Allie Cresswell

Author

29 Jan

What made you decide to become a writer?

It was more a case of accepting that I was a writer. From an early age, stories came to me and books excited me. The idea of creating something from nothing—and something that mattered—was thrilling and it still is.

I began to write my first book in 1992 and finished it in 2002. It was written between the school run and various parttime jobs, and in secret. It was a steep learning curve. I really had no idea what I was doing even though I was an avid reader and had an MA in English Literature. I was successful in getting an agent but she couldn’t place the book. Books two and three followed and were very different from the first, mainly as I explored style and narrative and sought to find my own voice. The agent didn’t like them and we amicably parted company.

In 2007 my life underwent an enormous upheaval that almost killed me but in fact saved me in every way. From then on I was able to write full time and I began to self-publish, but with little success, depending upon how you rate success. Reviews were great but sales were poor. In 2016 I began work on my sixth book, declaring that it would be my last. But wow! Tall Chimneys somehow just took off, garnered great reviews, organic sales and quite a lot of money. I suppose it was that experience that made me realise that I was a writer.

How do you decide your plots? Are they taken from events that have happened to you? Do you base your characters on real people – or do you prefer to be fully creative and make them up?

Writing can be excellent therapy and I have sometimes used my novels to work through issues in my life that were traumatic. I don’t base my characters on real people but characteristics, either physical or behavioural, sometimes creep in. Generally these are more from my observations of strangers than from friends or relations, although I do have a plaque in my kitchen that reads, ‘Anything you do or say could end up in my novel’.

What comes first for you – the plot or the characters? And why?

Not the plot. That evolves as the setting and characters begin to meld, and I never know the ending when I begin. Sometimes I don’t know the end until I’m 75% of the way there! I usually start with an idea or a scene and just run with it to see where it takes me. I liken it to a walk in an unfamiliar landscape with a bunch of strangers. You set off and several paths look promising, but you just pick one and see where it leads. As you travel, your companions begin to reveal themselves and to forge relationships or antipathies that make the trip interesting. If, at the end of the walk, other routes have appeared that will take you on, you choose one. You might jettison one or two of the travel buddies or you might parachute in new ones. Again, you write as far as it will take you. Or, if you come to a dead end, you can retrace your steps and begin again. But increasingly, I find my writer’s instinct is a reliable guide.

How many books have you written and/or published and which is your favourite? Why?

I’m working on my sixteenth book. Choosing a favourite is like naming a favourite child—impossible. I’m super proud of Crossings, my difficult child, who took a long time to find their true identity. Tall Chimneys is the golden child—easily my best selling and most successful novel. The Cottage on Winter Moss speaks to me of home, as it is set right here where I live, and was inspired by the landscape of northwest Cumbria. Also, it’s a book about writing a book, so it is important to me on many levels.

What is your favourite genre to write in?

I write both contemporary and historical fiction. But the funny thing is, when you’ve been writing as long as I have, those ‘contemporary’ books I wrote twenty years ago are now beginning to look pretty ‘historical’!

Did you need to do research for your book? If so, how much did you do, how did you do it?

Always, especially for the historical books. My search history at the end of the day speaks volumes! Here is what I have just now: what diseases were prevalent in Yorkshire in 1845; when was the telegraph invented; what was the treatment for infection in 1845; did Victorian men wear beards; Irish immigration to England in the industrial revolution.

Would you travel to the area where your book is set? Do you already know the area? Have you written about that area because it’s a place you know? Have you used the original name of the area or manipulated place names?

My current book is set in Yorkshire, in an area loosely based on the North York Moors. I have been there to get a feel for the landscape. The larger towns, like Whitby, are named, but my village, Moorside, is fictional.

Does your family read your work? If not, would you like them to? Are your books their thing? Would it bother you if they weren’t interested in reading any of them?

The family is very supportive. My daughter and daughter-in-law both read my books and my son—who is dyslexic—listens to the audio versions if I have them. My mum read my books and declared herself ‘gobsmacked’—a word I didn’t even know she had in her vocabulary. That was the best accolade I’ve ever received. It is sad that she never got to read the Talbot Saga, which she would have loved.

My ex-husband never read a word I wrote and was very dismissive of my writing. That hurt, if I’m honest. The husband I have now is brilliant—definitely a keeper! He is my ‘alpha-reader’. We read every newly-finished book aloud and he helps me with plot-holes, character inconsistencies, repeated material and things like whether you could walk from Rotherhithe to Chelsea in an hour.

How many hours a day or week would you say you spend writing? Is it a potential career for you, is it something you do outside your day job?

I’m fortunate that I don’t have to work outside the home. I consider writing to be my job. I’d spend every day at my desk if I could, but in reality I spend about five hours a day, four or five days a week during the autumn and winter months and that will usually result in a new book. Spring is all about the editing, cover design, formatting, upload and launch. In the summer I’m out in the garden, harvesting and processing the lovely organic veggies my husband grows for us, but I also do a lot of reading, especially ARCs for fellow-Indie writers. And thinking. Generally, a new idea is germinating.

Is writing therapeutic for you, or does it cause you to stress out?

Therapeutic. Exciting. Absorbing. Fulfilling. Distracting. Affirming. Spiritual.

How do you market your books?

Probably not enough or very well. I try to be active on social media and I have met some lovely fellow writers there. But what writers need is READERS, and they seem hard to engage.

When I launch a new book I do a blog tour with book bloggers and stretch the budget to include some promos, but these are costly and don’t always achieve that much. I think—and believe—that if a book has legs it will run. Organic sales are the best.

Having said that, in 2025 I’m going to put my big girl knickers on and do some local craft and makers’ fairs to see if I can generate some interest that way. I’m nervous about it. Like most writers, I’m an introvert, but if I don’t tell people about my books, who will?

How do you react to reviews? Would you prefer just good ones or are you okay to receive a bad one occasionally? How does this make you feel?

Bad reviews hurt. Any writer who tells you different is not being honest. A one or two star review for a book the reader readily admits they did not even finish is a real kick in the teeth. But at the end of the day, not every reader will love your book. So long as a negative review is properly reasoned I can live with it.