Cathy Hopkins talks to Karen Saunders about her writing life.

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CATHY HOPKINS inteviewed by KAREN SAUNDERS

When and why did you start writing?

I wrote my first book in 1986. It was after a male friend returned from a bookshop and announced that there was nothing for men about how to chat up women apart from a long winded self help book, which he said no proud male would ever admit to reading. It gave me an idea to write a humorous book on the subject with a bit of good advice slipped in between jokes. I contacted cartoonist Gray Jolliffe and together we worked on the first book which was called Girlchasing – (How to Improve your Game). We did five books in that series - the last one for people splitting up – called Divorce for Beginners. I enjoyed doing the books so much that I decided I’d like to write more.

What made you decide to write for teenagers and not adults?

It was actually my agent who suggested it after reading some chapters I had sent her. She was the late Rosemary Bromley and she phoned up and said, “Cathy, I think that your literary voice is that of a fourteen year old girl.” “Mwf. Whatever,” I replied. “That’s sooo not fair, Like, nobody understands me.” No seriously, after she said that, she sent some of my ideas to Brenda Gardner at Piccadilly Press. She commissioned the first three books in the Mates Dates series which went on to be twelve books and I haven’t looked back since. That was in 2000 and the last years have been the best ever.

Can you describe your writing process for us? What’s an average writing day like, and how long does it take you to write your books?

The writing process? There are several stages. The first is when a book is ‘cooking’ in my head and I think about it a lot – when I’m driving, shopping, cleaning, cooking. That stage can last weeks.

Then I put down a couple of pages of ideas and do the main character’s profiles. At this stage, I meet with my publisher and editor to talk things over – as they may have just commissioned another writer to do exactly the same thing or have recently published a book with a similar idea. If not, and my idea gets the go ahead, I write a very detailed outline with a clear beginning, middle and end. This can change when I started to write the first draft but it gives me a map of sorts to work from.

Then I do a first draft without too much editing or criticism – as that can be the killer – the voice in the back of the head that says, don’t even bother unless it’s going to be brilliant, original, in fact, give up now, there are too many other writers etc etc. I tell myself to get the story down and I can always change it later.

After the first draft, I try to put the book away for a time and then get it out with a fresh mind and then edit and rewrite.

And then it goes off to the publisher and editor and comes back with their comments. I rewrite again. Off it goes again. And then a copy editor goes through looking for any discrepancies if there are any. Back to me for another look. Back to the publisher again. And then the proofs come through for a last look to see if there are any missed punctuation mistakes before it goes to print.

An average day? I get down to my office at the bottom of the garden about nine and work until lunch time. Then I do jobs etc. while I mull over what I’ve written. In the afternoon, I make any changes. Plus I do any replies to emails/interviews/post etc. Four o’clock, cup of tea, look at the property websites in Cornwall (we may move there in a year or two) look at holiday sites, faff around before a last burst which can last different times depending on how much I got written earlier in the day. Sometimes I finish around six, sometimes seven or eight. I aim to do at least 1000 words a day. However, these days, there always seems to be something else to do that can take away from solid writing time – like prepare for a school visit or check out travel arrangements, write a blog or newsletter for the website.

And how long does it take to write a book? About four months but as you can see from the early bit of this answer, the process gets spread out and sometimes I can be working on outlines for future books while writing a present one.

 Long answer!

Which of your books are you most proud of?

All of them for different reasons. I feel particularly proud that they are in twenty four countries now; the thought that readers all over the world are reading about these characters I made up whilst locked in my office/shed in the bottom of the garden is very heart warming.

Which of your characters is your favourite and why? Are they the one you can most identify with?

I always really enjoyed writing from Nesta’s point of view as she is much more outspoken than I am and it was fun to voice a lot of stuff I wouldn’t normally say out loud! She’s probably the least like me. I think I am most like Izzie, forever asking questions – like what’s after space? I also like Joe, the ‘love interest’ in Cinnamon Girl. He’s a cool dude. And very handsome. And quietly funny. And intelligent. (if only he was real)

What inspired you to write Cinnamon Girl?

My publisher Brenda Gardner asked me to do a book with a character and family that was close to my own experience so that I could draw on that. I have five brothers and our family moved around a lot when we were young just as the family in the book do.

 I understand that you spent part of your childhood in Kenya. India Jane also moves around a lot - could you tell us a little more about what your own childhood was like and how (if at all) you drew upon your experiences writing Cinnamon Girl?

I lived in Kenya from the age of five to eleven and later my parents and younger brothers lived in what was then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, then after that, Malawi. Although I loved growing up in Africa, it was hard changing schools. I really know what it’s like to start a new school a year or so after everyone else has and I had the same longing that India Jane has to stay in one place for a while. I also gave India Jane a lot of the questions I had as a teen – like where does happiness lie? In having a good time, being a party animal or does it lie in finding a good relationship, friends or do you have to seek it in a more spiritual realm.

Are you familiar with Greece, or did you have to do a lot of research for this particular book? For instance, have you visited new age centres like the one India Jane stays at, and if so, what was that like?

 I did spend a week on the island of Skiathos, which is where the book is set, before writing as I wanted to be sure that any description I put in the book was right. I haven’t been to a new age centre exactly like the one India Jane goes to, but I have been part of a group that did meditation. I lived in an ashram for a while and I have tried all the things that India Jane does in the book. I really enjoyed all of it and met some wonderfully wacky people along the way.

 Cinnamon Girl explores the issues of belonging, security, growing up, and finding your place in the world. Why were these themes so important to you?

When I was younger, I was always looking for answers to the big questions: - why are we here? What’s it all about? Where have we come from? I looked in many places and read many books which all helped when it came to writing the journey of self discovery that India Jane goes on. These themes were important to me then, and still are. I still have lots of questions about what we’re doing here but as I’ve got older have accepted the saying that goes – you can take a cup of water and put it in the ocean but you can never take the ocean and put it in a cup. In other words, our ability to understand some things is limited. I liked what one guru said when asked what is after death? He said, when you die, you’ll find out. I liked that answer. Simple. All else is speculation really.

Thank you Cathy Hopkins for talking to Write Away