2026 Reading Challenge

Ask the Author: Margaret Cook

“I am happy to answer questions about 'Border Brothers' as they come. I love talking/writing about it!” Margaret Cook

Answered Questions (8)

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If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?
Margaret Cook I've puzzled over this and find difficulty coming up with inspiration. After all, the best fiction closely mirrors real life and is based in real places. And if I really, really wanted to go to a real place I would do my best to get there. I'd no more want to go to a fictional place than to outer space.
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What books are on your summer reading list this year?
Margaret Cook The Good People by Hannah Kent
Solar Bones by Mike McCormack
Sylvia Garland's Broken Heart by Helen Harris
The Broken Road by Patrick Leigh Fermor
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How do you deal with writer’s block?
Margaret Cook I write in a stream of consciousness way, more or less at random. Thoughts then seem to marshal themselves and the engine kicks off. The first few pages may need to be discarded, but are sometimes quite illuminating.
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Margaret Cook It is addictive and absorbing and very satisfying. You access your inner self and find out things about yourself, including your true beliefs and attitudes. It can make you introspective, and so making time for social interactions is important.
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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
Margaret Cook Use your own voice and don't be too influenced by others.
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What are you currently working on?
Margaret Cook A long term project is the evolution of the religious mind.
But I have so enjoyed linking research and storytelling in 'Border Brothers' that I am looking for another topic in Scottish history.
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How do you get inspired to write?
Margaret Cook Like many writers, I began to write seriously after a major life-crisis. Replying to letters of sympathy helped kick-start the process.
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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?
Margaret Cook The book is based on the mediaeval Abbey-Hospital that existed for 3 centuries at Soutra, Fala Moor, south of Edinburgh. I heard the archaeologist who has dug and researched the site talking about the findings - herb and spice remains, infant remains, large quantities of human blood discarded and much else to fire the imagination.
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Margaret Cook
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