{"id":408,"date":"2019-01-15T11:24:48","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T11:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.helensalsbury.com\/?page_id=408"},"modified":"2021-01-14T16:51:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T16:51:48","slug":"impress-prize-2017-shortlist-interview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.helensalsbury.com\/?page_id=408","title":{"rendered":"The Worry Bottles, Impress Prize Shortlist Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following interview was first published by book bloggers book&brew<\/em> in September 2017:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Su<\/strong>mmarise\nyour novel in two sentences.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naomi,\na stressed businesswoman, writes down her worries and discards them\ninto the Bristol Channel in bottles. Matthew, a painter living alone\non an island, finds them and the tenor of his existence is disturbed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nwas the initial inspiration for your novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\na yoga teacher I\u2019m aware of how many people turn to yoga and\nmeditation as an outlet for stress. I should be \u2013 I was one of\nthem! Some years ago, I was juggling a high pressure job, my mother\u2019s\nterminal illness, and a head down, hurtling attempt to make it as a\nwriter. Something had to give, and it turned out to be me. I was\nstruck down by a stress related illness, Fibromyalgia. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly\nI had all the time in the world \u2013 but was very limited in what I\ncould do with it. I was left alone with my thoughts, many of which\ninvolved hideous questions such as, \u2018What if I never get better?\u2019\nand \u2018How long will my job wait for me?\u2019 and \u2018How can I be there\nfor my Mum and Dad, when I\u2019m this broken?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately,\nI discovered yoga. One day, I was contemplating a coping mechanism\nsuggested to me by a yoga teacher, \u2018Mentally\ntake the things that are worrying you and put them in a casket,\u2019\nand noticing how unmanageable my thoughts were and how puny the\nvisualisation felt. The idea came to me, \u2018What would happen if\nsomeone (Naomi) acted this out and some totally unintended person\n(Matthew) found her messages?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nwas the start, the seed, from which The Worry Bottles grew. It\u2019s a\nnovel which examines the impact of the way we live now and, through\nthe contrasting characters of Naomi and Matthew, explores\nalternatives, with the intention of offering hope and insight while\nstill acknowledging life\u2019s difficulties and complexities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnote\nto this story:<\/strong> I recovered,\ntrained as a yoga teacher, married, and wrote this novel. How\u2019s\nthat for a happy ending! \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How\nlong have you been working on the book? Did it involve any special\nresearch?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nstarted working on The Worry Bottles in 2009. It\u2019s gone through\nmany different drafts to become the novel it is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nwanted the landscape and history of Haffrey (Matthew\u2019s Island) to\nbecome integral to the unfolding of the present day story. This\ninvolved research trips to islands, reading texts by and about\nfourteenth century mystics, researching sixties communes and the\nhippy trail to India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\nof my favourite finds during my research, courtesy of Bradford Peace\nStudies, were letters home from India written by a Quaker nurse who\nspent time with Gandhi. These were fascinating and one day I would\nlove to use them more directly. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nwas the most difficult thing about writing your novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning\nto trust myself as a writer. There were times I had to take perfectly\ngood scenes and break them, because I knew they could be better.\nThere were times when I kept working on a scene long after I should\nhave let it go. There were times when I got overwhelmed by technique,\nor by comparison with other authors, or by feedback, or when my inner\ncritics blocked my view. And then, I would have to stand back, to\nremember why I was writing this novel and what I was trying to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps\nthe hardest thing about being a writer is finding that belief,\nturning up day after day and learning. Getting a bit better each time\nyou hit an obstacle and find your way round it, each time you notice\nyour own saboteurs and find a way to rob them of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which\nauthors do you admire and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare so many!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently,\nI\u2019m falling in love with Susan Fletcher\u2019s The Silver Dark Sea,\nfor the beautiful and precise descriptions she uses to bring her\nisland and its occupants, mythologies, and surrounding sea visually\nand sensually alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nadmire Claire King (The Night Rainbow) and Harriet Springbett (Tree\nMagic) for creating vivid and believable younger characters, and\nusing beautiful prose to create childhood or adolescent worlds where\nthe interaction with nature is intense and exciting and perhaps even\na little magical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nadore Catherine Fox, for her humour, her delightful characters and\nthe comfort of her resolutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nlyrical non-fiction authors John O’Donohue and Robert Macfarlane are\na big influence, with their almost pagan appreciation of our\nfundamental connection with landscape, and their ability to draw on\nhistory and philosophy to derive relevance for our now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nhumanity, complexity and wonderful characterisation I would choose\nNathan Filer (The Shock of the Fall), Ann Patchett and Lionel Shriver\n(particularly her early books). And from the classics, Tolstoy and\nGeorge Elliot, explorers of human nature and philosophy, who\nreflected on the times they lived in and yet are still as relevant\ntoday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nis your favourite genre and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although\nI have a sneaky fondness for well written romantic comedy (Georgette\nHeyer, Debby Holt, etc), I mainly read contemporary fiction. I love\nwell written books with authentic characterisation, intriguing prose,\nand beautiful landscapes. I like to learn new things, to be intrigued\nand surprised, and to not know where a story is going. I love\nwildness of imagination, coupled with the skill to shape this. I love\nbooks that bring hope, that create characters I would like to spend\ntime with, and that ask important questions. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

List\n5 fun facts about you. <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nlove night swimming, although sometimes the tide sneaks up and steals\nmy clothes while I\u2019m out in the deep. I once found my hairbrush\nfloating out to greet me, and had to beach comb for my skirt the\nfollowing day. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired\nby a trip to New Zealand, I once taught a themed yoga class whose\npostures included aeroplane, beach warrior, gecko, kiwi, watching\ndophins from a boat and the Haka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\na child, I taught a tortoise to rock climb. It used its new talent to\nescape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many\nof the items in our house now have characters and can speak \u2013 so\nfar they only chat to my husband. Fortunately! \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nwould love to live in a lighthouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following interview was first published by book bloggers book&brew<\/em> in September 2017:<\/p>\n

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