My guess today is Teresa Ashby.
1. When I first started
writing short stories, two names appeared in every magazine I looked
at - yours and Della Galton's. How long have you been writing womag
stories and how did you get started?
I sold my first fiction
story in 1984 to Secrets which was published by D C Thomson, but I
started writing short stories a year or so before that. I had written
a few (awful) novels by then. I used to invest in as many magazines
as I could and after reading them, I’d count the words in each
story. There weren’t a lot of guidelines back then, so you had to
create your own. There were dozens of magazines which was good in a
way as you had to learn to write in many different styles to suit
each market.
2. Do you remember your
first acceptance?
Yes, I do. It was
called Happy to Oblige and the story was written about my two year
old son trying to put my cat in the tumble dryer – he’d just come
in out of the pouring rain. Thankfully I caught him. He was acting
with the best of intentions and Leo came to no harm, but it sold my
first story. The first thing I did when I got the letter was to phone
my mum. Honestly, she was that chuffed, I still smile when I remember
that phone call.
3. You've had soooo
many since - do you still celebrate after a 'yes' and if so how?
I am always ecstatic
when I have an acceptance. Mainly it’s a smile on my face and the
push I need to get on and write more.
4. I know your family
are important to you - do they still make it into your stories?
They sneak in sometimes
without me even realising it. Same with the pets. Mainly I see my
characters as people I’ve just met, but they often share some
character traits with those I love – and a few people that I don’t
(you’ll always need villains).
5. Do you have a strict
writing routine, or is it impossible to fit one around the
grandchildren and animals?
No I don’t have a
routine at all. I write when and where I can.
6. The right writing
snacks are very important - what's your fuel of choice?
At the moment it’s
peanut butter on toast, but if anyone passing cares to throw me a
tasty snack, I won’t say no.
7. You've published
several collections of your short stories, could you tell us about
the latest one?
Margaret’s Mouse &Other Stories is the latest. (US link) The stories were all published in The
People’s Friend and there are twenty in all. It’s a mix of all
sorts – but mainly about families with a bit of romance thrown in. (The collection is available at the special price of 99p/99c from today until Tuesday)
8. What has been your
happiest or proudest writing moment so far?
I think it must be when
I sold my first serial in 1988 to My Weekly, “For The Children’sSake”. I bought my first computer, an Amstrad with what I earned
from that. Then I was contacted by publishers in Norway and Italy who
wanted to publish it too. It was also published as a pocket novel.
Many years later I found out that I could also sell large print
rights. That serial opened up a whole new world for me and I should
say here that I am forever grateful to D C Thomson for the
encouragement they gave me when I started out.
9. Can you pass on a
tip for other womag writers?
Read the magazines –
the whole magazine that is, even the adverts. Know who you’re
writing for and respect them. I think respect for the reader is
vital. During a stay in hospital in 1985, the nurses
were only allowed to
spend a maximum of two minutes in the room with me and one lovely
nurse in particular used to have to keep looking at her watch because
we’d end up talking about magazines. She said she loved reading the
confession ones during her break. From that moment on, I thought of
her when I wrote confession stories and imagined her reading them. I
hadn’t thought about it this deeply before, but I definitely have
someone in mind as my reader when I write –almost as if I’m
chatting to them and telling the story.
