Katie Fforde

Katie Fforde agreed to be interviewed via e-mail by Nicola Warwick.

NW: Could you tell the story of how you started writing? Can you describe the lead up to writing Living Dangerously?

KF: I started writing when I was 32 and had three children. I had thought I had wanted to write when we were still living in Wales and only had two children, but I had always thought it would be something I would start when the children were less demanding. But my mother gave me a "writing kit" for Christmas. It consisted of a ream of paper, a dictionary, a thesaurus, pens, pencils, rubbers, etc. and packets of Tippex. (It came in packets in those days). I started writing that year (as my New Year's Resolution) and became hooked. Living Dangerously came about five years later. I had tried to write for Mills and Boon and failed (often--about seven books). Living Dangerously started when having failed to give up writing I decided to write about what I knew. I was working for a health food cafe at the time so I kept it all very close to home.

Left to Right: Nicola Warwick, Ian Parkinson, Maeve Haran (novelist),
Kate Rogers, James Herbert (horror writer), and Katie Fforde.

NW: How did you first get published? How and at what stage did you acquire an agent? Do you think having an agent is crucial?

KF: Having been an unpublished author for so long I felt very lucky that my agent got me a publisher before Living Dangerously was finished. I met my agent before I started writing Living Dangerously, but had a vague idea in my mind. I had about five days to turn this vague idea into something which looked as if it might become a book. My agent was wonderful; she encouraged me chapter by chapter, coaxing and forcing it out of me. She found me a publisher who was perfect for me then because she knew the editor well and by that time got to know me. For me, having an agent was crucial. Other writers may have had different experiences.

NW: Did you always have a writing ambition or did it come as a surprise?

KF: I was about 28 when I discovered I wanted to be a writer. Until then I thought I was perfectly happy being a full time mother. (And I was, but something was always missing). Although I was good at English at school (if you discount writing and spelling!) I wasn't the sort of writer who started in the cradle. So, yes, it did come as a bit of a surprise.

NW: Do you have a particular favourite amongst the books you've had published? And, if so, why?

KF: Wild Designs is a bit of a favourite because it has my children in it, as they were then. It also went more easily than some of the other books. So, if I had to pick one, that's the one. But they all have something about them which makes them important to me, usually to do with what I learned while writing them.

NW: I especially love Living Dangerously because David is so Darcyesque and Polly reminds me a little of me. I often get the impression that you've had a lot of fun writing the books--is writing more of a pleasure for you than "real work"?

KF: Yes, I do have fun writing my books but although I do feel terribly lucky earning my living from something I enjoy, it does feel like real work, especially now I am getting published. The most fun I had writing was when I was trying to write for Mills and Boon. I was eternally optimistic about getting published (wrongly!) and I had friends doing the same thing. We would get together and moan about our latest rejection letters. It seems more serious now.

NW: Where do you get the inspiration for your books? And how autobiographical are they?

KF: Inspiration can come from anywhere. The Rose Revived came from seeing an advertisement in the paper and something my agent said. I've talked about Living Dangerously. Wild Designs came about after I had done some research for The Rose Revived which seemed to demand a book to itself. Stately Pursuits came from an advertisement for a course I saw in a magazine: "How to Look After a Great House". I do wish I'd gone on it! They are all fairly autobiographical in that some aspect of them includes something I know about, like being a cleaning lady. The bothy [to which David disappears in Living Dangerously, ND] is based on a wee shack in Scotland though the fictional one has more home comforts than the real one which has no running water, electricity or, most importantly, a loo. It belongs to my husband's family and we still spend time there.

NW: Who are your favourite novelists? Which contemporary fiction writers do you admire? What are you reading at the moment?

KF: I admire lots of contemporary fiction writers. All the obvious ones, like Joanna Trollope, Mary Wesley and Jilly Cooper. But there are some lesser known ones like Diana Norman who writes the most wonderful historical novels, Willow Tickell and Kitty Ray. I have just finished The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I read it because I am a member of a book group. Please don't ask me what I thought of it. I have also just read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. It was wonderful, really uplifting.

NW: What one thing in your life would you find it hard to live without?

KF: My computer, though my first book was written on a manual typewriter so I suppose I could go back to that if I had to. Don't ask me to write with a pencil though.

NW: Why do you write? What is your main motivation?

KF: I write because I am a writer and feel unhappy if I'm not doing it. I can have quite long breaks between books but then I start to get unsettled and nervy. The money helps . . .

NW: How do your children describe you?

KF: As Mum, I suppose. I don't think they think I'm anything out of the ordinary.

NW: Do you have any secret ambitions?

KF: No secret ambitions I don't think. But I would love a TV mini series or a film made out of one of my books.

NW: Where do you write? How high tech are you?

KF: I have a study where I write on my PC. I don't have a modem or anything on it, but it feels high tech after years and years with a word processor. I thought I'd never be able to make the change.

NW: Can you tell us about awards you've won through your writing?

KF: I haven't had any awards as such but I was lucky enough to be chosen for the Smith's Fresh Talent promotion for Living Dangerously. This has given me such a leg up as you get more publicity than you could dream of getting in the normal way.

NW: What one piece of advice would you give someone with ambitions to write fiction?

KF: The most important piece of advice I would give anyone with ambitions to write fiction would be persevere. It took me eight years between starting and getting onto the shelves. It takes some people longer. Because you're not an "overnight success" it doesn't mean you won't get there eventually.

NW: Do you get lots of fan mail? Do you have any unusual stories arising from any letters?

KF: I don't get lots of fan mail so it is very precious to me! One of the most unusual was one from a girl called Katie Ford. She had meant to buy Ranulph Fiennes' book called Living Dangerously, saw we shared a name and bought mine instead. It turned out that her life and Polly's were very similar. She even had a bossy friend called Melissa. The similarities went on and on.

NW: Can you tell us about your latest book?

KF: My latest book is set on the canals and is about Hotel Boats (narrow boats which take passengers, as on a hotel). It won't be out until some time in 1999.

Nicola Warwick is the author of life's little luxuries. She lives in Manchester in the North West of the UK. Nicola's articles have been published in various writing, computing, and electronics magazines. She currently works as Product Marketing Manager at World Online. Read more about her here.

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