Ask Lesley

Which books do I like to read? 

I'm a very keen reader. I started a Reading Group as my contribution to the Millennium and that group continues to meet. I have been in two other Reading Groups since then and continue to read a wide range of authors. I like Women's Literature but not romance per se. I like some historical novels but mostly I like gritty realism. Favourite authors include Maggie O'Farrell, Elizabeth Strout, Chimamanda Ngozie Adiche, Hilary Mantel, Colm Toibin, Chris Cleave, Rose Tremain, Andrea Levy, Thomas Hardy, Irene Nemirovsky, Meg Roscoff, Peter Hoeg... the list is too long to get into this space.

What was the inspiration for Millie & Louise?

I began a creative writing course with Alison Knight and decided to write a novel about a woman who discovers her husband had a gambling addiction. After his sudden death she changes her life. The characters and the story sort of wrote themselves.

Am I a plotter or a panster?

A plotter - spreadsheets, notelets, text files are my thing. Then all of a sudden a character does something that isn't on my spreadsheet.....

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