This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Interviewed by Amanda Keats
Congratulations on getting your debut published! How was your journey into becoming a published author?
Thank you! It was a pretty long journey which started about seven or eight years ago when I really began writing with the intention of making something of it. I think when you begin you have no idea of how hard it is to break in to the industry and when I got an agent without too much fuss I still didn't realise how lucky I was. It was the next seven years which taught me the lesson of perseverance and the importance of developing a thick skin. The rejections from publishers of my first attempt at a novel really stung. I can vividly remember sitting on the sofa having a good old weep, mind you I'd only just had my second daughter a few weeks before so there could have been some hormones in the mix there, but I still recall how utterly crushing it is to have your work turned down. A while later when I was slightly less sleep deprived, I wrote another book and that was rejected too. In the end I became inured to the rejections and could even laugh when another one came through. But I didn't give up. You can't give up if you really want something that badly. When I wrote Black Heart Blue I can't say I was very hopeful for its chances, given the previous disappointments, so when publishers took an interest I was on cloud nine. It was the best thing - so exciting – and made all that waiting worthwhile.
Where did the idea for Black Heart Blue come from?
It came from many things. I was interested in Treacher Collins because of a documentary I'd seen and been very moved by. I was also distressed by the prevalence of child cruelty cases in the media and so my horror at what I'd been reading about must have been preying on my mind. I was sitting in a cafe, about an hour early for a school trip to the theatre, and the idea did just zoomed out of nowhere. I wrote down the very basic elements. Twins. Hephzibah and Rebecca. Violent vicar father. Weak downtrodden mother. And I wrote the opening line. It developed from there.
Black Heart Blue deals with fairly dark subject matter. What drew you to the themes in the book?
I write about the things I care about most and I also write books that I would like to read. I'm afraid that means the topic tends to be women in extremis. I am also drawn to the bizarre, the peculiar, to different ways of looking at the world. In any case, the darker the better for me. I don't think I'm unique here - so many books I love have incredibly dark elements: Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men. Of course, they're not only dark, there is light and shade too and I hope there are moments of relief in Black Heart Blue. I might also have been drawn to the themes because of feelings of impotence. It baffles me that we can live in a society in which real horrors are so easily swept under the carpet. I can sit and cry or rant and rave about child cruelty, but it's not going to change anything, so subconsciously I think I was writing as a sort of protest.
How do you feel about the recent surge in young adult/crossover fiction? Why do you think they are proving popular with teenagers and adults?
I think it's great. Young adults want books that reflect their experiences or address issues that are perhaps taboo or deemed unsuitable for their age range. Adults are interested in the past and their own vivid memories of being a teenager. If books can open up communication between adults and teenagers then that's brilliant. I think adults are reading these books basically because they're good. And they're about things that matter: the battle between good and evil, coming of age, love, the individual in society and his or her role. Just because a book is written with Young Adults in mind doesn't mean it's dumbed down – in fact the very opposite. The themes are challenging and difficult subject matter is dealt with in an honest and thought-provoking way. Why would anyone not want to read these books?!
How do you go about writing a story – are you a planner or do you just dive right in?
I dive right in. The whole plot is like an amorphous mass in my brain that tends to slip away when I want to pin it down. Then again, I do plan out individual scenes and events in my head. I see them like a film and then try and write down what I've already played out in my imagination. I know people who plan their writing meticulously and I envy them that and I've been doing a bit more of it recently. But I do find it boring I'm afraid and feel like a dreadful hypocrite when I tell my students to plan their essays.
What is next for you after Black Heart Blue? What can we expect in the future…?
I am writing another book at the moment – it's called Lies Like Love. It's a very different book about madness and sexual obsession, but similar to Black Heart Blue in that it has two narrators. I have another book on the go as well and lots of ideas. So I'll keep on writing and just hope I keep on being published. I'll also carry on with the day job, working as an English teacher. It gives me a real buzz, even though I hate the marking!
BLACK HEART BLUE is published tomorrow, 10 May. Here's Louisa Reid's website and you can also follow her on Twitter @louisareid