything other than constructive criticism and admire your own work.

Jessica Redland: So far, our joint venture [The Yorkshire Rose Writers] has worked well and we love working together. We’re both excited to see where it could go in the future. My advice to anyone thinking about such a venture, though, is be really clear on your aims and your time commitment right at the start so you’re on the same page.

Maddie Please:  I try to keep the boxes of stationery under control but boxes of pencils, Sharpies and Post-it notes are like cat-nip to me!

Merryn Allingham: When several members of my book group announced recently they didn’t like historical fiction, I was disappointed. But stunned when one went on to say she couldn’t see the point of history. For me, discovering the past doesn’t just illuminate quirky corners of a bygone age but helps understand the world of today….. Researching history complicates that first simple ‘take’ on a culture and a period, changes our perspective, makes connections. And, crucially,  illuminates our own troubled present. Worth paying attention then!

Rachel Brimble: I could not write without women from the past, the present and undoubtedly, the future. Here’s to the strong women who have gone before us and who continue to walk with us today!

RL Fearnley: I realise that I don’t have to write ‘women’ in my stories, I just have to write ‘people’. It should not be a revelation to see that these two things are not mutually exclusive. After all, in worlds where anything is possible, why can’t the quiet, plain girl at the back of the class be the one who takes up the sword and slays the troll?

Tracy Rees: Exploring our dreams as far as possible makes us happier, fuller people, which in turn allows us to help and support others.