Writer Wednesday Interview: Angela Wren
It's a great pleasure to welcome to my blog today my multi-talented friend: author, actor and director Angela Wren. Hi Angela!
When and how did you
first become interested in writing?
I think it was story
telling that first captured my attention as a very young child. Apparently, from being only a few months old,
I was mesmerised by voices, and I suppose I still am, as I have an uncanny
ability to recognise voices in an instant.
When I was a little older I would listen to my Dad and my uncles telling
me stories, for hours if I could, and all three of them were excellent
narrators. So bedtime stories were a
must at home and later, when I was deemed too old to have them, I made up
stories for myself. Writing them down
became the next logical step and I’ve been doing that since I was about 8 or 9.
Where did the idea for Messandrierre come from?
Where did the idea for Messandrierre come from?
The very first idea came whilst I was
travelling in the CĂ©vennes in September 2007.
Overnight the weather changed dramatically and the next morning the
village where I was staying and surrounding countryside where covered with
snow. I started thinking about how snow
could be used to cover someone’s misdeeds and the opening page of my story
began to form.
Three years later I was
staying in the Charente and met a lovely English couple in the local
supermarket. A few days later I was
invited for tea and cakes – and who can turn cakes down? A single, innocent remark during the course
of conversation stayed with me and kept circling at the back of my head for the
next few days. When I knew I’d got a
story I jotted down some notes and the rest is what it is!
You are obviously fond of France as a setting. Tell us more about your connection with France.
It’s a long and enduring one as my
very first visit was as a teenager and I’ve been visiting, living and
travelling there regularly ever since.
The country is vast; geographically about 6 times the size of GB, but
the population is similar. There are
some really remote places and the scenery is very varied and, in some
instances, absolutely spectacular.
France also has a fascinating history, which is inextricably linked with
ours. Then there is the weather. Need I mention the cuisine, the wine, and the
culture? Not to mention the fabulous
shops in the cities and the relaxing and peaceful solitude of the
countryside. I always feel completely at
ease and safe whenever I’m there.
Who is your favourite crime writer? Or, if you can’t pick one, who are your favourites?
That’s an almost impossible question
to answer; there are so many good crime writers out there. To distil it down to just a few is just as
difficult. I loved Stewart and Christie,
both of whom I read avidly as I was growing up.
In my teens I moved onto Collins, Dickens, Doyle and Poe. As I kept reading I gradually progressed
through all the shelves at the local library.
I really don’t know how I can measure one against the other and come up
with even a small selection of favourites.
But I do have two favourite characters and always have had – Hercule
Poirot and Sherlock Holmes!
What other genres do
you like to read?
I’m unhappy with that word
‘genres’. It’s a label that immediately
defines a book and I like to make up my own mind. I suppose I would have to say that, as a
collector of books, I don’t read in genres, I read in words and authors. At the moment I’m gradually working my way
through my collection of Patrick Hamilton’s books, alongside which I‘ve just
started an e-book called ‘Love Bites’ by Queenie Black. It is not unusual for me to be reading more than
one book at once. Sometimes you have let
the last paragraph or chapter sit in your mind for a short while before you
continue. I also have a beautifully bound little book about T. E. Lawrence on
my bedside table, and only last month I finished, and thoroughly enjoyed, the
anthology ‘Modern Magic.’ I will read
anything if the words truly capture my interest.
You’re also very involved in the theatre. How do you think that has influenced your fiction writing?
Greatly I think. As an actor it is important to understand the
character you are playing thoroughly before you walk out on the stage. For me, in preparing for a role, it is not
just learning the lines accurately that counts.
I also search those lines for clues to the make up of my character and
then search the rest of the play to pick up on how the other characters react
and interact with mine. If it’s a period
piece then I checkout the clothes, the attitudes of the time and consider what
life-shaping events my character might have lived through. When I first started trying to create
credible stories I found this approach of great benefit in helping me to create
the characters that now walk across my pages.
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve been given?
Believe in yourself and don’t give up.
Where can readers
find you and your books?
Website : www.angelawren.co.uk
Blog : www.jamesetmoi.blogspot.com
Facebook : Angela Wren
Goodreads : Angela Wren
Thanks for visiting, Angela. I'm so glad you enjoyed Modern Magic, and it's great to hear more about how Messandrierre came about.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure to be put under the microscope, Stephanie! Thank you for the opportunity and I shall look forward to returning the favour a little later this year.
ReplyDeleteI'll look forward to it too!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting interview. As a Francophile myself (having lived here for nearly 19 years), I was particularly interested in Angela's thoughts about the attractions of France. I don't know the Cevennes well, but Angela brings the region alive in Messandrierre.
ReplyDeleteI know. It made me want to visit... despite the small matter of some rather scary criminals!
ReplyDeleteLovely blog post ladies. Looking fwd To reading your novel out on the 19th.
ReplyDelete