·
Welcome to the Triskele Bookclub,
Jess, so, to begin, can you tell us a little more about The Lies You Told Me,
and its origins?
The Lies You
Told Me is a sort of psychological thriller - a family mystery. It’s about a
woman called Klara, whose mother left her and her father when she was a little
girl, and later died. Klara grew up hearing stories about her glamorous mother,
Sadie, from her father, and has a few memories of her, but that’s it. The book
opens when Klara is sent a key in the post, along with a letter telling her
that she does not know the truth about her mother. The key turns out to belong
to a lock up garage in South London, which contains a trunk full of Sadie’s
belongings, including a diary... So Klara goes on a journey of discovery
through her mother’s past. The novel is a dual narrative, as we get extracts
from Sadie’s diary, and the reader has to piece together some of what happened,
because Sadie isn’t always the most reliable of narrators.
The idea for
the book came from a line in one of my favourite poems, Autumn Journal by Louis
MacNiece. The line is ‘all of London littered with remembered kisses...’ It got
me thinking about the mental maps we all have of places, and how memories
linger, and change, and I began to build on that idea.
•
You have wide and varied range of
characters in your novels, what do you look for in an interesting, unique character,
and would you say your books are character-led or plot driven?
I’d say that
my novels are plot driven in that I think a strong story is absolutely key for
me - both as a writer, and a reader. But strong, interesting and realistic
characters are always at the core of that plot - the two have to work in
conjunction with one another, really. Interesting characters can come from
anywhere, but it’s really important to me that they aren’t too ‘nice’ - most of
my characters have at least one serious flaw, many of them are downright
unlikable in lots of ways - but, I hope, plenty of humanity as well. I can’t
bear characters that don’t have that depth and edge.
•
When developing a new character,
where do you start?
Getting the
name of a character right is crucial - I tend to have a vague sense of the
character that I’m building, and then I go to their name - once I have that,
they crystallise in my mind and then they’re there.
•
Who do you think are some of the
classic all-time-great fictional characters and why?
Oh, so many!
It’s such a personal thing, but I tend to like dark, badly behaved, often quite
mad characters the best. Stella in Asylum (probably my all-time favourite
book), Nicole Diver in Tender is the Night, all of Tennessee Williams’s mad
Southern women such as Blanche Dubois, Neely O’Hara in Valley of the Dolls...
•
Where do you stand on the subject of
research – love or loathe? And how do you handle it?
I enjoy it -
it’s one of the things about writing novels that is so interesting, really, you
get to find out about all sorts of random things that you wouldn’t otherwise
come across or need to know. Though it’s also possible to do too much research
- it can become a procrastination technique if you’re not careful. The internet
is hugely useful when it comes to this, not so much for simple fact checking,
but things like video footage on You Tube and old photographs. I use visual
research like this a lot. For The Lies You Told Me I looked at lots of old
modelling photos and advertisements from the early seventies, when Sadie was
working in the fashion industry. Things like this really help me get a flavour
of what I’m writing about.
•
You also write non-fiction, but are
there any other fiction genres you’d like to try your hand at? Do you have an
inherited crime gene itching to get out? (Jess is the daughter of crime
author, Susan Hill.)
Oh yes,
lots! There are plenty of books I want to write. I’m moving more into the
psychological thriller/family thriller type genre with this latest book, and I
think I’m more suited to writing that end of the crime genre as opposed to
detective stories, but you never know. I have a long standing fascination with
forensic and investigative psychology, so that may well feature at some point
in the future... I like to keep challenging myself with each book, is the main
thing.
•
You’ve followed the traditional route
into publishing, via an agent, but what is your opinion on the current move in
the market towards acceptance of quality, independent published books entering
the mainstream?
I think
we’re living and working in really interesting times in publishing. Technology
is changing the way we consume books, and the way they can be made available,
and the industry is having to change in response to that. It’s maybe harder to
make a living as a writer now than ever before, but it’s also a very exciting
time to be doing so. There are people doing fantastically well out of
self-published books, and I have huge admiration for anyone who does so - it’s
not an easy route to take.
•
Who were your favourite authors as a
child, and have any of them influenced your writing?
I was
obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I
used to pretend I was tapping trees for maple syrup and hiding from
‘Injuns’...! They really fired my imagination, so though I wouldn’t say they
directly influenced the way I write today, they had a big impact on the writer
I am.
•
When did you realise you wanted to be
a writer?
I started
off writing screenplays when I was 20. I had one film that I co-wrote produced,
and then drifted into writing non-fiction and journalism. It wasn’t until I was
in my late twenties that I realised - or admitted to myself - that I really
wanted to write fiction.
•
Tell us three things about you your
readers may not know?
Hm... I have
a BSc in Psychology, and harbour a yearning to do a Masters in Investigative
Psychology. I once appeared in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, playing the role
of a fondant fancy. I got married in the church where Shakespeare is buried.
•
What advice would you give to a
writer trying to make their mark on today’s tough publishing market?
Listen to
your own voice, your instincts as a writer. The market will always have space
for something truly fresh, original, exciting. And be prepared to knock on a
lot of doors - you have to develop a thick skin. Rejection is horrible, but it
happens to all of us. You just have to get back up and keep going.
•
Finally, can you tell us what you’re
working on at the moment?
A new novel!
Which will be my 5th. But it’s somewhat under wraps at the moment, as it’s
based on some things that happened in my life. It’s in the early stages, as I
had a baby girl last year, so have been somewhat slowed down by her arrival...
I’m also going back to screenwriting, and I have a spec TV script being read by
some producers, and various other TV and film ideas in development as well. I’m
really enjoying writing drama again.
Interview by Gillian Hamer
Website - www.jessica.ruston.com
Pinterest board that
goes with the book - http://pinterest.com/jessruston/the-lies-you-told-me/
Twitter - @jessruston
Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/jessicaruston
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