Author: MARGUERITE BELL

Author: Marguerite Bell (real name Ida Pollock)

Author’s website address: http://www.margueritebell.co.uk

Published books by the Author: (under this name) A Rose for Danger, The Devil's Daughter, Bride by Auction, Sea Change, A Distant Drum. A further 103
titles have been published under other names.

Books in Process: Pride of Eagles, The Antidote, Set in Sable, Valley of Fire, Pale Sunrise,The Courts of Eden, St Martin's Summer, Field of Lilies, Kit's Inheritance.

Welcome Marguerite,

Interview:

When and why did you begin writing?
When I was about 10 I read a grown-up novel set in the old American West. That book took me into another place. Not long afterwards it occurred to me that I could write my own way into such places.

What inspired you to write your first book?
I was fascinated by China, so I wrote a novel set in 1920's Shanghai.

How did you approach writing your first book?
I lay in bed thinking about it, then I took a pencil and note-book and started putting my thoughts on paper.

Who or what influenced your writing?
From a literary point of view I was influenced by Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen and Joseph Conrad. Also (on a less exalted level) by Baroness Orczy, creator of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and by Jeffrey Farnol, an historical novelist who was once very popular in England. On the personal side I was inspired, encouraged and supported by my mother.

Why do you continue to write?
When you write fiction you escape into a world of your own making. I find it hard to give that world up.

What do you hope to accomplish through your writing?
I'd like to think that my novels entertain and divert people, that they 'ease the pressure' a bit. I would also hope, though, that my historicals introduce readers to a world where things were different.

What has been your experience as a published writer?
It's wonderful to see a new book come out - another child launched into the world.

How do you promote your book(s)?
I've had quite a bit of magazine and newspaper publicity, and that can be worth a lot. Really, though, just getting into the libraries - getting talked about - is invaluable.

What advice would you like to share with other writers?
Even when the discouragement gets severe, keep on writing and have faith in yourself. Enjoy what you're doing. At the same time, don't let this creative thing wear you out, and don't let it get between you and your family. It shouldn't rule your life (if you haven't already done so read about Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, both of whom were priceless examples of how to write successfully while at the same time remaining a real person).

Any other comments you would like to add?
I treasure the memory of a lady who told me that her husband had died a few months earlier. My books, she said, had helped her to get through. If you think about it, almost every author of fiction must have helped someone (perhaps many people) in this kind of way.

Thank you, Marguerite.

Interviewer: Kaye Trout - May 15, 2006 - Copyright