Five on Friday with Jill's Book Cafe

Jill is a a 60+ year young, ex librarian (public libraries) and she's always loved books. Her wonderful blog is full of bookish news, reviews and author interviews.

On Fridays she asks an author five questions, and here are the questions she asked me. If you would like to read the full post, you can do so here.

1. Which 5 pieces of music/songs would you include in the soundtrack to your life and why?

This might horrify some people, but I don’t listen to music an awful lot. However, some songs that have stuck with me.

Ella Fitzgerald’s It’s a Lovely Day was one of my dad’s favourites and whenever I hear it, I think of him in the kitchen, carving the Sunday roast, Radio 2 in the background, and me sitting on a stool at the table because I couldn’t reach my plate if I sat in a grown-up chair. My dad died ten years ago and I miss him every day. This one’s for you, Dad x

Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. I used to take my old tape recorder into the garden and I’d be on my swing and singing it at the top of my voice. Goodness knows what the neighbours must have thought!

The Sound of Silence by Disturbed. It’s raw and powerful, and brings a whole new dimension to the original. Whenever I hear it, it sends shivers down my spine. And the meaning behind the lyrics is more important now than ever.

Waterloo by Abba. I’ll never forget travelling down the Champs-Élysées in Paris on the top deck of an open-top bus, my husband and I each with an earbud in, singing Waterloo. Thankfully we were the only people on the bus at the time, otherwise we might have got thrown off!

I’ve got to add a song that made me cry recently – Ed Sheeran’s Visiting Hours. I heard it for the first time when driving to the supermarket. By the time I’d parked the car, I was a snivelling mess. So much emotion in so few words…

2. What 5 things (apart from family and friends) would you find it hard to live without.

I’m going to say my dog, Poppy, but I’d also include her in my family. I’ve always had dogs and each one has touched my heart – but Poppy is particularly special. She’s the most sweet-natured and loving dog, and I simply adore her.

Tea – I never used to understand my gran’s insistence on drinking tea whatever the occasion but as I’m getting older, I’m getting to be more like her. Give me a nice cup of tea over a cocktail any day! Earl Grey is my favourite, but any tea will do at a push.

My local library – it’s one of the few places where you’re not expected to spend money. And it’s the gateway to so many places and other lives. You can go anywhere you want and be anyone you want in the pages of a book. Plus they do digital and audio now, too, so if I can’t get out to visit one in person, I can borrow a book on my phone.

The countryside. Having a dog means I have to take her on at least one walk a day – usually two. And I’m lucky to live on the top of a Welsh mountain, with its open moorland where semi-wild ponies roam, and hidden wooded valleys with streams trickling through them. It’s food for the soul.

Hiking boots. They’re not the most glamorous of footwear but they suit my lifestyle.

3. Can you offer 5 pieces of advice you'd give to your younger self?

Don’t sweat the small stuff. This advice has been around for years, but it’s still true. I used to get upset over the slightest thing, and worry about stuff that I should never have given brain time to. These days I ask myself will it matter in six months (or even this time next week?) and if the answer is no, I let it go.

Believe in yourself. Self-doubt can be crippling. I never thought I could be an author – that was for other people, not someone like me. I used to write in secret, hiding my words, never believing my books would be published.

Spend time with those you love. It’s so easy to get swept up in the busyness of day-to-day life that you don’t spend the time with them that you’d like. Make time. We only have a limited amount of it – spend it wisely, being with the people you love and doing the things you love to do.

You are beautiful. When I look back at photos, I wonder why I thought my knees were too knobbly, or my face was too round, or… whichever part of my anatomy I happened to be obsessing about at the time. What’s on the outside doesn’t matter nearly as much as what’s on the inside.

Follow your dreams – I had so many (I wanted to be an astronaut, a pilot, a jockey, to live in Italy… to name but a few), but I was too influenced by the opinions of others, however well-meaning. In the case of wanting to be an astronaut though, my limitation was actually my own inability to grasp physics.

4. Tell us 5 things that most people don't know about you.

I was accepted into art school at age 16 – the youngest person they had offered a place to. I didn’t take it, but I still draw whenever I can.

I stole an Easter egg from Woolworths when I was about seven or eight. I was too scared to eat it, and spent the next three months terrified that the police would come knocking. I eventually took it back to the shop and hid it amongst the pic-n-mix.

The first novel I completed was nearly 300,000 words long. And was awful. Some kind of saga thing that involved going back in time. But it proved to me that if I could write a novel once, I could do it again, and most writers have manuscripts hidden away that will never see the light of day.

I’m addicted to lip balm. I swear I must have eaten pounds of it over the years (I usually keep it stuffed down my bra, but don’t tell anyone).

I’m a gadget buff. My husband has to rein me in otherwise the house would be full of them. My latest purchase was an ice cream maker – though when I’ll find the time to make any is another matter!

5. Tell us 5 things you'd like to do or achieve.

Write a best seller (I suspect that’s every writer’s dream). Not because I want fame or fortune, but because I write so readers will read my books. The more people who read them, the happier I am.

Learn to spin yarn. No idea why… it just appeals to me.

Persuading my local council that they don’t have to mow every inch of grass to within an inch of its life is a passion of mine. “No mow, let it grow” is my motto. A mow in November is enough. Let the wildflowers thrive where they can.

Have all my books narrated and turned into audiobooks. I love audiobooks and often listen to one when I’m doing the housework, and my husband also enjoys them on his commute to and from work. There needs to be more out there!

Keep chickens. And a goat. I like goats. Maybe an alpaca, as well. Have you seen their daft hair-dos?

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