Ask the Author: Sarah-Jane Stratford
Answered Questions (8)
Sarah-Jane Stratford
Hi Bea, I'm so glad you liked it and am delighted it's your book club selection! There are discussion questions at the end of the book, and also here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
Hope it's a lively chat and many thanks!
Hope it's a lively chat and many thanks!
Sarah-Jane Stratford
If I could also be seven years old in this scenario, I'd like to go to Klickitat Street and tromp up and down on tin-can stilts with Ramona Quimby.
Sarah-Jane Stratford
Hi Wendy,
I certainly hope to. I have a story in mind, so it's going to be a matter of finding the time and a new home for them so they can really flourish. Thank you so much for your interest!
I certainly hope to. I have a story in mind, so it's going to be a matter of finding the time and a new home for them so they can really flourish. Thank you so much for your interest!
Sarah-Jane Stratford
Reading and research - I love history and it always inspires story and character. Also deadlines. Nothing like some good, healthy fear to get things flowing!
Sarah-Jane Stratford
Oh, like a lot of people, I pick it up and beat myself over the head with it. Weep, curse, knit, watch Game of Thrones, try again.
Sarah-Jane Stratford
Try not to get discouraged! Creating a story you believe in can be excruciating enough, but then putting it out there and getting rejections is soul-draining. But you have to do it, because the fact is, you only need one person to say ‘yes.’ One agent, one editor – it’s a process, like anything else. But really, it’s all about the work. The old saws are true – you really do have to write every day, let yourself write utter crap, and just keep going. Writing is rewriting, over and over and over. It’s okay to never be satisfied, that’s what keeps you working harder and better. Writing is solitary, but one of the best things you can do for yourself is have a trusted group of readers – even after you’ve got an editor – who will tell you what is and isn’t working and advise cuts. I always realize after the fact that I should have cut more. And don’t waste money on cheap chocolate – you need the good stuff to get you through.
Sarah-Jane Stratford
It's a joy and a thrill to create characters and live with them and tell a story that hopefully will connect with people on a visceral level. I can write 999 words that are awful, but when there’s one sentence or turn of phrase that I know is good, that makes my day. Best of all, of course, is when someone tells me something I wrote touched them, and has value. Nothing beats that. Not even sticky toffee pudding.
Sarah-Jane Stratford
It all started with Hilda Matheson, the real-life first Director of Talks at the BBC. I came across her name when researching and the more I read about her, the more enthralled I was. I knew I had to bring her story and this world to life. The 1920s and the beginnings of the BBC are such an exciting time – it’s really the invention of a whole new media, and building something from the ground up. I was so thrilled every day, trying to capture that, get inside that world. I realized early on that the book would work better if Hilda wasn’t the protagonist – mostly because I adored her too much to allow her many flaws – but instead created a character, Maisie, who enters the BBC as a young secretary and gradually discovers her potential as she learns the ropes. Essentially, she learns to use her voice, helped by having Hilda as a mentor.
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