Actually I moved to New Jersey in 1980 and didn't discover Chatham until 1990, by which time the books were selling, but it was still a daft decision, based solely on love. |
Agents will read unpublished work because they might make money, and that's their job. It isn't mine. |
And though I've lived in the States for over 25 years and am now an American citizen, I still hear British voices in my head. |
And yes, there's a simplicity to writing books because you're not a member of a team, so you make all the decisions yourself instead of deferring to a committee. |
Anyone who claims to have an entirely clear conscience is almost certainly a bore. |
At risk of sounding foully pompous I think that writers' groups are probably very useful at the beginning of a writing career. |
Book tours and research provide a lot of travel - too much, I sometimes think, but we do take vacations. |
But publishers are in the business of making profits, so they love getting two books a year. They'd have three if they could. |
I did a TV series for the British History Channel a few years ago and for a few weeks afterwards I was accosted by folk in Britain wanting to talk, which was flattering, but the memory faded and blessed anonymity returned. |
I don't have a mentor. |
I know nothing about producing TV drama and any involvement on my part is liable to prove an obstacle to the producers, so I prefer to be a cheerleader and let them get on with it. |
I love living in Chatham. |
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the first book had not sold... doesn't bear thinking about, but I suppose we'd have made it work somehow. |
I start early - usually by 5 am, and work through to 5 pm, with breaks for lunch, boring exercise, etc etc. But it's usually a full day. |
I still have to crack the French market, though that isn't entirely surprising considering that the Sharpe novels are endless tales of French defeat. |