Cuppa and a Catch Up – An Author Interview with…Victoria Watson

SUNDAY 17th MARCH 2013

I would like to wish a warm welcome to the lovely Vic Watson, a fellow North Easterner who is on a similar mission to myself. She has published a short story called ‘The Piano’ as well as a collection of short stories ‘Letting Go’. I worked with her on the I Am Woman Anthology. Her current work in progress is her debut novel called ‘Fix Me Up.’

I had the pleasure of working with Victoria on the I Am Woman Anthology Volume 2, the second Anthology of short stories written by women to raise funds for charities who help women both in the UK and across the world. I submitted my short story ‘Breaking The Rules’ to her for consideration, which she kindly accepted to be in this wonderful Anthology. She proofread and edited my submission before unleashing it on the world.

~Author Bio~

Victoria Watson completed a BA (Hons) in Media, Communication and Cultural Studies from NewcastleUniversity in 2008. Part of her dissertation was subsequently taught in an undergraduate module.

Victoria achieved a Masters degree in Creative Writing with Commendation in 2010. She is currently studying for a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in the Post Compulsory Education and Training.

Victoria has contributed to publications including ‘True Faith’ (a Newcastle United fanzine), NCJ Media’s north-east titles The Journal, Evening Chronicle and Sunday Sun. She has also reviewed for Amazon, Waterstones and Closer Magazine.

She was awarded ‘Young Reviewer of the Year’ by ncjMedia in 2009 and her short story ‘The Piano’ won North Tyneside Council’s Story Tyne competition in November 2012.

Victoria had a story published in the ‘Home Tomorrow’ anthology published by 6th Edition Publishing in 2011. Her work is also featured in several charity anthologies. She published a collection of her short stories entitled ‘Letting Go’ in February 2012. ‘The Piano’ is also available for download on Amazon.

Victoria writes a blog at http://elementaryvwatson.wordpress.com. She is the official blogger for Whitley Bay Film Festival and also contributes to The Cultural Thing and The Northern Line blogs.

Victoria currently runs two writing groups in WhitleyBay, North Tyneside but is looking to run sessions in Newcastle and Northumberland.

Victoria is currently in the process of setting up Elementary V Watson Proofreading and Copywriting Services.

Now get cosy with that cuppa as we catch up with this lovely lady and fellow North Easterner…

Hi Vic and welcome! It’s great to have you here and congratulations on the publication of your stories!

Tell us a bit about your work in progress and where did the inspiration behind Fix Me Up come from?

Oooh, that’s a tough one. While studying for my Masters in Creative Writing at Northumbria University, I began writing a story about a girl and her dead grandmother. The story was meant to be about the relationship between the two and the girl’s struggle to come to terms with the fact that they weren’t speaking when her grandmother died tragically after being mugged by a drug addict. However, when I read back the separate characters, I realised the more compelling story lay with Colin, the drug addict.

How would you compare writing this book with writing your previous books; ‘Letting Go’ and ‘The Piano’.

Fix Me Up is written mainly in Geordie dialect which definitely differs from anything I’ve written before. Letting Go is a collection of short stories and flash fiction and The Piano is a short story about a daughter trying to come to terms with her father’s dementia. One thing I think all of my writing has in common is the fact that I always concentrate on ordinary people in not-so-ordinary situations.

How did you start writing? Was there a particular book or moment in your life that spurred you on?

I’ve loved reading since I was a little girl and I couldn’t imagine a life without reading. There have been lots of books that have inspired me over the years and one author who has continued to delight and surprise me well into adulthood is Roald Dahl. I love his use of language, how he makes up words that are so evocative is something I really admire.

I also love the fact that books can have an impact on society. For example, Anne Frank’s Diary and To Kill a Mockingbird have been massively inspirational to me.

I see that you are studying to be a creative writing teacher– congratulations! How do you organise your writing time?

With great difficulty! I run a couple of writing groups every week so you’d think that would give me time to write but I spend most of my time there supporting the other members of the group and working on the teaching side of things. I’m not complaining though as I absolutely love it. I write when I can but I am a big procrastinator, I have to have a deadline.

I’m a deadline kind of girl too – I seem to work better under pressure!

Where is your best ‘writing space’; the place where you feel comfortably locked away from the world and able to let your creative juices flow?

I like to be alone when I’m writing. In the summer I like to sit in the conservatory and be able to look at the garden in bloom. In the winter, I’m generally on the sofa with the TV on in the background. When I’m overseas, I like to be near the sea or a pool, I’m a real waterbaby.

The only person I can bear to be around when I write is The Boy Wonder. Generally, I can’t write comfortably when other people are around.

And finally, tell us an interesting fact about yourself that not many people know.

When I was a teenager, I constantly imitated Posh Spice. It was not my finest moment.

Thank you for being here today Victoria!

~Where to find Victoria Watson~

Blog

You can find Vic on Facebook

She is on Twitter as @vpeanuts