Q) How did you get started in your writing?
A) I
started out wanting to write a non-fiction book. I gathered the information
then realised I didn't know how to collate it so I went to a writing class.
As part of the course I interviewed an Australian soap star and straight away
sold the feature to a TV magazine for £200 which was a fortune to me
as I was broke at the time.
That got me hooked and I carried on to write hundreds of features for all
kinds of magazines. It was another 10 years before I had the idea for a fiction
book that turned out to be my first published novel, 'Everything Is Not Enough'.
Q) Last book you bought?
A)
CONVICTION a novel by Richard North
Patterson. It's about a man on Death Row in the US and the whole appeals process
that precedes the execution date. I love his books because they give such
an insight into the US Governing and Legal System. I think I've read all of
his.
At the same time I bought THE HUNGRY YEARS by William Leith about dieting.
After dieting all my life and never being slim I'm constantly looking for
the perfect diet where you can eat whatever you like and lose weight.
Q) Desert Island Books?
A)
COLLINS SAS Survival Guide for obvious
reasons.
TANAMERA by Noel Barber. A novel about life in colonial Singapore where I
was brought up and I love reading it over and over. It reminds me of my childhood.
GUINESS BOOK OF HIT SINGLES. Always good for reminiscing and when I'm rescued
I can go on Mastermind and have that as my specialist subject.
Q) Heroes?
A) In writing I'm a big fan of Harold Robbins and Jackie Collins. Oh to be as prolific, successful and enduring as either of them.
Q) Tell us about your latest book?
A) OLD SCORES is about how what can seem like a fairly innocuous lie at the time can lead on to such enormous guilt that it ripples out over the years wrecking lives and even causing deaths.'One woman's struggle to escape a life of abuse, rejection and ultimate betrayal'.
Q) And what's in the pipeline?
A) PAST CHANCES which is about a group of young people in the seventies, the different routes their lives have taken and how an episode from then, that seemed so funny at the time, comes back to haunt them.
Q) Where do you get your ideas from?
A)
Mostly from a seed of something
that then grows in my head. The seed can come from anywhere, newspapers, tv,
magazines. I do like my books to be about current social and family problems
and issues. This probably has a lot to do with my years as a Social Worker
which certainly gave a lot of food for thought!
How do you go about doing research for your book?
By asking people who know and also using the internet which is really a magic
resource. The storylines may be fiction but I try my best to make the facts
correct.
Q) Why did you approach the Darley Anderson Agency?
A)
I
had met Darley Anderson many years before when I was writing features although
he didn't remember me! Word had it that he was the best!
Q) What
advice do you have for people hoping to find their first publisher?
A) Research the publishers to make sure you're targeting the correct one for your book. It's no o good sending a cookery book to a publisher of erotica! Check out the Writer and Artists Yearbook or the Writers Handbook. !
Bernardine
Kennedy
January 2006
