Interview with Jane Riddell

                               

        My guest today is Jane Riddell

  

Jane is an Edinburgh-based writer, editor and photographer. Her work includes short stories, life writing and contemporary novels, which she qualifies as "quiet fiction". In addition to writing and blogging, Jane runs an editing agency, Choice Words Editing.

Her recently published debut novel is Daughters of the Lake, a contemporary drama about a family reunion which doesn’t go as planned.  
Madalena invites her four adult children to Switzerland to help her celebrate her hotel’s 40^th anniversary, not knowing that there are secrets and tensions amongst them.  What is meant to                                                         be a happy occasion turns out to be a stormy one.

 1-     Jane, could you define quiet fiction?

I’d never heard of  ‘quiet fiction’ until a tutor suggested my writing fitted this description.  If you ‘google’ the term, you don’t really find anything.  Realistic fiction, on the other hand, is more widely-used and is defined as a story about real people experiencing situations that could really happen.  I have concluded that the two terms have similar meanings.

                                                                                                                  

2 - Why did you choose overseas locations for your novels?

I love to travel, and choosing other countries as a setting allows me to spend an afternoon in the mountains and lakes of Switzerland, or the beach and hillside villages of southern France, when those around me are enduring yet another wet, blustery Edinburgh afternoon.  The location for Daughters of the Lake, I think, was inspired by Anita Brookner’s Hotel du Lac.   After finishing another novel, I decided that lakes and mountains would be my next setting.  Shortly after I spent several days in Brunnen, on Lake Luzern in Switzerland, and  - more slowly than I would have expected  - realised this was the idea setting for Daughters of the Lake.  I began writing the novel immediately.

                                                                                               

3 - When and why did you start writing seriously?

I had been writing as a hobby for many years, but was never caught up enough in it to work on something for more than a couple of hours at a time.  During most of these years I had a paid job. When we decided to move to France, things changed.  I was unlikely to be able to work there because of my limited French, and reckoned that I would probably spend more time writing.  Several months before we left Edinburgh, during a Saturday afternoon at the gym, I found myself on the treadmill, listening to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas singing Dancing in the Street, and thinking:  I’ll have a go at becoming a serious writer. Perhaps I was inspired by the music that afternoon, perhaps the desire to make writing more important simply crept up on me.  Maybe I felt that the newness of another country would make my writing more pivotal to my existence.

When we arrived in France, I discovered I could write for longer chunks of time, and became quite productive in terms of finishing pieces of work, rewriting short stories and starting work on a new novel.

4 - What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story?

A believable plot, realistic characters, a well-described setting and good dialogue.  For me, too, how the story is told greatly affects my pleasure in it: not too much explanation, the right balance of action, reflection and dialogue, leaving the reader space to draw their own conclusions.

5 - What are your writing strengths and weaknesses?

Feedback suggests I have the ability to describe a setting in a way that pulls readers in.  I have never thought I could do that, not compared to other authors, for example, Anita Shreve, whose descriptions of severe winters on the east coast of the US are wonderful.  I think dialogue is one of my strengths.  I’ve read copious technical books about writing and always been particularly interested in sections about dialogue.  When I did my Masters in Creative Writing, I learned about the use of subtext as a way of adding richness and tension to conversations.  Although I haven’t quite got to grips with this technique yet, I do try to deploy it in my writing.

As for weaknesses - I don’t have particularly good imagination, and I find endings difficult.  It’s so tempting to tie everything up neatly but that’s just too convenient and not realistic.  I also have to work hard at not rushing through a scene, giving the reader time to absorb it, and not to include too much banal domestic detail.  I’m sure there other areas worthy of improvement, but these are the ones that immediately spring to mind.

6 - What elements do you consider essential for a character to be believable?

Not too perfect, not too villainous.  I think there has to be consistency of behaviour, or at least a consistent inconsistency, if this makes sense.   It’s important, too, to convey or at least hint at depth of personality.

7 - Do you have a routine for your writing?

Definitely not.  Since living in France I’ve adapted to a mid-Atlantic time zone with afternoon mornings, and evening afternoons.  Not a good idea, on balance, but with no pressure to do so, it’s hard to change.  I tend to do some writing or promoting my work every day, but there’s little rhyme or reason to what and when this might be.  Fortunately, I have no desire to be the kind of writer who knocks out a book every year and as I rarely have deadlines imposed on me – sometimes with editing work I am given a date - I don’t completely buy the ‘routine’ bit.  That said, I met a delightful person this week, who works full time and has already completed seven books this year, and if I’m being honest, I realise that if I did have a routine, I would probably be more productive.

8 - How long does it take you to complete a novel?

It varies.  Daughters of the Lake took just under four years, but it underwent various drafts.  I first submitted it to agents less than a year after starting it, believing it was ready and, understandably, got nowhere.  Then when we returned from France to the UK and I started studying for my Masters, at the lecturer’s advice, I reluctantly put it aside until I’d finished the course.  When I picked it up again, I realised it required substantial revising, and this took two and half years.  My current novel, Chergui’s Child, has been on the go, off and on, for 12 years!

9 - If you could go to any part of the world to write a novel, where would you choose to go?

Nepal, perhaps, or Kashmir.  I spent a week in Nepal and it was magical.  As for the purply grey light of Srinagar - I will never forget that.  I think either of these places would be inspirational, or perhaps a tea plantation in Darjeeling.

10 - What type of reading inspires you to write?

Probably the same sort of thing that I write – quiet fiction.   Authors such as Anita Shreve, Anita Brookner, and Ian McEwan have influenced me – for their beautiful use of language, the depths of their characterisation, and their ability to describe locations.  I am not so interested in genre writing, although as I currently watch a lot of police procedurals on telly, it’s occurred to me I might enjoy reading them, and perhaps one day, trying to write one….

11 - What are you working on now?

I’m rewriting Chergui’s Child.  Like Daughters of the Lake, CC did the round of agents while we were living in France, and didn’t get very far.   As I still strongly believed in its storyline, I returned to it just over a year ago.  The structure of the telling has changed significantly, and I’ve been editing it for a while now.   

12 - What do you do when the going gets tough?

I’ve experienced two episodes of writer’s block so far.  The first was after I finished my Masters.  It was a difficult year academically and there was some unpleasantness.   I emerged from it bloody  - if unbowed - and a bit stuck.  This period coincided with an elderly relative having a massive stroke.  I think the combination of the Masters’ experience and the distress of my aunt’s condition resulted in a stuckness.  I would look at Daughters of the Lake and think:  so what?  Who cares?  What I did was spend the next five or six months blogging hard to keep my writing muscle exercised, and made notes about how to write from various ‘how to’ books.  At this time I’d begun working with a mentor, who was gently encouraging and gave me constructive feedback about my writing.   Gradually the energy returned, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

I’m stuck again, this time with Chergui’s Child.  This might partly be due to having received some positive reviews of Daughters of the Lake and an anxiety about CC not living up to possible readers’ expectations.  Or it might be because there’s a fundamental problem I have to sort out with CC.  At the moment, therefore, I’m spending more time promoting WE  - directly and indirectly - than writing CC.  

13 - Your photos are very evocative. Do you use them to inspire your writing?

I think I do, but indirectly.  I take loads of photos when abroad and the fact that I’m so keen to display them on my author’s website, suggests that there’s a connection – certainly with my identity.  I don’t kid myself that I’m anything like a professional in my technique, but my tendency to view scenery through the eyes of a lens, is strong.  I think my photos are often in my head, i.e. I can think about them when I’m not actually viewing them.  And so they inspire me.  Certainly when living in France and surrounded by the most beautiful mountains and national parks, I wrote prolifically.

14 - How does your editing work affect your writing?

I find that mixing my own creative writing with other people’s writing, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, works well.  The commonalities of both are the need for precision, logical flow and eliminating unnecessary words.  When I’m struggling to connect with my own creativity, it’s a pleasure, and a relief, to be working on someone else’ s writing and not to have to be imaginative.  But when I’ve been doing this for a while, it feels positive to return to my writing.

The more I edit, the more I see the need for further editing of my own work.  If I were to look back at Daughters of the Lake now, about 18 months after finishing it, I’m sure I’d find scope for further revision.

Jane Riddell's website       http://www.quietfiction.com/

and her Blog                   Papillon:Inconsequential thoughts
                                       http://www.blogger.com-janelilly.blogspot.co.uk/

                                                                     

website editing address   http://www.choicewordsediting.co.uk

Cymru - The Land of the Red Dragon

               

Mid-Wales is a distant country, reached by roads that wind up and downhill, twisting and turning at the same time. With a pinch of imagination it's easy to think they were shaped by dragons, winding their long tails as they raced along. As we travel further west, the land becomes increasingly rugged, alternating between barren moorland and wooded copses. Red kites wheel overhead, and sheep on the hillsides crop at the grass. Occasionally we pass a lone whitewashed house, set well back from the road. Villages are tiny in a landscape of muted green and grey, with steel and silver clouds masking a pale blue sky. But when the sun shines, the colours spring to life, a palette of vivid greens and blues.

At last we reach Rhayader, a market town on the River Wye. The Clock Tower at the crossroads marks the important routes to all parts of Wales. Rhayader was a 19th century staging post on the coach road from Aberystwyth to London. Earlier than that, cattle drovers driving their flocks of sheep to markets in Hereford or even as far as London, would halt in Rhayader to rest and get provisions.



More recently, the town has become a stopping place for tourists who want to visit the Elan Valley, with the impressive Victorian built dams that provide water for the city of Birmingham. After a day spent wandering around this wild and beautiful area, it's easy to see how stories of monsters, heroes and magic developed in the land.

[The following five pictures of the Elan Valley and its dams are by courtesy of Mackenzies of Rhayader and are all (c)Mackenzies ]

[You can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them ]

                                                  

[above] Craig Coch reservoir

 
 [above] Pen y Carreg reservoir

                                    

       

This region was once the kingdom of Vortigern...but that's another story and deserves a post of its own.

Rose Petal Jam

Today I'm delighted to welcome my Turkish friend, Seyda as my guest. She's an incredibly busy lady but she's sparing the time to explain how to make Rose Petal jam. Having tasted this delicacy in her home, I know it's as delicious to taste as it's beautiful to look at. And actually, it isn't too difficult to make.

Welcome, Seyda, and thank you for dropping by.

Not at all, it's my pleasure. It's always nice to chat. And of course, I'm happy to explain how to make Gül Reçel.

I was fascinated by the beautiful pink colour of your jam, and the fact that it was absolutely clear. How do you achieve that?

You can only make this jam with pink, scented roses, and they have to be cabbage roses or centifolias. You pick the petals from six fully opened roses, all on the same day.

Remove any bits of stamen, then wash the petals in a large bowl of water until clean. Drain well and shake in a sieve.

Mix together  5 tablespoonfuls of caster sugar

                         The juice of half a lemon

                         1 crystal of lemon salts [the size of a pea]

                         The rose petals

                        and squeeze it all into a paste, which you put into a sealed jar.

                      Store this paste in the fridge [it will keep for months]

And how does this become jam?

When you are ready to make the jam, you start by boiling together 3 1/2  glasses of water and 3 glasses of sugar.

Boil until it is a thick syrup. Test by dropping a little on a saucer. When it does not run it is ready.

Add the rose mixture from the jar. Stir for five minutes while the mixture is boiling. When it foams and hisses, it is ready. Turn off the heat.

Allow to cool for a few minutes, then put into glass jars [pretty ones if you have them]. Seal when cool.

And finally, what do you use it for?

We may use it on a sponge cake, or put a spoonful on top of a portion of rice pudding or a tablecream. It can also be eaten at breakfast or at tea time.

As we say in Turkish: "Afiyet olsun" - enjoy and may it do you good.

Thank you, Seyda. I look forward to sampling some more of your rose petal jam soon.

                                                                  

Before you go, let's enjoy a cup of Turkish coffee - and perhaps you'll read my fortune. 

A home for my hero

The Princes' Islands are situated at about an hour's sailing time from the European side of Istanbul. They are a peaceful haven, where wealthy Istanbullus have a summer villa, or if not rich enough to own or rent one, go for a few days holiday in a hotel.  The journey by boat sets the mood - no racing along the motorway, it is a restful interlude. 

When you disembark, the peaceful atmosphere continues. There are no motorised vehicles on the island. Transport is either by bike or by horse drawn carriage. The roads are really quiet.

                                              

The villas are mainly set back in beautifully tended gardens.

The islands have been inhabited for as long as Constantinople itself, so it seemed feasible to give my hero a home on Buyukada, the largest island. Research to decide where and what style of house, was indeed a pleasure for me. The villas are delightful but traditionally they are made of wood and so are not generally very long lasting. 

There are only a couple left old enough to represent a building typical of the 18th Century. Judging by this engraving, the older villas were large and elaborate - very suitable for my hero's mother, who is a Turkish princess.

 Fortunately for Olivia in Scandalous Lady, the hero's yali is always kept in good order for when members of the family visit from France. Selim sends Olivia here as a place of safety. In his mother's house, she is protected by the laws of hospitality from the Sultan's plan to dispose of her. 

Sunshine and warm hearts

After the winter that wouldn't end, I was in a hurry to get back to Turkey to be cheered up by kind relatives and friends as well as by large doses of sunshine and warm hospitality. Nothing is too much trouble when they have a visitor, even in such uncertain times as they are living now and they are weighed down by the apprehension of what could happen.

Meals are always an opportunity to crowd everyone round a table groaning with goodies. I love the differences between a Turkish breakfast and our own.

The central tray contains different white cheeses, made from goats', cows' or  sheeps' milk and the firmer, yellow kashar cheese. Then there is butter, kaymak [cream from the top of yogurt], green and black olives, dried apricots and their kernels, walnuts, honey and rose-hip jam. Oh, and fresh chopped tomatoes, peppers and cucumber. All washed down with copious amounts of black tea.

And then there are the invitations to afternoon tea, which is more what we would consider a high tea.

Here we have a selection of salads and savoury patties, made with bulgur wheat and red lentils.There are lemons to squeeze over the salads and fresh mint for extra taste. Then there are poacha, boat shaped pastries filled with white cheese and herbs, various small buns and a ring cake full of chopped almonds and walnuts.
 As at  breakfast, the preferred drink is tea.
Later, there will be  a huge plate of fruit, nicely chilled in the fridge and very welcome in the torrid heat and finally Turkish coffee, followed by fortune telling for those who want it.

A Taste of Eastern Splendour

APRIL AND MAY

Caught in a compromising situation with Tom, Rose is whisked away in disgrace and hastily married off. Four years later, widowed but still heartsore that Tom abandoned her without a struggle, she is horrified to encounter him again - and in Constantinople of all places. Worse, she has to work with him on a secret document for the Sultan.  Kerim Pasha, the powerful and handsome minister, is entranced by Rose's English beauty and immediately spirits her off into his home.

Tom has never forgotten Rose but even now, the misunderstandings continue. In addition, Rose is determined to maintain her hard-won independence. But back in London, she soon finds that not only Tom, but Kerim Pasha also, has arrived and neither has given up hope of winning her.

Published by Robert Hale   ISBN 9780709090427

READ AN EXCERPT

This is from Chapter 2, when Tom and Rose come face to face so unexpectedly, after a long gap, in Constantinople.

Tom gulped and frowned at the empty glass. Just what had Mehmet put in the hoshaf? To his annoyance, a large blot was spreading over his sketch. With a sigh he set his pen down and looked up again reluctantly. Apparently it was not an illusion. The three dark shapes were still there.

Not for the first time he found himself wishing that he knew just what he was looking at. Some ladies wore only the lightest of silken veils and you could more or less look them in the eye. These three were completely hidden. He scowled. How dare they invade his office at such a time.

          Behind them he spotted Sebastian Welland, making frantic gestures to him to stand. With a sigh, Tom rose to his full six foot three. There was a rustle as three heads shifted upwards beneath their wraps. From behind one of the veils came a sudden sharp intake of breath. Then silence. Tom’s thick brows drew down as he glared from one to the other, waiting. Normally women did not appear in public offices, especially Turkish women. Was it some kind of plot to disrupt these delicate negotiations?

          Sebastian now reappeared, together with Mehmet, carrying chairs. As he placed the seats for the visitors the young man stammered: ‘Ladies, this is our special envoy, Mr Hawkesleigh.’ Turning to Tom he quailed at the glare he received but persevered in his explanation. ‘I know you said you were not to be disturbed… but…but the Ambassador’s guest is still here…’ 

          Tom glared again at his unwelcome visitors. ‘I regret I cannot spare any time at present -’

At this, the smallest one put back her veil with an impatient gesture. Tom saw that she was fair skinned and haired. She looked to be in her late forties and had a keen, scholarly air.

          ‘Lady Emily Westacote,’ she said briskly, ‘and these are my two nieces.’

          ‘Westacote?’ echoed Tom. ‘Sir Philip Westacote, the antiquarian…?’

          Lady Westacote nodded. ‘Just so. I am his wife. And we are in need of help.’

          ‘In what way ma’am?’ Tom knew his tone was less than cordial. She probably wanted permits to excavate some godforsaken ruin in a remote and bandit-infested area of the Levant. Surely it could wait half an hour. His frustrated gaze turned to the other two females. They had not removed their veils.

          Lady Westacote followed his gaze. ‘Girls!’ she said reprovingly. At this the figure on her left raised her arms and put back the heavy veil to reveal a lovely face with huge pansy brown eyes and shining dark hair. Tom’s eyebrows lifted a little and Sebastian gaped in frank admiration. Then their heads all turned expectantly towards the last veiled figure. There was a pause then very slowly she raised her arms. Tom could sense the reluctance with which she folded back her veil. Then he drew in his breath sharply. His brows met across his formidable nose in a deep frown.

          The young lady met Tom’s eyes. Her oval face was pale and mask-like. Her hair was the colour of ripe wheat, just as he remembered. Tom felt a kind of pressure on his heart. Of all the impossible coincidences. What could bring Rose Graham here?

          ‘Allow me to present Mrs Rosalind Charteris,’ Lady Westacote indicated the fair haired girl, ‘and her sister, Miss Helena Graham.’

          Charteris! So she was married now. Tom could feel the blood draining from his cheeks. He kept his face impassive as he sketched a bow in the general direction of the young ladies. The surge of emotion and anger swamped him. For a moment he could not speak. Then he recovered enough to snap his fingers at Sebastian, who was still gazing from one beauty to the other. The young man gulped, nodded and disappeared, to return a few minutes later with Mehmet and the tray of glasses and fruit juice.

         While Mehmet poured drinks for the ladies, Tom stole a look at Rose Charteris. She was every bit as lovely as his memory of her. That glorious hair, so silky and thick, her creamy skin and that provocative pink mouth. He clenched his jaw against the memory of their last meeting. In spite of the years abroad, he had not forgotten the feel of her in his arms. He instinctively knew how ill at ease she was. She had not expected to find him here. She was gazing round the room, not looking in his direction. His mouth twisted. So what! She had married another man. And why was he surprised at that? She had never answered a single one of the many letters he had sent her.

(C) Beth Elliott

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An 18th Century Pharmacy in Saint-Lizier, Ariège-Pyrenées

The town of Saint-Lizier in the Pyrenees dates from the 5th Century and has a rich variety of historical monuments of many periods. It is on the pilgrim route to Compostela and its cathedral is dedicated to St James.

       An 18th century Bishop founded a Hotel Dieu [hospital], which was completed in 1764. The entrance to the hospital and pharmacy is through the blue gate in the photo above. The pharmacy remains exactly as it was originally built. The amber coloured wood used for the shelves and cupboards came from fruit trees and is made in the style of Louis XV.

As well as the straight shelves on all four walls, there are four matching corner cupboards, with glass panelled fronts. All the pots and bowls on the shelves were made specially at a pottery near Toulouse. Every pot has the name of the remedy it contains painted on before the pots were fired, so there was no possibility of mistakes with the contents.

                 

>

A little more grisly, in one of the corner cupboards there is the set of surgical tools, including knives and saws. There are also two large, marble topped tables for preparing medicines or for operating on sick people. Close by the tables are two enormous marble mortars and pestles for preparing and mixing medicines.

                                 

The Vinegar of the Four Thieves

From records kept in the hospital, it has been possible to reconstitute the 'Vinegar of the Four Thieves'. This remedy protected against the plague. During one terrible outbreak of plague in Toulouse in 1630, four thieves were caught stealing from the dead victims. These four did not become ill with plague, and the doctors discovered that the men had concocted a lotion that they spread on themselves, [hands, face, armpits and nether regions] which prevented the fleas from jumping on them. In exchange for the recipe, they escaped execution. The remedy is based on vinegar and many herbs, plus camphor.

                                       

                 For more information on Saint-Lizier, see :

https://www.ariege.com/en/discover-ariege/must-see-places/saint-lizier