Ask the Author: Felicity Radcliffe
Answered Questions (6)
Felicity Radcliffe
I find inspiration from the place where I live, deep in the English countryside in what I call Middle England. Spoiler alert -it's not as benign and cosy as it looks! The people there are fascinating too; they inspired many of my fictional characters in "The Dark Side of the Book Club".
As a narrowboat owner, I am also inspired by life on England's beautiful canal network. This is going to be the subject of my second novel.
As a management consultant I worked with a huge variety of organisations in the UK, Europe, India and China. I'm sure these experiences will inspire some of my future writing.
My recent short stories have been inspired by other themes. I'm a keen skier, so one had to be set on the slopes. Also, my Dad was a Fleet Street journalist in the heady, but politically incorrect, 'hot metal' days of the 1960s and 70s, so another of my short stories is set there. Both have been entered in competitions. Once the results are announced, I'll post them on my Goodreads blog.
As a narrowboat owner, I am also inspired by life on England's beautiful canal network. This is going to be the subject of my second novel.
As a management consultant I worked with a huge variety of organisations in the UK, Europe, India and China. I'm sure these experiences will inspire some of my future writing.
My recent short stories have been inspired by other themes. I'm a keen skier, so one had to be set on the slopes. Also, my Dad was a Fleet Street journalist in the heady, but politically incorrect, 'hot metal' days of the 1960s and 70s, so another of my short stories is set there. Both have been entered in competitions. Once the results are announced, I'll post them on my Goodreads blog.
Felicity Radcliffe
My biggest piece of advice - from my own personal experience - is to try not to be too self-conscious. So often I would write something, initially think it was great, then have a crisis of confidence, change my mind and delete it. As a writer, you need to have the courage of your own convictions. Big yourself up and be your own cheerleader!
Having said that, feedback from trusted readers is essential. When I was writing "The Dark Side of the Book Club", the wonderful women in my real-life book club read each chapter aloud in our monthly meetings. Hearing your work read aloud by a diverse group, and witnessing their different reactions to it, is a great way of discovering what works and what doesn't.
Having said that, feedback from trusted readers is essential. When I was writing "The Dark Side of the Book Club", the wonderful women in my real-life book club read each chapter aloud in our monthly meetings. Hearing your work read aloud by a diverse group, and witnessing their different reactions to it, is a great way of discovering what works and what doesn't.
Felicity Radcliffe
For me, it's the freedom to write exactly what I want. For decades I produced business reports for a huge variety of different clients, which was great, but now it's lovely to be able to please myself and invent whatever characters and plots I feel inspired to explore. This freedom can feel overwhelming at times, but I try not to get too daunted by it.
Felicity Radcliffe
I draw upon the lessons learned during my long career as a management consultant. When we had a long document to write - a report or a proposal, for instance - we would first create a structure and then use it to break the task down into manageable chunks which we would tackle individually. I do the same with my books, spending lots of time at the outset creating a structure and progressively breaking it down into chapters, sections and scenes, so it's not too daunting. I then focus on each scene in turn and feel a real sense of achievement when I have completed it. As the saying goes:
"How do you eat an elephant? Answer - one bite at a time!"
Also, I remember that sometimes it flows and sometimes it doesn't. That's completely normal for everyone, so I try not to beat myself up over it.
For more hints and tips like this, see my Goodreads blog...
"How do you eat an elephant? Answer - one bite at a time!"
Also, I remember that sometimes it flows and sometimes it doesn't. That's completely normal for everyone, so I try not to beat myself up over it.
For more hints and tips like this, see my Goodreads blog...
Felicity Radcliffe
I have just started working on my second novel, which is going to be set on England's beautiful canal network. For the last ten years I have been lucky enough to own a narrowboat and have discovered a fantastic variety of people from all walks of life out there on the canals! However, most novels about canals focus solely on a canal journey, whereas I plan to write about my characters' whole lives - both on and off the water. The novel will comprise around ten interconnected short stories.
Felicity Radcliffe
My novel "The Dark Side of the Book Club" was inspired by the real-life book club of which I am privileged to be a member. We have an extraordinary group of women in the club, and each one inspired a corresponding fictional character in the book. Some of the characters in the little village where I live also made fictionalised cameo appearances! However, the 'troubled stranger' Jane is a complete work of fiction - this meant that I could make her as evil as I wanted, without losing any of my friends...
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