Author Interview: Sarah Winman
Sarah Winman is the author of the brilliant When God Was A Rabbit. Her latest novel, A Year of Marvellous Ways was released by Tinder Press at the beginning of the summer and I am very pleased to be welcoming her to Novel Kicks today. Hi Sarah, thank you so much for joining us. Can you tell us a little about your latest novel, A Year of Marvellous Ways.
A Year of Marvellous Ways is set in 1947, in Cornwall. At the start of the book, old Marvellous is in her 90th year and coming to the end of her life. She has one last thing to do before she dies, but she doesn’t know what it is yet, because the message came to her in a dream, and the dream said, Wait, for it’s coming. So she waits, sitting on the bank of her creek.
When a young soldier, Drake, broken by war, washes up in her creek, Marvellous realises that she has been waiting for him. And the last thing she has to do is to re-ignite the flame of hope in this young man’s heart. And she does this by telling him the story of her life. The book is about the redemptive power of storytelling.
Do you cast your characters and if so, did you have someone specific in mind for Marvellous and Drake?
Marvellous would have to be the wonderful Judi Dench – playing older, of course. She would be terrific and heartbreaking in the role. In fact, I can totally see her doing it right now! I would cast an unknown alongside her, though.
Do you have any writing rituals (writing in silence, writing longhand, a cup of tea etc.)
I do write in silence – never any music playing as that can influence me emotionally. I write on a laptop at home, breaking for copious amounts of tea! When I go out I always carry a notebook and therefore write in longhand. I wrote a lot of Marvellous in bed, strangely enough, as cocooned as possible, with a candle burning.
Who is your favourite fictional character and what’s the one thing you would ask him/her if you were to ever meet?
I would ask Owen Meany to tell me a secret.
Are you much of a planner and are you the type of writer that edits as you go?
No, I edit as I go. But, most importantly, I always start knowing the ending, knowing where I need to get to. I will not start without an ending.
Do you have a favourite word?
For this book, it would probably be ‘nonsense’.
by 
My Writing Ramblings: Can I Call Myself A Writer?
After starting off with a load of enthusiasm, this week has not been the best for me in terms of productivity. Netflix is partly to blame. The horrible weather is completely uninspiring too and the only thing I have wanted to do is curl up in a warm place and escape into a published novel (I blame you Penguin for sending me JoJo Moyes’ new book. Only kidding. I love you.)
I have this conversation inside my head a lot. It usually begins with me asking myself, can I be a writer if I’m not writing anything? I have been trying to plan my book (although I’ve not even managed a lot of that this week – work does tend to get in the way sometimes.) However, unless you count seven hundred and fifty words, I have not written a lot.
I can’t help but feel guilty about my lack of productivity. This book is not going to write itself after all. Being hard on myself isn’t going to help me in the long run though.
by Cover Reveal: A Christmas Cracker by Trisha Ashley
The wonderful thing about this time of year is that we are starting to get all of the Christmas themed novels and novellas. I love Christmas and I adore snuggling up with a duvet, a cup of tea and a festive themed book. I am very happy to asked by Avon to be part of the cover reveal for Trisha Ashley’s new Christmas themed book, A Christmas Cracker.
Ta-Da! Gorgeous. What do you think?
It’s due to be released by Avon on 22nd October 2015.
About A Christmas Cracker…
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Once Upon A Dream
Friday 18th September 2015: Once upon a Dream…
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s Prompt:
Using a dream you’ve recently had as inspiration, begin a story with the following line “the door to the vault was heavy.” You could always mix up a couple of dreams if you can remember more than one.
by Blog Tour: Marianne Kavanagh Talks About Writing Her Latest Novel, Don’t Get Me Wrong
I’d like to welcome author, Marianne Kavanagh to Novel Kicks today and her blog tour for her latest novel, Don’t Get Me Wrong which is due to be published by Text Publishing on 24th September 2015. Today, Marianne is talking about her writing process for her latest book, how it was different from writing her previous novel and that it was mostly down to one of her characters. Over to you, Marianne.
Writing DON’T GET ME WRONG was much harder than writing FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE. I blame Kim. Right from the beginning, there she was, angry and illogical. She resisted all attempts to soften her, although I did try to show how often she cried in private. As a result, the plot kept hitting a brick wall, as she simply refused to compromise. You or I would have gone in for some soul-searching. Where am I going wrong? Should I try to get to know Harry better? But Kim just blunders on, infuriating all those who love her, until she is faced with the one event she can’t control.
My second difficulty was that the central tragedy was based on personal experience. So writing the middle part of the novel was very painful. I felt angry and lost all over again. My husband Matt kept having to remind me it was fiction. I think now, looking back on it, that living through it a second time was a way of finally making peace with the past. But the end of 2013 was not a good time.
by Book Club
