1.)
What do you wish you’d known before you started
writing?
How long it would take me to get published! When my husband bought me an Amstrad Word Processor when I was twenty-five, I blithely announced I’d have my first book published by the time I was thirty. Well, I think the universe was listening and decided I was being far too cocky (either that or whoever was listening had wax in their ears and mis-heard), because it actually took me another thirty years before I got my first book deal. Mind you, I like to think I didn’t waste all that time – I tried lots of different things and learned my craft. In fact I’m still learning and I love that.
2.)
Is there one subject you’d never write about as
an author? What is it?
I’m not sure. I couldn’t write anything in the horror genre because I’m an abject coward and would end up giving myself nightmares. But on the whole, I’m prepared to tackle quite a lot of issues. I spent a lot of years writing MINE, a novel about real events in my own family. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done because it was about a very traumatic time and I had to revisit it in great detail. Yet that proved to be the best therapy and brought me closure, so I think it was worth it. Mind you, writing about my own parents having sex was really difficult, so I don’t think I want to write about that again!
3.)
Are you a plotter or a pantster?
I’m generally a pantster – I like to think about a situation and how a character might react to it and that’s my starting point. I usually have a couple of major conflicts or incidents in mind and how I want the story to end, but then I’m off and running, looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds. However, I’m just finishing writing a contemporary saga series of six books and I did a lot more plotting with that because I wanted some story arcs to run through the whole series. That meant I needed to be a bit more savvy about what happened when. I also needed to do a lot of work initially into the back stories of the group of friends I’m writing about so that I could make their stories unique and the characters believable. I’m just about to start work on a historical saga series and that’s going to need more plotting as well. However, I still think I’m a pantster at heart, so I’m looking forward to seeing where my characters will take me!
4.)
If you could be the original author for any
book, which book would it be? Why?
Oh my goodness, that’s a really tough question! I think my first reaction is to say Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for a number of reasons. I love the world and characters JK Rowling created and wish I could have done that. I think it’s any writer’s dream to grip as many people with their stories as the Harry Potter franchise has. I do also have a very tenuous link to this book as well – it was discovered in a slush pile by a friend of mine, Bryony Evens. She persuaded her agent boss to sign the author and was tasked with finding a publisher for it. She did, and the rest is history. Bryony was the first person to read the initial draft of MINE. Sadly, she no longer works in the publishing world, but she did give me some really useful and constructive criticism and encouraged me to keep going with it. Every time I thought about giving up. I remembered that Bryony thought it was a good book, so I kept going. I was really pleased to be able to acknowledge the part she’d played in my author acknowledgements when MINE was finally published.
5.)
What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve got two projects – both
saga series, as mentioned earlier. The first, which is nearly finished, is
contemporary, following the fortunes of seven friends who grew up in care together.
Each book charts how they find out the truth about their birth families, face
threats to their group and find their forever partners. I’m just getting
started on the second, which is historical, set in the early twentieth century
in Street, Somerset, where the main employer was – and still is – Clarks Shoes.
There’s a huge treasure-chest of social history around the Clarks empire and I’m
really excited about writing stories about the lives of their workers.
6.)
Do you work on one book at a time? More?
Sort of. I tend to focus on one book at a time, but I like to have another book or project on the go at the same time. That way, if I get stuck for any reason on my work in progress, I can switch to my other project and give my brain a rest. I find that focussing on something else gives my subconscious the chance to mull over what might be holding me up on the main project. Of course, when I’m on a deadline with a publisher, I don’t have a lot of leeway, but switching, if only for an hour or so, really helps me.
7.)
Do you have a favourite character in your
latest release?
Yes, but he’s not human! You’ll
find him on the front cover of my latest novel, THE HIDDEN. It’s a big black
dog called Bear. He’s a gentle giant who provides love and comfort to the two
main human characters, Faye and Jeff, both of whom are traumatised by different
events. Bear is their protector and friend, bringing the humans together and
keeping them safe from their enemies. We all need a Bear in our lives.
Alison currently has a trio of novels published by Darkstroke. The first, Mine, is a domestic drama set in 1960s London and based on real events in her family. She is the only person who can tell this particular story. Exploring themes of class, ambition and sexual politics, Mine shows how ordinary people can make choices that lead them into extraordinary situations.
The Legacy, a drama set in London in 1969, was inspired by a scene in Mine, and explores how an unexpected legacy can be both a blessing and a curse. The Legacy looks at themes of greed and expectations, and the lengths people will go to when they are desperate.
Her third Darkstroke book, The Hidden, is a romantic suspense that picks up the story of one of the characters in The Legacy. Set in Montana in 1973, two wounded, damaged people are forced together, each guarding their secrets. Can they learn to trust each other? And will their nightmares ever end?
ALISON KNIGHT AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Alison Knight has been a legal executive, a registered
childminder, a professional fund-raiser and a teacher. She has travelled the
world – from spending a year as an exchange student in the US in the 1970s to
trekking the Great Wall of China to celebrate her fortieth year and lots of
other interesting places in between and since.
In her mid-forties, Alison went to university part-time and gained a first-class degree in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and an MA in the same subject from Oxford Brookes University, both while still working full-time. Her first book was published a year after she completed her master’s degree.
Alison teaches creative and life-writing, runs workshops
and retreats with Imagine Creative Writing Workshops(www.imaginecreativewriting.co.uk) as well as working as a freelance editor. She is a
member of the Society of Authors and the Romantic Novelists’ Association.
She lives in Somerset, UK, within sight of Glastonbury Tor.
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