Hey Fleur, Tell us about your latest book…
So the latest is the third of the Clifftopper books, The Thorn Island Adventure in which the four cousins get to sail their grandfather’s dinghy, and while bobbing about in Drake’s Bay spot someone calling for help in the top of a tower. Of course, they have to mount a rescue – and things get quite sticky. The series are updated adventure stories for 7+ with the characters ranging from 8 – 12.
What was your nickname at school? (If you had one)
Flossy. I have no idea why.
Were you good at writing at school?
No – dyslexic so struggled with the way they wanted things done. I wrote a lot at home, though.
What was your favourite book as a child?
I think it was Night Birds on Nantucket, because of Dido Twite, but, I do remember crying at the end of The Last Battle, because I realised there were no more after that…
What was it that inspired you to become a writer?
No idea – I just always knew I would be.
What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Thinking that the sentence you’ve just written is the best ever and refusing to delete it, even though it makes the whole work less good. Delete, delete, delete. Less is more.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Keep going. Have a good time while you write. Don’t worry about getting published, you’re learning the craft.
What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
The egg. I couldn’t speak – I couldn’t express myself, but I needed to tell my grandma that I couldn’t stand the runny middle of an egg. The only word I could come up with was yellow to explain. I didn’t know soft, or hard or gloopy or anything useful, just yellow. She got there – she cooked me every kind of egg until she got it right. Bless her.
If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
Spend less time reading horror, I think. Probably more time reading giant works of Russian literature – on the other hand, I’m a thriller writer, so perhaps it stood me in good stead.
Is it lonely being a writer?
I don’t think so. I know lots of other really supportive writers. Also, I do a shedload of school visits – in a normal year – and I meet loads of wonderful people, so the number of people I know grows and grows.
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
Gosh – so, just in the Bath area – Gill Lewis, Anna Wilson, Jo Nadin, Maudie Smith, Sophie Kirtley, Alex Cotter, Angie Morgan, Stewart Foster – there are loads of us. And then there are all the brilliant writers I’ve met all over the country, and also the ones I meet through my publisher. I think if you read good people’s work, you try and up your game. Gill and I actually went to uni together, so we workshopped loads. She knows The Boy Who Flew almost as well as I do – and I know Sky Hawk and White Dolphin in all their forms. Critical friends.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?
I’m also a bookseller – so I’d probably be doing more of that!
Has a book ever made you cry? What was it?
Oh yes – The Great Gatsby, made me weep buckets. Not read it since teenage, precisely because of that – and recently, Anna’s War, by Helen Peters, which is an absolute MUST READ. So good. I finished it on my own in a hotel room in Johannesburg, and could not stop crying.
What is your writing Kryptonite?
You mean what stops me writing? Practically everything – I’m very easily diverted.
Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
I often start books and throw them aside and pick up something else. I don’t hang around with books. Life’s too short.
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
Yes – I have an idea for some other books and they would have to be written under an alter ego.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
A very long time ago. I bought this keyboard. It’s just a Dell keyboard – but all my books have been written on it. It allows me to type mega fast with surprisingly few errors. I would be totally destroyed without it, never found another one half as good.
What did you do with your first paycheck?
As a writer? I bought an electric bike. And got the car serviced…
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
Probably a magpie. I can’t bear them, but they behave like me.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Quite a few. Two which will be published, one that’s an idea waiting to be written, and half a dozen typed manuscripts in the filing cabinet.
What does literary success look like to you?
So difficult – I think the goal posts move. At first, it’s getting a book published. Then it’s getting on the table at Waterstones, then it’s actually being in stock at Waterstones. Then it’s how many copies it sold. Then it’s getting on prize lists and so on… But, since 2011 I haven’t been out of contract, which is probably a pretty good measure…
Do you Google yourself?
Yes. But, only when I want to find reviews. And that’s a tricky thing. Also, I never look at Goodreads except when I’m drunk.
And most importantly… What is your favourite biscuit?
I’d walk a mile for a bourbon.
A big thanks to Fleur for this. If you’d like to know more about Fleur you can check her out at the following…
Website: https://fleurhitchcock.wordpress.com/ | Twitter: @FleurHitchcock
And don’t forget to get your copy of The Thorn Adventure Island
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