Carol Rivers1

How many exams do you have to pass to write?
I’ve passed none that led to writing. All of us have internal libraries of memories and voices. It’s just a matter of coaxing them to the page in a form that other people like to read.

What rules do you have to follow?
Rules usually get broken one way or another. There are dozens of how-to books to help with the practical parts, such as presentation to publishers and submissions of manuscripts. The best way to learn about writing is to read, read and read. Read anything. If you love a special type (genre) of book, or author, study their plots, dialogue and sense of place. Make this is your apprenticeship.

I don’t like computers. Can I write longhand/dictate to another/something else? You can write with a pen and quill if you like. But in the end, publishers and agents expect a high standard of presentation. Again, any how-to book will give you the guidelines.

What’s the money like? And do you get it all up front?
How long is a piece of string? Do you do overtime, supplement your wage by a part-time job, or sell all your attic/garage junk to pay for a holiday? I’ve done all three whilst trying to be a writer. Read a few writing magazines to get the gist of the current publishing climate. Most mid-list authors are paid by advance and hope to receive royalties if the book sells. If it doesn’t, you’re on cornflakes and beans until the next one.

Which book has had a lasting effect on you? No doubt about it, my first real read, Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty. For me, this classic beats them all.

Which book would you give to a friend? As most of my friends have a copy of Richard Bach’s "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull", I’d give them Bach’s "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah". Inspirational and very satisfying, if you do quirky.

Which writers do you admire? I’ve respect for anyone who manages to be published.

Is there a particular book or author that inspired you to be a writer? Not a book, but a village and a cottage that seemed to need a writer to fill it.

What is your favourite time to write? I’ve written at night when the family was young, in the morning when there was a little more time and now any time at all will do!

And favourite place? Anywhere, so as long I’ve got my compie. I could write on a building site and actually have.

Have you a favourite word? Darling.

Other than writing, what other jobs or professions have you undertaken or considered? I was a shop assistant, cleaner and doctor’s receptionist. Also a school dinner lady when the children were young. I loved it. After the kids went back to class, the DL’s had a helping - and in those days, the food was fabulous!

What was the first piece you ever had in print? MY WEEKLY magazine published my first short story called The Bean Family. The Beans were trying to be self-sufficient. It was the Good Life decade. Everyone was into goats and rabbits. We kept goats in real life and I was up at dawn to milk them. The kids loved the rabbits so much we kept them as pets. Ah, those were the days…

What are you working on at the moment? Another East End saga and it’s all love and betrayal, family conflict and villains.

Do you write about people you know? I write about emotions – feelings that I know. For me, feelings first, characters next…

Why write about the East End of London? Because it’s the language in my head.

Do you ever run out of ideas?
Touch wood and whistle, not yet!

Don’t you ever feel like writing your life’s story?
I do. In every book.

Any tips for an aspiring writer?
I was once told by a writer to invest in a tube of glue and apply it liberally to the seat of my pants when I sat down to write. Smirks aside, the suggestion is (metaphorically) sound.

Does anything help you to write?
Tea, tea and more tea.

Carol Rivers at Simon & Schuster UK, official publisher's site