Ask the Author: Julia Herdman
Answered Questions (10)
Julia Herdman
The coffin lid lifted, a pallid hand slid out. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out!
Julia Herdman
Gosh that's such a good question. Most of the past was pretty awful especially for women. My head says choose some time after 1945 because at least there were antibiotics then. I would probably be dead myself without them. But my heart which is a raging political beast when it has its own way would say the inter-war years. That is the time between the Great War and the Second World War. I really admire women such as Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby who wrote and campaigned so elegantly on the subjects of equality and peace. I would have liked to have been with them. So perhaps South Riding. Julia.
Julia Herdman
Hi, although the weather is anything but summery at the moment my summer read is Iris and Ruby by Rosie Thomas. This is a richly textured had story of love and loss and distance between three generations of one family. The unexpected arrival of her will fall teenage granddaughter, Ruby, brings life and disorder to 82 year old Iris Black's old house in Cairo. Ruby, driven by her fraught relationship with her own mother to run away from England, is seeking refuge with the grandmother she hasn't seen for years. An unlikely bond develops between them, as Ruby helps Iris to record her fading memories of the glittering, cosmopolitan Cairo of the World War 2 and of her own true love for the enigmatic Captain Xan Molyneaux whom she lost to the ravages of the conflict.
Julia Herdman
Mystery is something there is a lot of in my life. Where do all the odd socks come from and why, in a house full of paper and books, is there never a pen to hand when you need one, are just two examples but hardly the stuff of stories.
Mystery fiction is a genre of fiction usually involving a mysterious death or a crime to be solved. Classic versions have a closed circle of suspects, each suspect must have a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is usually some sort of sleuth.
Luckily, the only crimes that fit the genre in my house are - who ate all the biscuits!
Mystery fiction is a genre of fiction usually involving a mysterious death or a crime to be solved. Classic versions have a closed circle of suspects, each suspect must have a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is usually some sort of sleuth.
Luckily, the only crimes that fit the genre in my house are - who ate all the biscuits!
Julia Herdman
A long hot bath or a walk in country. I find that switching off helps me switch back on again.
Julia Herdman
Writing! I love it. It's what I've always wanted to do. I have so many ideas in my head. The frustrating part is that it takes so much time. I wish I could write faster.
Julia Herdman
Stay positive, join a writers' group and talk about your story ideas to your friends. I get lots of help from my friends, they keep my spirits up and give me new ideas.
Julia Herdman
I have some ideas for Volume II but they are on the back burner at the moment as I'm finishing a book on Ancient Egypt.
Julia Herdman
I don't need much to get me going. I love writing. Sometimes I get stuck on bits of the story then I take a break and I find that I usually get going again pretty soon.
Julia Herdman
My inspiration came from my family's history. My husband's ancestors were apothecary surgeons who lived in Tooley Street. The characters are pure invention however as I have no idea what they were actually like as individuals.
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