Author Interview: Augustine Nash

Augustine Nash is a 77 year old prolific author of over 25 books.  She has been writing for over twenty years' and her work spans many genres including historical, murder-mystery, romance, comedy and fantasy.  Her novel Shadow of the Eagle was entered for the Booker Prize in 2001.  She has been one of my favourite authors for a few years now, and it is with great excitement that I get to interview her for my blog.

• Your latest novel, The Last Rose of Summer has just been released.  Where did the idea for the book come from?

My new book The Last Rose of Summer is a sad love story set during World War I and II. I was prompted to write this book by an article which I read on the internet, so the result is a mixture of fact and fiction.

• What was the time-frame for writing the book?

There was no real time frame for this book, I actually wrote when the ideas began to flow.

• Where do you write from?

I write from my home, in the living room on my computer. I write from my armchair because I am disabled.

• Have you got a writing routine?

My routine is generally to write for one to three hours in the afternoon. I sometimes need to do a lot of research at points in my writing as and when it becomes necessary, using my computer. Sometimes ideas for and within a story come to me  from other reading or even conversations with others.

• Who was your favourite character to write, and why?

Black Eagle the Indian was my favourite character in my book ‘Shadow of the Eagle’. He was a prominent character in the History of the North American Indians. He was proud and fearless and fought a desperate battle to save his people when they were ordered  from their natural environment into a reservation, pursued by the American army on their flight to Canada to obtain their freedom which ended in tragedy and has gone down in history.

• What is your favourite book to read by another author, and why?

  I like Stephen King’s macabre books, because he chooses unusual subjects and from start to finish the reader feels the fear and tension growing throughout. Several of his books have been made into very successful films.

• Tell us something surprising about yourself...

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of my writing is that I left school aged 14 years with no qualifications. Three years ago at the age of 75 I decided to do an external English ‘O’ level and succeeded – probably to prove to myself that I could do it, since I was told by my teacher in Primary School that I would never amount to anything - an unjust comment which has stayed with me all my life.

• What are you working on now/next?

At the moment I have not started a new book as I am researching to find a new subject for a story.

• What is the best piece of writing advice you can give?

If you are certain you wish to become a writer be prepared for your books to be rejected often.  However, if you have a dream of one day seeing your name ‘in lights’ keep at it however long it takes – you may need to overcome your disappointment many times but always have faith in yourself and look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Take heart that after ten years of rejections my first book was published and was entered for the Booker Prize competition which gave me a big thrill.

Thank you Augustine, for taking the time to do this interview.

You can find a link below to her latest novel, The Last Rose of Summer and I strongly suggest taking a look at her website, where I promise you will find one of your next favourite reads.

Get your copy of The Last Rose of Summer on Amazon now!

Augustine's website is at: http://www.augustinenashbooks.co.uk/

Chipping Away at the Dreaded Block

Up until recently, I hadn't written anything in just under a year.  I might have squeezed out a couple of blog posts and maybe a few journal entries when the fancy took me, but I hadn't written anything of any substance.  My new book got thrown in the bin, any short stories I was working on went the same way.  I was frustrated, highly stressed and writing seemed like the last thing I wanted to do.  Even when the urge to write took hold, I would sit for an hour, staring at a blank piece of paper or writing the same sentence over and over again.  This added to my frustration.  I honestly thought I would never write again.

My friends were asking when my next book would be ready...  I lied.  I told them that I was working on it, and it would be ready soon.  In actual fact, there was no next book.  I had screwed up my notes, thrown them away and viciously murdered every single character in my head.

A few weeks ago, I decided to leave my full-time job as a mental health support worker.  It was causing me way too much stress, and I wanted to concentrate on de-stressing my body so that hopefully, my creativity could find its way back.  It worked.

I started small.  I bought a 'one sentence a day' journal, so that every night I wrote a sentence that summed up my day, trying to concentrate on positives.  This followed with longer journal entries and blog posts.  I have now written six short stories, and ideas are flooding my brain.  I have had to set up a 'running idea' list where I write down every story idea so I don't forget it, and I can work my way through them.

I can't explain the relief and excitement I am feeling, finally being able to sit down, write, plot, daydream and be creative with words once again.  I feel like 'me' again.

In Pursuit of Happiness

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently, about what actually makes me happy.  I am happy in general, but what would make me happier?  More time to write, lots of money..?  Those would help, but I wanted to concentrate on the things that I could realistically achieve in the next few months.

The first item on my happiness list was my job.  I am a community support worker, and even though I enjoy the job, it's not what I want to do forever.  I don't wake up in the morning thinking 'Yeah, I've got work today!'  So I asked myself, what job would make me think like that?  The answer... work in a book shop!  Some people might think I'm crazy, especially with the job market being how it is at the moment, but I am now planning to leave my current job and find a job in a book shop.

A major block in my way of happiness is stress.  I get stressed because I give myself challenges and tasks that are almost impossible to achieve, which is bad for productivity.  So another goal on my way to happiness is to give myself smaller, more achievable goals.  I was going to have another crack at NaNoWriMo this year - 50,000 words in 30 days.  I've only achieved it twice in five attempts.  So, I've decided to create my own NaNo challenge this year.  I am challenging myself to write 10 short stories in 30 days.  That's a short story every 3 days.  It's still a challenge, but smaller and more achievable for me at the moment.

What small, achievable goals could you set for yourself to increase your happiness?

Back in the Game...

I have a confession...  I haven't written anything since January.  My baby ended up being two weeks overdue, and stressed to high heaven wasn't the best mental state for me to be in to write productively.  I am making excuses up now, but honestly, I've had a rough time.

My little Fern is now four and a half months old and I have to go back to work in a few weeks.  Now is the time to get back in the writing game.  I think that the break has actually benefited me.  I am bursting with ideas and all I want to do every day is write, but I'm taking it slow.  I don't want to burn out.

All I need now is a little peace and quiet.  Normally, I could write in the middle of a battlefield without being distracted, but for some reason over the past few months, I have developed the annoying trait of only being able to concentrate in extreme silence.  I have even resorted to my old trick of writing on the toilet and in the bath, but my three year old, Niamh likes to follow me into the bathroom now, so that doesn't work any more.

I managed to persuade the other half to take Niamh out to the park for a few hours yesterday.  Two minutes after they had walked out of the door, the Father-in-Law called me to 'discuss holiday arrangements'.  Half an hour later, he was still waffling down the phone to me and in walked the OH and Niamh.  Apparently it had looked like it was going to rain (it stayed sunny for the whole afternoon).  So, my imagined afternoon of quiet writing bliss was none existent.

So, I'm going to be a terrible parent and ply Niamh with computer games, apps for her tablet and new DVD's.  It's the only way, I'm sure of it.

Know Your Process

Recently I have found myself thinking about my writing process.  Every writer must have a different process that they go through when starting and completing a new piece of work and I am always fascinated when I read about another writer's process.  I'm nosy like that.
There's three main processes that interest me and I have detailed my own processes under those three headings below.  I think it is important as a writer to know your own process and what works best for you.  As I am starting the writing of my third book, I am only just getting to know my own processes, quirks and superstitions.  I'd love to hear about yours too!

Leading up to...
It takes anywhere between three and twelve months for the idea to form and come together in my mind for a book length work.  During this time I don't do any writing, but I might collect bits of notes, photographs and pictures that link in with the idea.  Most of this part of the process is done in my head though and usually starts from a dream.  During this stage I am normally working on the previous book, so I am always working on something.
Then there comes approximately a month of planning.  During this month I will complete character profiles, brief chapter outlines and a simple synopsis to make sure that the story has legs for a novel-length work.  This is my favourite part of the process.  I don't like to plan in too much detail otherwise it takes all of the creativity out of the actual writing, but I like to have enough planned so that at each writing session I know what I am doing and the general direction the story is going.

The Actual Writing...
This part of the process takes me approximately six to ten months and I will end up with around 60,000 words of a first draft.  This is because I only write the bare bones of the story, leaving any description and embellishment to the second draft.
The second draft will take around three months, where I will edit and rewrite until the book is complete at around 90,000-100,000 words.  After a few weeks of 'sitting time', I will do a final proofread.

My Routine...
This is actually an extension of the actual writing.  This is all about my little quirks and superstitions - my preferred equipment, time and place.  This is always the most interesting to me when I read about other writers' processes and routines.

• I have to write my book long-hand in a Pukka Pad Vellum 80GSM (with the yellow pages), with Paper Mate Flair Original felt pens in an assortment of colours (blue or black for writing and brighter colours for planning and editing).
• Above are some photographs of my office at home.  It is sandwiched between the master and guest bedrooms.  This is where I like to write - with the door closed.
• My optimal time for writing is in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep - in complete silence, except for the weather.
• I have to have a cup of hot tea or coffee and a million cigarettes (naughty I know, but my only vice).
• I write for half hours at a time with ten or fifteen minutes break in between.  I can write around 500 words in half an hour long-hand.
• My house has to be completely spotless and organised around me.  Any mess and I can't concentrate.
• I like a nice scent - spicy, orange or anything citrus.  Airwick Plug-in's are my favourite.
• I like to write with no time pressures - no where else to go and nothing else to do, which is probably why I like to write in the dead of night.

So there we are!  I hope you enjoy reading about my writing process and I hope that you will share yours.