Characters develop as the book progresses, but any that start to bore me end up in the wastepaper basket. In real life, we may have to put up with tedious people, but not in novels.

Laurie Graham

Categorized in : Me People Book Life

I have a magpie mind, by which I mean I see and hear little things - photos, fragments of conversation - and store them away for future use.

see little-things future mind

My preferred style is to write in first person, so I always have to play around with possible narrator voices until I find something that works.

person always style play

My early novels were very understated and English. Fourteen years ago, I met and married my American husband, and as I learned more about his background and culture, I became interested in using American voices.

american more husband culture

I've been lucky enough to travel widely. When you're based in Europe, it's very easy to go to Madrid or Budapest for the weekend. I also lived in Italy for ten years and now live in Ireland.

live you easy travel

I love working fictional characters into a piece of history. It plays to my strengths, which are characterization and dialogue, and assists me in my admitted weakness, plot.

me weakness love history