Research material can turn up anywhere - in a dusty old letter in an archive, a journal or some old photographs you find in a charity shop. Sara Sheridan More Quotes by Sara Sheridan More Quotes From Sara Sheridan Researching books gets you into nothing but trouble. Sara Sheridan trouble book I have an ambivalent relationship with Margaret Thatcher. She came to power in May 1979 - a month before my 11th birthday. I was far too young to have developed a great deal of political awareness. I remember it, though - my mother excited at the dinner table because Britain had its first female prime minister. Sara Sheridan power mother birthday relationship I once did an event with Ian Rankin where he said he didn't really need to do much background research because his books are set in the present, and I just thought: 'You lucky, lucky beast!' because as a historical novelist, I live constantly on the edge of wondering whether tissues had been invented. Sara Sheridan live thought you research People were consuming on average less calories after the war than during the war. Things were still very tough. If you look at the film footage of London streets, even in areas which weren't slums, there are kids in the streets who are dirty and have no shoes on. It was rough. There was a real edge. Sara Sheridan you shoes war people How lucky am I? Quite often I speak at book festivals, and people ask me how I got published. There's people who have been working on a book for as long as ten years, and I feel like such a cow. Sara Sheridan feel me long people I wrote 'I'm Me' because I was asked to write a children's book. Sara Sheridan write me book children I am incredibly jammy. I really am. Sara Sheridan incredibly really am i-am If I hadn't been able to get my first book published, I am not sure what I would have done. Sara Sheridan i-am first done book I realized early on that being an author is a hugely misunderstood job. Because there are no pay grades and very little structure, people make interesting assumptions about the profession. Sara Sheridan job grades people interesting Writers have it easy. If you write a bestseller or have your book made into a movie, you'll never have to work again, or so the myth goes. Sara Sheridan never you work book The digital revolution has wrest a little control away from corporate publishers and white, male, middle-aged critics, but the financial value put on the job of the writer and the misconceptions around that make it extremely difficult to enter the profession. Sara Sheridan value control job white Living in Edinburgh, I consider myself particularly lucky - we have the biggest book festival in the world, a plethora of fascinating libraries and museums, and some of the greatest architecture in Europe. Sara Sheridan myself architecture book world As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective. I dumped science at an early age. Sara Sheridan more historical age science Scottish writers are particularly successful in the crime genre. Sara Sheridan genre scottish crime successful I've never seen an 'English' books section in, well, an English bookshop, but in Scotland, most bookshops have a set of shelves dedicated to Scottish authors. Sara Sheridan english books well never I'd never be where I am if more successful writers hadn't taken an interest in me and done me a good turn - be it chiming in with constructive criticism or giving me sound advice about my career plan. Sara Sheridan i-am never good me I'm grateful that I've enjoyed the support of libraries, bookshops and institutional funders. Sara Sheridan libraries enjoyed support grateful The world loves the 1950s. Sara Sheridan 1950s loves world We're all so digital, but the '50s was the era of watches you had to wind. When Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest in 1953, Hillary was equipped with a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. Sara Sheridan you digital wind watches The Best of Elvis Presley, Doris Day, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Hailey and the Comets, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Frankie Laine all topped the charts in the '50s. Load a playlist of rock n' roll royalty. You're spoilt for choice. Sara Sheridan best day you royalty
