Which book do you wish you had written?
This is a tough one. There are so many I admire. I think I’ll go with Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. The author’s power of imagination, the way Dickens weaves the various strands of his story into a whole, the theme of self-examination are all reasons why I’d love to put my name to this book.
What was the first story you remember doing for the sheer joy of writing (ie. It wasn’t a school project or homework!) and how old were you?
Actually, it wasn’t a story but a letter. We were a group of four students in a foreign university and the other three went home for Christmas. I wrote them a fifteen page letter filling them in on various happenings at the university, giving each tale my own peculiar, somewhat comical slant. It took me all day but I really enjoyed writing that letter and they enthused over it for weeks afterwards. I was 20 at the time.
Do you write for a living or do you have a day job?
I don’t write for a living. To be perfectly honest I don’t want to. If success knocks on my door, I may decide to consecrate part of my working life to writing, but I love teaching and have no intention of giving it up. I’m a people person and the solitude of a full-time writer is certainly not for me.
Do you have a favourite place to write? If so where is it?
Getting my bicycle out of the shed is the most difficult part of this task, especially if the neighbour has parked his car right up against the shed door. We’re lucky today. A few minutes ride through the narrow, winding streets of the old town with its narrow buildings reaching to the sky and we cross the main road and join the cycle path which runs alongside the canal. What a joy, especially early in the morning when the mist is still hovering over the waters (horror writers please take note).
Once we’re past the first lock, we’re out into the countryside and I stop to take in a few minutes quiet. Fifteen minutes later and we arrive at the picnic site bracketed in to the countryside by the high cliff on one side and the river Doubs on the other. The rugged countryside, the rickety bridge and the shingles where the river veers away from the canal make it a favourite place. The stone picnic tables are large and afford more than enough room for all the materials I need. But hurry because soon everyone else will be getting up and the magic will be gone.
If you could meet any published writer (dead or alive) who would it be and why?
Without a doubt it would have to be William, the Great, William the Conqueror, the Spear (sic) shaking warrior of Stradford. I’d just like to accompany him for a year and see if some of his genius rubs off. I’d also ask him to write a letter to certain modern-day scholars and teachers telling them their academic debates are certainly missing the point (of the speer?)
Chinese Whisperings invites you to kick back with your favourite beverage and Take Five with Jen Brubacher.
The Red Book, Audio Trailer
