Interview With Lucy Diamond
I recently had a chance to chat to the wonderful Lucy about her latest book and some tips she has for aspiring authors….enjoy!
1. Me and Mr Jones is your latest novel, if you could describe it in 3 words, what would they be?
Only 3? That’s really difficult. Maybe: Love, family, home.
Or Decisions, drama, deceit.
I might just settle with: In-laws. Nightmare!
2. There are some great characters in Me and Mr Jones, which was your favourite to write?
I actually quite loved writing Lillian, the mother of the Jones boys. She can be quite a dragon and drives one daughter-in-law in particular, Emma, completely nuts. I’m a mum myself and totally get why mother-in-laws can be ferociously protective of their children although Lillian definitely goes over the top at times! There’s more to her than meets the eye though…
3. Do you have a favourite place to write?
I write almost everything in my office, tucked away at the bottom of our higgledy-piggledy house. I think it was once a dingy old cellar but now has French doors which open out onto the garden. It’s pale green, peaceful and FULL of books. There is also a huge, comfortable armchair where I sit and snooze – I mean, do important things like proofreading.
4. Do you have a strict writing routine or do you write when you feel like it?
I am pretty strict about writing on set days. It stems from back when our children were tiny and my husband and I decided to split the working week so that we could look after them together. He would work three days a week and I would work the other two, while the other person tackled the much harder job of looking after three kids. Effectively, my two days’ writing had to pay half the mortgage and bills – and believe me, there’s no better motivation for actually getting on with a chapter and meeting a deadline when there are bills to pay! Nowadays, the children are older, so I work four days a week when they’re at school. That iron discipline is still there though; I feel very guilty if I bunk off on a writing day!
5. If you had one tip for aspiring authors, what would it be?
Go on a writing course. It worked for me. Having to produce ‘homework’ every week and (terrifyingly) having your work read and discussed by other students really focuses you, and forces you to write even when you might not feel like it. Also: read voraciously – you can learn lots by seeing how other authors do it.
6. You have written seven books, which one of these are you most proud of?
Ooh, that’s very hard to answer. It’s almost like asking which of my children I love the most (ALL THE SAME OBVIOUSLY if any of them happen to read this in later years). Any Way You Want Me was my first novel and that is always going to have a special place in my heart. I think I’ve been more ambitious with every novel so I’m very proud of Me And Mr Jones and the one I’ve just finished writing (out in 2014!), both of which I found quite challenging to write at times. I’ll leave it to my readers to judge whether or not I pulled it off!
7. Have you ever based any characters on people you know?
Not really. I may write in a particular quirk or habit that comes from somebody I know but my characters develop into their own personalities very quickly. I admire authors like Pat Barker who can blend in people who really existed with fictional characters; I would find that very hard.
Quick-fire
What is your:
favourite colour?
Blue
favourite song?
Impossible to answer!
favourite book?
It changes all the time. Maybe To Kill A Mockingbird? I’ve just read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson which I thought was amazing.
favourite word?
holiday
favourite food?
Sunday roast
favourite season?
Summer
favourite tv show?
Breaking Bad – I devoured the boxsets. I also love Modern Family
favourite author?
Probably Kate Atkinson. Maggie O’Farrell and Anne Tyler are also consistently brilliant.
favourite animal?
Cat
favourite day of the week?
Saturday
A huge thank you Lucy for her time!
I hope you all enjoyed finding out a little bit more about her.
1. Me and Mr Jones is your latest novel, if you could describe it in 3 words, what would they be?
Only 3? That’s really difficult. Maybe: Love, family, home.
Or Decisions, drama, deceit.
I might just settle with: In-laws. Nightmare!
2. There are some great characters in Me and Mr Jones, which was your favourite to write?
I actually quite loved writing Lillian, the mother of the Jones boys. She can be quite a dragon and drives one daughter-in-law in particular, Emma, completely nuts. I’m a mum myself and totally get why mother-in-laws can be ferociously protective of their children although Lillian definitely goes over the top at times! There’s more to her than meets the eye though…
3. Do you have a favourite place to write?
I write almost everything in my office, tucked away at the bottom of our higgledy-piggledy house. I think it was once a dingy old cellar but now has French doors which open out onto the garden. It’s pale green, peaceful and FULL of books. There is also a huge, comfortable armchair where I sit and snooze – I mean, do important things like proofreading.
4. Do you have a strict writing routine or do you write when you feel like it?
I am pretty strict about writing on set days. It stems from back when our children were tiny and my husband and I decided to split the working week so that we could look after them together. He would work three days a week and I would work the other two, while the other person tackled the much harder job of looking after three kids. Effectively, my two days’ writing had to pay half the mortgage and bills – and believe me, there’s no better motivation for actually getting on with a chapter and meeting a deadline when there are bills to pay! Nowadays, the children are older, so I work four days a week when they’re at school. That iron discipline is still there though; I feel very guilty if I bunk off on a writing day!
5. If you had one tip for aspiring authors, what would it be?
Go on a writing course. It worked for me. Having to produce ‘homework’ every week and (terrifyingly) having your work read and discussed by other students really focuses you, and forces you to write even when you might not feel like it. Also: read voraciously – you can learn lots by seeing how other authors do it.
6. You have written seven books, which one of these are you most proud of?
Ooh, that’s very hard to answer. It’s almost like asking which of my children I love the most (ALL THE SAME OBVIOUSLY if any of them happen to read this in later years). Any Way You Want Me was my first novel and that is always going to have a special place in my heart. I think I’ve been more ambitious with every novel so I’m very proud of Me And Mr Jones and the one I’ve just finished writing (out in 2014!), both of which I found quite challenging to write at times. I’ll leave it to my readers to judge whether or not I pulled it off!
7. Have you ever based any characters on people you know?
Not really. I may write in a particular quirk or habit that comes from somebody I know but my characters develop into their own personalities very quickly. I admire authors like Pat Barker who can blend in people who really existed with fictional characters; I would find that very hard.
Quick-fire
What is your:
favourite colour?
Blue
favourite song?
Impossible to answer!
favourite book?
It changes all the time. Maybe To Kill A Mockingbird? I’ve just read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson which I thought was amazing.
favourite word?
holiday
favourite food?
Sunday roast
favourite season?
Summer
favourite tv show?
Breaking Bad – I devoured the boxsets. I also love Modern Family
favourite author?
Probably Kate Atkinson. Maggie O’Farrell and Anne Tyler are also consistently brilliant.
favourite animal?
Cat
favourite day of the week?
Saturday
A huge thank you Lucy for her time!
I hope you all enjoyed finding out a little bit more about her.