Happy Birthday to us, because after three years of dovegreyreader
scribbles a huge thank you to very single one of you who stops by to
read, joins in the fun and shares your great reads with all of us, and
my thanks to Justine Picardie who is braving the glare of the nation's
most penetrating standard lamp to do dovegreyreader asks... today.
Scones and jam and clotted cream and a great big pot of Earl Grey for
birthday tea (oh yes and Marmite soldiers ) are the very least we all deserve this afternoon.
It's
a year since I first read Daphne, I know that year has seen my loving
Daphne du Maurier's books all over again and I wonder what that year
has meant for you?
Well, it's a whole year
since Daphne was first published, and it's been astonishing, seeing the
book spread by word of mouth to different readers, and discovering that
other people share my passion for du Maurier and Menabilly, the Brontes
and Haworth, literary landscapes and literary sleuthing. I've also
started blogging -- thanks to Dovegreyreader! Readers of my blog will
have followed some of the ups and downs of my year of living
dangerously with Daphne (not to mention the curse of J.M Barrie).
So who's in the Picardie spotlight next?
I'm
doing a new book about Coco Chanel, and have been immersed in archives
and wardrobes... my favourite places to be, aside from on the sofa with
my dog and two sons.
Could
you tell us a bit about the writing process and we do always like to
know if it's a fountain pen (make, ink colour etc!) raven quills or a
laptop involved, special slippers, Balzacian white robe and lots of
coffee, must have been for a ten mile walk before can sit down to
write, etc etc.(photos of writing space or special writing jumpers are
very good!)
Here's the view from my study where I write on my beloved apple
laptop. I appear to have lost the ability to write in longhand -- my
handwriting has become so bad that I can barely read it myself. My
computer is on an ancient desk that I've had since childhood -- it's a
Victorian one, and a bit small, and probably very un-ergonomic, but the
desk and I have grown up together. I need tea before I can start in the
morning, and at regular intervals throughout the day. My dog Molly
sleeps under the desk, and nudges me out for walks. We go up to
Highgate Woods, and then back home again, and she has another nap,
while I drink more tea.
The other important place is the
shower. It's where I've had the idea for each of my books. Obviously, I
have more showers than book ideas, but on the rare occasions a book
does plant itself in my head, I have always been under a stream of
running water.
As
if you haven't guessed we are indeed very nosey here at dovegreyreader
scribbles so we would love to know which writers inspire you and who
MUST we read?
I've been writing a column
called Bibliotherapy on the subject, so the long list is over on my
blog. But the short version is this, in no particular order.
The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe;
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (by
Joan Aiken);
Mary Poppins by P.L Travers;
Five Children and It, by
E.Nesbit;
Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote;
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith; all of Rosamond Lehmann, plus Daphne du Maurier and the
Brontes, of course.
I'm re-reading
Heartburn by Nora Ephron right now,
which couldn't be more different, but is proving therapeutic.
Justine will pop in and out of comments to chat today so ask away, now's your chance. I expect she'll have to humour the purring footrest who has also cleared his diary of engagements and called a truce on the Rabbit Wars for the duration (n.b. brow wounded in action) and for one day only he'd prefer to be known as that lesser known du Maurier character, Mr Danvers (it was a tough role but high time someone volunteered)
and don't forget, names in comments for one of three prize draw copies of
Daphne and I hope everyone out there has a perfectly lovely gorgeous blogbirthday with us.
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