Writer Interviews

In the Booth with Ruth – Mandasue Heller, Author

December 1, 2012 // 0 Comments

I guess my personal experiences have given me a great insight into the emotional and psychological effects of crime; and as heroin was a massive problem when I lived in Hulme, I also have first-hand knowledge of the world of drugs, having seen far too many of my friends get gripped and destroyed by it. That said, I never write about real people. It would be far too restrictive...

In the Booth with Ruth – Ian Ayris, Author

November 30, 2012 // 5 Comments

Reading became my teacher. I read loads of Charlie Dickens, I read my dad’s copy of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich when I was about fourteen, and also his copy of Catch-22 – and whatever else I could get my hands on - none of which helped my school work, but hey ho, you know, wasn’t the end of the world. Then, at thirty nine, a voice came into my head and started telling me a story. ..

In the Booth with Ruth – VG Lee, Author & Stand-Up Comedian

November 29, 2012 // 0 Comments

I began writing about twenty years ago. I don’t recall being inspired to write at all. A relationship had ended and I was devastated. I remember sitting at home in my front room feeling so awful that I could have howled like an animal and just scribbling lines on a piece of paper. Not with any thought of it being proper writing, just to...

In the Booth with Ruth – D A Meyrick, Author

November 28, 2012 // 0 Comments

I started with the usual stories and essays at school. My Primary 4 teacher told my parents that I had a real talent for creative writing. After that I started writing for the school magazine and the local paper; it was then I interviewed Kintyre author, Angus MacVicar, who, after reading my article and some other work, told me I was destined to be a writer...

In the Booth with Ruth – D J Connell, Author

November 27, 2012 // 1 Comment

At the newspaper, I learned how to build a convincing story out of sentences and paragraphs; the importance of a hook, of story flow and logical, smooth transitions between ideas. Advertising taught me how to write in a compelling way with simple, sexy words. I also came to understand the importance of being concise, of selling...

In the Booth with Ruth – Uvi Poznansky, Author

November 26, 2012 // 2 Comments

So I am always creating, but being an artist, writer and poet, my projects span a wide spectrum of activities, and they urge me to bring them to life in different ways. At times I would put the finishing touches on an oil painting and suddenly hear the voice of the painted figure in my head, demanding that I would write her. ..

In the Booth with Ruth – Stephen Leather, Author

November 21, 2012 // 0 Comments

I enjoy writing action scenes with snappy dialogue. Nothing bores me faster than a couple of cops plodding along to solve a murder that no one really cares about. I want doors to be kicked down, guns to be blazing and the odd chair being thrown through a window. And if there’s a government conspiracy somewhere at the back of it then so much the better!

In the Booth with Ruth – Matt Hilton, Author

November 18, 2012 // 5 Comments

I’m lucky in that I’m able to write full time, but that doesn’t mean I can be blasé about it. I’m a terrible procrastinator and if I didn’t force myself to sit down and write I’d spend too much time navel gazing or skipping around the social media networks. I try to write every day, and stay long hours at the keyboard...

In the Booth with Ruth – Kimberley Chambers, Author

November 18, 2012 // 1 Comment

I had no writing background whatsoever before I wrote Billie Jo. At the time, I was a mini-cab driver. I had left school with no exams, and had been a market trader for many years, so I had no career to fall back on. One day, I just sat down and decided to write a book. Making something of myself and improving my quality of life was my only inspiration...

In the Booth with Ruth – Tony Black, Author

November 18, 2012 // 4 Comments

I was always kind of writing from way back - I say kind of because I'm sure it was all crap - when I was a kid I'd fill notebooks with rambling yarns that went and then and then and then ... seemed to be fascinated with characters like Dracula and Frankenstein then too. Hmn. So 'and then' I grew up, became a journalist and started writing about...

In the Booth with Ruth – Kate Laity, Author

November 17, 2012 // 4 Comments

I write every day. I take to heart Ionesco’s words, "A writer never has a vacation. For a writer, life consists of either writing or thinking about writing." It’s true anyway. I didn’t realise my constant daydreaming as a kid was just preparation; that’s how a writer’s brain works. I don’t fit writing in - I fit in other things around my writing...

In the Booth with Ruth – Pete Sortwell, Author

November 16, 2012 // 1 Comment

I write every day when I’m in writing mode. Minimum of a thousand words. Editing mode I edit a minimum of three thousand. How do I fit it in? I stay up late. Sleep is the one thing that goes out the window when I’m writing. But the way I see it is, I’d only be up pacing the house or flying little helicopters or something, so I might as well do something positive with it...

In the Booth with Ruth – J M Leitch, Author

November 15, 2012 // 2 Comments

I’ve enjoyed writing since I was at school. Throughout my business career I produced copious amounts of written words – correspondence, proposals, technical manuals, training courses, articles – that kind of thing and over the years I even started on 3 books but I gave them all up after the first few chapters...

In the Booth with Ruth – Dina Leah, Author & Blogger

November 11, 2012 // 1 Comment

I am compelled to try to record the bizarre events of my life so that, first of all, I can commit them to the written word. I hope that once emptied out of my brain, they will remain stuck in the pages and leave me alone. Secondarily, I hope that my life history will be interesting to others. I think it will...