Category: Author Interview

An interview with our travel writer Julie Watson about her collection of travel writing published by Beachy Books called Travel Takeaways: Around the World in Forty Tales published 3rd April 2023.

What was the inspiration behind writing Travel Takeaways?

It began with some particularly memorable past travel experiences that have stayed with me over the years in the form of vivid mental flashbacks and special impressions of places or personal encounters. The desire to hold onto those treasured moments that I ‘took away’ from my travels inspired me to retell each of them in the form of a short story or vignette in which I try to distil all the different elements of that particular travel experience.

Many of the tales involve seeing a rare plant or witnessing some wildlife event. Where did that urge come from do you think as it seems to influence what you write about?

I’ve always had an interest in the natural world, probably dating back to an early childhood fascination with the caterpillars I saw munching away on my father’s cabbage patch! Later, while living in Italy I developed an interest in the different species of wild orchid that I found growing in Mediterranean countries particularly around archaeological sites, where the chalky soil is to their liking. Back in the UK I went on to write and edit the newsletter of a local wildlife association in the city where I lived and worked. So it’s been an enduring interest in my life and one that has often been a theme of many of my travels—although not exclusively.

When did you first start writing with a view to publication? What inspired it all?

Before I retired, I had published academic papers relating to my professional specialism. That required a different style of writing to creative nonfiction, of course. I did dabble in writing fiction when I was much younger but rarely completed anything. As my interest in natural history developed, I had several articles published in wildlife magazines, so I was always engaged in some kind of writing. Then the idea of writing up my travel memoirs as a collection of snapshot stories with an immersive flavour came to me soon after retiring. I wanted to create hard copy of my travel memories primarily for my own pleasure. The members of a local writing group I joined encouraged me to go further and publish them for a wider audience to enjoy.

What travel writers have inspired you?

A book called Contact! by Jan Morris, which was a collection of micro literary snapshots from her own travel experiences, planted the seed of the idea for Travel Takeaways. Long before that Bruce Chatwin’s book, Songlines, also fascinated me enough to read twice. I am a great admirer of all of the writings of the late Dervla Murphy, a very intrepid female traveller. I should also mention Colin Thubron, William Dalrymple and more recently, there are emerging travel writers I enjoy such as Kapka Kassabova.

Do you still have the urge to travel as you once did?

I still have the urge to travel but it’s not necessarily driven by the same level of stamina, nor perhaps is the urge quite as strong as before! Interestingly, from what I see elsewhere in the travel genre, I think the pandemic has shifted the focus away from travelling to far-flung places to a more introspective curiosity about what is unfamiliar and interesting in our own backyard. So, it doesn’t matter whether it is near or far. Travel is largely about searching for new experiences but in the process, we explore our own identities through the mirror that travel, or the unfamiliar world we encounter, holds back on ourselves. I think travel can help us to discover how we manage out of our comfort zone and understand a bit more about who we really are.

What positive takeaway will readers get from reading your tales?

I would like readers to feel that they are there with me in the narrative present as I retell the stories, soaking up the atmosphere, immersed in the place, culture or personal encounter, and experiencing what I experienced. To this end, I am trying to recreate an evocative reading experience from which I hope the reader can take away an interesting and thought-provoking armchair travel experience too.

What are you working on next?

I adopted a rescue cat at the start of the pandemic—she came with a fair amount of emotional baggage, a strong will, and a name that reflected her volatile character—’Marmite’. The next book is about our life together as I learned about cat psychology and tried to develop some cat counselling skills, and she learned to manage an inept but well-meaning human companion. It’s a light-hearted and humorous book that should appeal to and resonate with any cat lovers out there.

What events are you doing to promote your book and where can readers hear you speaking about it?

I have an exclusive book signing event at Waterstones in Newport, Isle of Wight between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday 1^st Apri 2023. Following the official launch of Travel Takeaways on 3^rd April, I have several talks lined up for various interest groups on the Island. I’m also co-presenting with a fellow writer at the Cowes Fringe Festival (26^th to 28^th May) on the path to publication with book readings and an exploration of the different ways to approach writing. I am active on Twitter and Linkedin and publish occasional guest blog posts here and there.

What is your favourite place where you live on the Isle of Wight? Does it inspire your writing?

I don’t have one favourite place on the Isle of Wight but places that offer wildlife interest are high on my agenda. I enjoy wandering around some of the Island’s cemeteries especially those with a light touch management system in place—those are the ones full of spring flowers, including wild orchids, as well as insect life, birds and small mammals. East Cowes cemetery is one example. I also enjoy a slow paddle in my kayak along the creeks of the western Yar, again for the wildlife it offers. The island’s natural environment inspires me indirectly with lots of ideas. I have only published one article specifically about the island. It was called ‘A Garden for All Seasons’ and appeared in an issue of the English Heritage Volunteers Magazine.

Thank you Julie Watson. For more information and to buy a copy of Julie’s new travel writing collection see the book page here — Travel Takeaways: Around the World in Forty Tales

Interview conducted in March 2023.

Interview by writer and publisher, Philip Bell, with author Anna Southwell in November 2020 on the eve of the publication of the first book in her Oliver Gruffle – Secrets of Harmony Haven series, called The Runaways all set on the Isle of Wight. The book is published on Beachy Books Partner Publishing imprint and out 4^th December 2020.

Bold text (Philip), plain text (Anna)…

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been concentrating on the Oliver Gruffle – Harmony Haven books and updating them for years. I first came up with the idea 24 years ago. It was before the Harry Potter books. I never actually read any of those as I didn’t want them to influence my stories. 

I’ve been evolving the books all along, adding different ones. I’m up to twelve so far. I just can’t stop inventing stories. I’m obsessed with it now! *laughs* To tell you the truth, with this coronavirus, I was kept busy and I didn’t go into depression or anything like that from being alone, because I was in my magical world, typing away and thinking of new stories. 

What was the inspiration for the Oliver Gruffle series?

I lived in the Far East for two and a half years, and outside the flats, where we lived, I would see animals and wild dogs running around with tin cans on their heads, because they were scavenging for food. An awful thing happened: we had a ginger cat that we found under a palm tree and took him in. He was beautiful and got on well, but he decided he preferred eating out and he started going around the villages, raiding the chicken coops, and often he would come home with a chicken! And then one day there was a group of people outside with machetes. They asked me who the ginger cat belongs to and I knew they would get him eventually and they hurt him really badly. 

I am a bit sensitive where animals are concerned. When I see them on TV, if they are being cruelly treated I feel sadness. And, of course, I had my lovely Border collie dog called Kim, and she was very wise, and she seemed to know every emotion you felt. As I mention in the book’s introduction, I was never allowed any animals as a child. I was always wanting a pet. I remember riding a bike on the Island and discovering some wild feral kittens and it was a hard lesson to learn that I could not keep them. My last cat I owned as an adult was from a rescue home. So that was how the animal stories all evolved. 

And I wanted to write a story for the grandkids!

Did you have a writing background in your day job?

No. I used to work for an Island builders’ merchants in Ryde. I was just an office girl, a typist, that sort of thing. 

How did you write the book?

On a typewriter! *laughs* I got through so many typewriters because I just bash away at them, but to be quite honest, because I’m visually impaired now, I know exactly where the keys are now – from my touch-typing days – so it’s been a lifeline for me to be able to continue to write new stories and correct ones I’ve written in the past and bring them up to date. 

How did your sight impairment affect the writing of the books?

My eye trouble started with me developing macular in my left eye, like a hole in the eye. One day my eyesight suddenly got very bad, but I could drive because I passed all the driving examinations and doctors said yes, you can still drive. I woke up one morning and I had completely lost sight apart from vision in my right eye that was good. Then I woke up one morning with blurred vision, so I had to go straight up the hospital, and they diagnosed macular vision in the right eye and there’s something else wrong with it as well now, but I have still got a small amount of vision in the right eye.

Now, I’ve got this wonderful light and magnifier from the hospital that’s very good for me so I can hold that over the typing and put it on. It’s been a godsend!

How have you adapted to write and edit your stories now?

I use a very bright LED light to shine it on the paper, so I get by. I don’t feel as if it’s deteriorated too much over the last couple of months. I think it’s stationary at the moment so I’m working hard! I’m working like mad to get all the Oliver Gruffle books written and published.

What support have you got on the Isle of Wight with your sight impairment?

Sight for Wight has been a club that has been an inspiration to me, because I joined the club and when I first went there I thought everybody was going be so morbid and I didn’t think it would be for me. Well, I had the shock my life when I went there – it was hilarious! It was a wonderful, wonderful group! I was so inspired by all the people; there was one chap who had written a story, you know, and there was another lady who could write poetry, someone knitting, and a lady crocheting. And I thought, hello, how can they do all this! And then there were two ladies in their 90s who actually both still lived alone and looked after themselves. And there’s a lady in Shanklin who rings me up, because we all keep in touch, and she’s been an inspiration to me. If she can cope, then I can cope! It’s a wonderful group. We used to go out for lunch and coffee breaks, but at the moment all this has closed down, but everybody is still all keeping in touch, so that’s lovely. They have wonderful volunteers that come in to look after us and help us walk without crashing into lampposts – which is my nightmare of a thing I keep doing! *laughs*

Are you born ‘n’ bred Isle of Wight?

I’ve lived on the Isle of Wight all my life. The one thing I’ve always loved is the Island and that’s why I wanted to base the stories in Oliver Gruffle on the Island.

What do you love about the Isle of Wight?

Everything! *laughs* I just love everything about the Island. I find it quite amazing we have people coming over here, then, all of a sudden, they are creating things themselves, putting their input into the island and I think it’s wonderful. What I’m saying is, the Island is magical. It seems to affect people. People seem to be kinder. 

When I was young, I mean really young, I was given a bike and I used to cycle round the island, 50-odd miles, in a day, taking my picnic. That was how I came across the colony of wild cats, which I couldn’t catch! *laughs*

What was the inspiration for the animal characters in the book? 

I haven’t ever owned a pig *laughs* but I have a pig statue that I call Pickle. And when I look around my room there are so many animal statues. Anybody would think I’m a bit animal mad! *laughs* I’ve got three new stories that I’ve thought of this week, writing them down best I can. I lay in bed, super active at night, trying to think up stories. It’s a great joy to me to be able to do this. I just love it! I love writing. I hope when children read these books, they can come to my little world and enjoy them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.

That really comes across when I first read the story. Your stories are very imaginative, there’s lots of kindness in them, and also mischief and a nice warmth about them, which is different I think. Where does that come from?

It’s not all sweetness you know! *laughs* We go through different stages in different books, but nothing really, really horrible happens that would frighten a child. 

So, what are your favourite books or books that inspired you as a child?

I used to love Victorian era; I’m absolutely besotted with them. Life around the 18th and 19th century, how the way of life was, and the hardships people had to endure, because I had it hard when I was young, coming from a poor family. To tell you the truth I wanted to be a vet. But now it’s a different matter because I can’t read so well and I’m concentrating on writing the Oliver Gruffle series so that my grandkids have something to remember me by! 

What part of the writing of the Oliver Gruffle stories do you enjoy the most?

I quite like the conversations between the animals. I do admit I did find the first chapter very hard to do though. I went over and over it until I got it how I wanted it. I find it quite hard to have two animals speaking together, so I used to put a toy in front of me and pretend that was the animal in the book and talk to it, and imagine how he would look, what he would say back, and gradually it just began to develop. I think I am a bit crazy! *laughs*

Yes, I know what you mean. As a writer I know what it’s like to have your own invented characters speaking to you in your head. So, what other techniques do you use in writing and editing?

I always read my books out loud as if I’m speaking to a child. Now, I’ll tell you another little interesting story: My husband had dementia and it was quite a hard time for me, you know, looking after him, but luckily he did still know me, but he didn’t know the family. We always used to sing together. But the one thing he loved in the afternoon, when he came waddling in, was to listen to me read my books. I would read to him and do all the voices and he would sit there, thrilled to bits. And he said to me, ‘The one thing I want you to do, Anna, is try and get this into print for children to enjoy!’ That’s his words, so you have helped me keep my promise to my late husband and publish my book, and I’m thrilled!

Have you enjoyed the publishing process?

What you’ve done and all the editing, I think it’s really, really turned out a lovely book.

You know what’s show nice for me though, I was getting all these phone calls last night from my family, saying things like ‘Nan, we’re so-so proud of you!’ you know, and you wouldn’t normally say that to somebody, you know, you might be taken for granted normally, so it was so nice to just actually hear them say those words, because we haven’t got anybody in the family who does this sort of thing, it’s quite different, to actually get published.

Have you got any inspiring thoughts for anybody who wants to write their own stories?

I would say, if you’ve got a dream, follow it.

Philip Bell would like to thank Anna Southwell for her time in the interview. If you like the sound of Anna’s Oliver Gruffle series and want to read the first one then find out more here: Oliver Gruffle – Secrets of Harmony Haven – Book 1: The Runaways.