CATHERINE BROUGHTON
- Guest Author -
G'day folks,
Welcome to an interview with an author who runs a successful holiday business in the Charente Maritime, in France,
and has four books published with another one due out soon.
Welcome, Catherine ...
1.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT
YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
I have been writing
since I was a child. I have always enjoyed it.
2.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU
BECOME A WRITER?
My first book was
published in 2010. I had tried about 60
or 70 publishers!
3.
WHAT TYPE OF PREPARATION DO YOU DO FOR A
MANUSCRIPT? DO YOU PLAN EVERYTHING FIRST OR JUST SHOOT FROM THE HIP?
I just shoot from the hip – I love the
expression ! My story often changes several times as I write.
4.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST
ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
I am a very creative person, so it really suits me.
5.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST
THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Marketing ! Writing
the book is the easy part.
6.
WHAT WERE YOU IN A
PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?
I used to teach French and Spanish in secondary schools,
then I had my own real estate business.
7.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST
WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
“The Man with Green
Fingers” is selling well – more about murder than gardening.
8.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING
ON AT THE MOMENT?
A collection of short
stories
9.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Difficult to say … I get a story in my head and then I
write it. They are usually triggered by
real events.
10.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU
WRITE?
For women, absolutely.
11.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS
FOR NEW WRITERS?
Yes, the marketing. Do not count on friends and family but
only on your own determination. Friends
and family may and may not buy a copy and likewise they may or may not think to
share your book on Facebook or Twitter or whatever … but never count on
them. They mean well, but somehow they
just don’t get round to it …
12.
DO YOU SUFFER FROM
WRITER’S BLOCK?
No, rarely
13.
DO YOU HAVE A
PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
No, I just do what suits, as and when
14.
DO YOU HAVE A
FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?
Not really. I jot
ideas down off and on all the time, anywhere I happen to be
15.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST
JOY IN WRITING?
I love poetry and get a real pleasure from it
16.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE
AUTHOR AND WHY?
A French author called Christophe Rufin. I don’t think he has been translated in to
English – I don’t know – I read in French.
17.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST
COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
“I couldn’t put it down” !!
18. WHAT WAS THE WORST
COMMENT FROM A READER?
One woman said it was boring. I don’t mind her finding it
boring – clearly for her it was – but I think people who write a bad review
just because they didn’t happen to like something (book, hotel, rental) are
really rotten and small-minded
19.
WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES
INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
Yes, most of my work is based on true stories.
20.
OTHER THAN WRITING,
WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
I do water-colours and enjoy that very much. I also run a holiday business in France and
that is satisfying.
21.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK
/ BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
The first two were …
but there were still mistakes and even my English spelling corrected in to
Amercian spelling !!
22.
DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT
DAY.
Tea in bed in the
morning, shopping with my daughter, wine and supper in front of the TV in the
evening … it doesn’t necessarily include writing.
23.
IF
YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY?
Paul Mckenna – I’d love to spend time with him.
24.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF
YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK TO WORLD LEADERS?
Jeez – what a question
! I’d need thousands of pages to answer
that, but I bet you get some clueless and naïve answers
25.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS
FOR THE FUTURE?
I am 63 so I just want
peace and harmony
26.
WHAT FIVE BOOKS WOULD
YOU TAKE TO HEAVEN?
Rupert
Brooke’s verse, a massive encyclopedia, an atlas, a collection of short stories
by somebody like Rufin and a dictionary
27.
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN
ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
I am the main character
in “A Call from France” – it is a true story which ought to be read by all
mothers of daughters
28.
DOES THE PUBLISHING
INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
Nah … not really
29.
DID YOU EVER THINK OF
QUITTING?
Nah … not really
30.
WHAT WAS YOUR
FAVOURITE MANUSCRIPT TO WRITE? WHY?
“A Call from France”
served as a catharsis for me. It was a
traumatic story that I needed to tell.
31.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A
WRITER.
Money ! I don’t want fame, but I want to dosh !
32.
WHAT SHOULD READERS WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKS KNOWING? HOW SHOULD THEY
FEEL?
I hope my stories stick
in their minds for a while afterwards
33.
HOW MUCH THOUGHT GOES INTO DESIGNING A BOOK COVER?
I design my own book covers – they are simply sketches that
I perhaps did a long time before. They
seem to work, especially the cover for “The Man with Green Fingers” which has
received a lot of praise
34.
WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE DREAM?
At my age I just want
family safe around me
35.
WRITING IS ONE THING. WHAT ABOUT
MARKETING YOU, YOUR BOOKS AND YOUR BRAND? ANY THOUGHTS?
I really ought to write an article about marketing because
I am an expert and can give a lot of tips and advice. I often think of giving a talk about it and
perhaps one day I will. Most people have
no idea what to do or where to start.
They often spend a long time paddling up the stream in the wrong
direction.
36.
ARE YOUR BOOKS
SELF-PUBLISHED?
The first 2 were
published but the publisher went bust and so I re-published them myself.
37.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN FIVE WORDS.
Intelligent,
multi-talented, attractive for my age … well, you asked !!
38.
WHAT PISSES YOU OFF MOST?
People who think they know.
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.
39.
WHAT IS THE TITLE OF THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? GOOD ONE?
“Au revoir la-haut”
which means “goodbye up there”.
40.
WHAT WOULD BE THE VERY LAST SENTENCE
YOU’D WRITE?
“This be the verse you
grave for me …”
(R L Stevenson)
41.
WHAT WOULD MAKE
YOU HAPPIER THAN YOU ARE NOW? CARE TO SHARE?
Nah …
But I am very happy
42.
ANYTHING YOU’D
LIKE TO ADD?
Yes, people often say
“never give up” and I don’t agree with that.
Writers more than anybody need to know when to change direction. There
is no point in just going on and on and on.
I don’t call it giving up – it is changing direction, which is not
really the same thing.
Clancy's comment: Go, Catherine. I loved your snappy answers. Thank you. Good luck with the new book.
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