This interview with Rachel Hore was first published in March 2006. To
find out even more about the author, you can visit our Rachel Hore page.
What made you switch from editing fiction to writing fiction?
I gave up my full time job as a senior fiction editor at HarperCollins
in 2001 in order to move with my husband to his home city of Norwich and to
spend more time with our three children. My husband has often encouraged
me to try to write and I finally found stretches of time to devote myself to
experimentation when my third child started school. It's also catching to
be working with Creative Writing students at the University of East Anglia -
everybody seems to be writing something and there is such a 'can do'
atmosphere. I tried writing short stories first of all, but found that
the things I wanted to say were billowing out into something bigger - hence the
novel. I do still edit on a freelance basis and since I teach publishing
skills am still very much involved in publishing. This doesn't stop me
feeling all the nervousness of a first time novelist!
Where were you born and raised?
Epsom, Surrey
What was it that first got you into writing and when did
you start writing?
I have, from time to time in my life, attempted short stories
and poetry but never anything I've been happy with. Giving up full-time
work a few years ago when we moved out of London, and time granted when my
third child started school finally gave me a little thinking space and time to
write.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
I'm never sure how to answer this question as people might
infer that I aspire to be like that writer or am comparing myself to them.
I read all the time, so it is quite possible that different techniques -
ways of handling plot and voice - are always suggesting themselves to me, even
subconsciously. As a young teenager, though, I always enjoyed the novels
of Elizabeth Gouge. They probably seem old-fashioned and sentimental now to
a modern readership, but she combined storytelling with a deep connection to
her characters. There was also a strong spiritual undercurrent in the
books that is unusual to convey so effectively in fiction.
Where do you stand on the nature v. nurture debate? Were you
born a writer, or were there factors in your environment
that enabled you to become a writer?
I think the second. Having worked as a fiction editor
for many years, and now being married to a writer (D.J.Taylor) I came to feel
very encouraged to write.
There are a lot of courses teaching creative writing
nowadays, but do you think that good writing can be taught?
I think you can teach a certain amount of craft and general
technique, but that you have to have some innate talent, a lot of spark and a
certain amount of luck to be able to produce something publishable.
What kind of things do you write?
Just novels so far - I am halfway through the next.
What, for you, is the best piece of prose that you have
ever written?
"The Dream House",
my first novel.
What are you working on now?
A second novel, set in Cornwall, where my father came from,
and currently called "The Memory Garden".
What is your writing day like?
I teach two mornings at the University of East Anglia and have
three children, so there is a great deal of juggling that goes on. On a
clear day, though, I make a cup of coffee at 8.30, ignore all housework, and
sit down to start planning/handwriting a new scene or typing up and editing one
from the day before. At some point my children arrive home and wonder why
there is no food in the house.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
With a fiction oeuvre behind me and a new contract to fulfil.
What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?
Entering an imaginary world that is full of things one cares
about and creating from them something solid that others might share and
discuss.
What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?
Not having enough time (how many writers must say that!)
What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your
audience?
That they've really enjoyed the book - that it's made them
laugh or cry.
Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first
priority to satisfy your own creativity?
I think I'm writing for an audience of clones of myself - I
expect that equals that I am principally writing for myself. At the same
time I am crossing my fingers that my friends will enjoy the books.
Do you have a homepage? If so, what’s the URL?
I haven't got as far as a homepage yet - maybe in the future,
all being well.
Lisez cette page en français avec
Babelfish Lesen
diese Seite auf Deutsch mit
Babelfish
