insideKENT Magazine Issue 22 - January 2014 | Page 26

ARTS

CREATIVE KENT
insideKENT FINDS OUT MORE ABOUT THE COUNTY’S TRULY TALENTED AUTHORS
WE DON'T KNOW IF THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER OR IF THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTY SIMPLY INSPIRES THE
CREATIVE SELF, BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT WE'RE PROUD TO COUNT THESE EIGHT EXTREMELY TALENTED
INDIVIDUALS AMONGST US KENT FOLK, AND MORE SO, WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO SHOUT ABOUT THEIR SUCCESSES.
MAKING WAVES ON THE LITERARY SCENE, THIS CROP OF PUBLISHED WRITERS TALK TO INSIDEKENT ABOUT
THEIR INSPIRATIONS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND WHAT'S NEXT FOR THEM IN THE ENTHRALLING WORLD OF LITERATURE.
BUDDING AUTHORS, TAKE NOTE.

Mark Oldfield
Where in Kent do you live?
Tunbridge Wells.
Published Titles:
The Sentinel (2013)
The Exile (2014)
Publisher(s):
Head of Zeus.
Genre:
Thriller/crime and fiction.
When did you write your first
book?
My first published fiction was The
Sentinel, written between 2007
and 2010.

Eleanor Prescott
Where in Kent do you live?
Sevenoaks.
Published Titles:
Alice Brown’s Lessons In The
Curious Art of Dating (2012)
Could It Be I’m Falling In Love (2013)

Tell us a little about that process.
I set out to write a straightforward book with a good guy for a hero, but
ended up writing a trilogy of complex thrillers.
Who or what inspires you when it comes to writing?
Being by the sea always recharges my writing batteries. I also find reading
writers' work from a lot of different genres, stimulates creativity.
My favourite writer is the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño.

Publisher(s):
Quercus.
Genre:
Romantic comedy.

What's next for you?
Finishing off The Exile, volume
2 of the trilogy, and then on to
volume 3. There has also been
talks about a film of The Sentinel,
which would be terrific, and I
have been holding seminars on
novel writing in the county.

When did you write your
first book?
I’d always wanted to write but I
didn’t actually start until I was in my
thirties and on maternity leave. I
started dreaming up characters and
I knew I finally had to crack open
the computer and start.

What's the dream?
To keep writing and publishing
books that people like and want
to read.

Tell us a little of that process
I write five days a week whilst my
children are at school. I don’t have
time for writers block. I finish the
school run, stick on the kettle, and
then type like the clappers.

What would be your number one tip for a budding author?
Always read your work as if you were a reader who has just bought the
book. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

Who or what inspires you when
it comes to writing?
My first book was inspired by my
many years of failing to get a
boyfriend (and a former school

26

teacher's hair). My second was
prompted by the shame of my very
uncool, drunken reaction to seeing
a former pop star at a friend's
wedding. And my third, which I’m
still writing, is based on a real
incident where a friend permanently
lost her voice.
What's next for you?
I’m currently working on my third
book and looking forward to Alice
Brown’s Lessons In The Curious
Art of Dating coming out in Brazil.
What's the dream?
To keep on getting published. I
couldn’t stop writing now — it’d be
like trying to stuff the genie back
into the bottle.
What would be your number one
tip for a budding author?
Don’t put it off, just open your
computer and start writing. Nobody
has to see your work until you’re
ready, and don’t worry if your first
draft seems bad. The more you do
it the better you get.