Fiona Robyn, author of the new novel The Letters, is one of my favorite people and writers. For years I have been delighting in her blogs as well as her two previous books A Year of Questions:
How to slow down and fall in love with life and ‘small stones: a year of moments’. I admire Fiona's gift of finding, sharing and inviting her readers to discover for themselves what is meaningful, poetic, humble and true in this world. And I am very excited about her newly released novel The Letters! Following is a blurb about the book borrowed from Fiona's web site and an interview with the author.
Violet Ackerman has
drifted through a career, four children and a divorce without ever
knowing who she is or what she wants. After moving to the coast, she
starts receiving a series of mysterious letters sent from a mother
and baby home in 1959, written by a pregnant twenty-year-old
Elizabeth to her best friend. These letters intersperse Violet's
turbulent relationships with her lover, her infuriating son and the
eccentric fellow members of the Village Committee. Who is sending
Violet these letters, and why? 'The Letters' invites us see what happens when we don't run away.
Will love be enough to encourage Violet to stay?
What was your greatest surprise or discovery in writing The Letters?
I can't let you know about my greatest surprise, because it would spoil it for people who haven't read it yet! I'll whisper it into your ear.... I find my stories through my characters, and so most of my novels feel 'discovered' rather than 'invented' - sometimes I wish I was a plotter, but most of the time I really enjoy being a 'seats of my pantser' (as a fellow writer described it).
How does your training as a poet influence your fiction writing?
I hope that years of writing poetry has improved my 'ear for words' - I think the sound of prose read out loud is very important, and I do this as a part of the drafting process. I also hope writing poetry has helped me to pay attention to details - the kind of details that bring a character or a setting alive.
You've published your own books and also been published by Snowbooks. How do those two experiences compare?
It was very helpful for me to publish my own poetry and non-fiction, as it put me back in control of something while I waited to find a publisher for my novels. It gave me some great experience of having my books 'out in the world', and marketing my books. Being published by someone else has been wonderful - having someone else believe in my books is a real gift - but I've struggled occasionally with not being able to do everything exactly as I want it to be done! It's been a period of learning to let go - which has, again, been very helpful to me.
How do the rhythms of blogging compare to or contribute to the rhythms of novel writing?
I'm very ad hoc with my blog writing, and write when the urge strikes me - I always complete blog posts in a single sitting, and then it's immediately 'out there'. I have to be much more disciplined to get the novels written, and do some every morning before I do anything else (including checking Facebook!). I like being involved in writing a novel - having a big project which allows me to spend a year or two with the same characters and story - but I also love the now-ness of blogging. There may be a better word than now-ness, which I just invented...
How can the Internet support writers with both creating new work and promoting it?
The wonderful thing about the Internet is that it contains a multitude of opportunities for writers - groups, forums, blogs, ezines, social networking sites... I've met many fellow creatives on the web that are now good friends, which feels vital as a support structure to creating new work. I think maybe the trick of promoting your work is to find a few tools that suit you, and that you enjoy, and use them consistently over time. For me this is blogging and sending out weekly newsletters.
I heard a rumor that you love American writing more than British writing. Tell me about that!
A rumour, eh?! Yes - I've always been more drawn to American novelists and American poets. I'm making a HUGE generalization here, but I think maybe American writers tend to be a little more open - a bit less worried about coming across as sentimental or flawed. There's a kind of 'worship of intellect' that can crop up in British poetry. American writers sometimes seem broader to me - more human. This does feel tentative, and of course there are many British writers I LOVE and many American writers who leave me cold.
You're a therapist, a poet, a novelist, a blogger...How do you do it all--and do it all so well?
I'm not a mum, so that helps! My therapy practice is very contained - I see clients in the afternoons and evenings - which leaves the mornings free for writerly work. I try to pare all non-essential activities from my diary. I try to keep things simple. I try to give myself space. I've been practising for many years now. Occassionally, for a day or even for a whole week, I succeed!
Fiona Robyn's new novel The Letters is available now in most
bookshops, or:
Buy from Amazon UK
Buy from Amazon US Buy
from Snowbooks
Published by Snowbooks * £7.99 * ISBN 9781906727062
Fiona Robyn is a writer and blogger living in Hampshire with her partner,
cats and vegetable patch.
Her three
debut novels
will be published by
Snowbooks -
The Letters is already out, The Blue Handbag in August 2009 and
Thaw in February 2010.
Her other books include A Year of Questions:
How to slow down and fall in love with life and ‘small stones: a year of moments’.
Her daily blog is at
a small stone and her blog about being a writer is at
Planting Words. Her
main site is at
www.fionarobyn.com.
She can be contacted at
fiona@fionarobyn.com.
