I am delighted to welcome author Iain Broome to my blog today! Iain's debut novel, A is for Angelica, is published by Legend Press.
What gave you
the initial inspiration for A is for Angelica?
Well, I'm not sure
I knew I wanted to write this particular novel until I started writing it. It
began as something of a character piece, where I had this middle-aged man
curtain-twitching from his bedroom window. I also had the big reveal, that he
had a wife who was there with him, '...asleep upstairs'.
In fact, I'd
already written 10,000 words before I really decided what the book would be
about. I was in the pub one Friday evening and a woman had a stroke on the
table next to us. The ambulance came and took her to hospital, but I was struck
by how easily life carried on around her. Even the group she was continued to
chat and drink once she'd gone.
Anyway, it left an
impression and I knew that I wanted to write about stroke and illness,
especially its effect on family and loved ones.
Did the
characters take on a life of their own as you began to write?
Yes, they really
did. I think good characters are at the heart of every great book. You can have
all the plot twists in the world, but if the characters aren't interesting,
then what's the point? A good book makes you feel something. You need to care
about what happens. It's all about characters.
As an author, I
think I found my voice through Gordon Kingdom, the narrator in A is for
Angelica. He started out a fairly quirky kind of a chap, but the more I wrote,
the more I felt guided by him as a character.
Has writing
always been your main passion?
Well, I loved
reading from a very early age and I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was
in my teens. I went to Sheffield Hallam University because I knew its English
degree had a significant creative writing element to it, and that its MA
Writing course had a great reputation. I wanted to put myself in the best
possible position for getting published.
That said, I
thought for some time that I was going to be a professional
footballer. I know a lot of people say that, but I was actually quite good!
I was in Notts County's youth academy from nine years old and left when I was
16 to do my A levels. But alas, it wasn't to be. I think things turned out for
the best, really.
What was your
journey to getting published like?
Pretty normal, I
think. I wrote Angelica as part of Sheffield Hallam's MA Writing course, which
meant I had a good idea of how to approach agents and how the industry works.
I managed to get
an agent pretty quickly, but it did take a little longer and a reasonable
amount of editing work before the book found a happy home at Legend Press. Again,
that's pretty normal, especially in the current climate.
How was it
seeing your finished book for the first time?
Pretty fantastic,
I have to say. Although I was very lucky in that I was able to choose who
designed my cover. I worked with hugely respected and rather brilliant
Sheffield artist, Jonathan Wilkinson,
who gave me a sneak preview before it was finally finished.
Seeing almost a
decade's worth of work come together was very special. Still is in fact!
Where do you
write?
Well, good
question. Last year we bought our first house and then a week after moving in
my wife fell pregnant with (identical) twins. What would have been my work area
is now 90% nursery. I've managed to blag a small bureau, which was my
granddad's, in the corner of the room, but it's hardly a writer's paradise.
To be honest
though, I think that you can more or less work anywhere. It's all about having
the ideas and the time. As a new parent, I'd happily take an extra hour or two
a week to write over a spiffy new desk and view of the ocean.
Which authors
do you enjoy reading?
I love Ray Carver's
short stories and they are a big influence on my writing. But I also enjoy
Margaret Atwood and, actually, my old tutor, Simon Crump. I also like to read a
lot of non-fiction and I'm currently half way through Identically Different by
Tim Spector. It's about genetics and twin studies, so I have a vested interest!
What do you do
to take a break from writing?
I currently spend
most of my time rearing identical twins and little else. Not that I'm
complaining. They're ace. I suppose I also put a lot of time into my online
world, usually my blog and podcast for readers and writers, Write for Your Life.
What do you
have on the go/what is next for you with regards to writing?
Well, I'm working
on a second novel, but I'm not far enough into yet to say any more, because I
know how quickly things can change! There's a screenplay that I keep coming
back to now and again too.
I've also got
20,000 words of non-fiction that I'm collaborating on and currently editing.
It's about writing and being a writer, but from a very specific point of view.
Hopefully, we'll be able to release it later this year in one form or another.
Thanks very much to Iain for featuring on the blog and answering my questions.
A is for Angelica is published by Legend Press
About the novel:
Set in a northern mining town, A is for Angelica deftly draws us into the secretive life of troubled Gordon Kingdom. Gordon struggles with the fate of his seriously ill wife and patiently observes the unusual goings-on of his neighbours in Cressingham Vale. The arrival of the enigmatic Angelica prompts Gordon to make difficult decisions, as well as to embark on a flurry of cake baking. The book elegantly weaves prosaic tragedy, dark comedy and Hitchcockian menace.
You can read my review here.
