Ask the Author: Helen Cannam
Answered Questions (6)
Helen Cannam
I have always been interested in the Stuart period, especially the Civil War, but also the religious upheavals and tensions that led (among other things) to the Gunpowder Plot. I saw clear parallels with the terrorism of our own day and wanted to explore the motivation behind these acts, but within the context of a family and a community.
Helen Cannam
All kinds of things can plant the seed for a novel. One started with a dream ('Disordered Land'); one came to me while at the supermarket self-checkout ('unexpected item in bagging area'), though I haven't yet finished that one. Sometimes it's a particular place that catches in my imagination, or an overheard conversation, or a sentence in a book. One of my novels began as a suggestion from my agent ('A Kind of Paradise'), which actually made it rather harder to write than any of the others–maybe because the central characters had an actual historical existence, outside my imagination.
Helen Cannam
It's a historical novel set early in the reign of James I (and VI, for Scots), which more-or-less tells the back story to 'A Scent of Roses'.
Helen Cannam
Just write, every day if possible! And read, widely and critically.
Helen Cannam
In a way there's no 'best thing'. Writing to me is like breathing, something I've done all my life, which is an essential part of me. I feel most alive when absorbed in writing a book.
Helen Cannam
It's only really happened to me once, when I was part-way into a novel. It was set not far from where we lived, so I hopped in the car and went to do a bit of location research. Before long I was able to feel my way back into the book.
If it happened now, I think I'd simply sit down and write something, no matter what, just to give myself some words to work on.
If it happened now, I think I'd simply sit down and write something, no matter what, just to give myself some words to work on.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more