interview with Anne Stenhouse

ANNE STENHOUSE is a playwright and has also written short stories and short non-fiction. Five years ago she decided to return to writing the romance novels she had attempted when she first gave up going out to work. This time she joined the New Writers’ Scheme (NWS) of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA). Four critiques down the line and her historical romance, MARIAH’S MARRIAGE, met with the NWS Reader’s approval. Following some attention to a plot defect spotted by the Reader, Anne sent it out and it was picked up by the Canadian house, MuseItUp.

Mariah’s Marriage came out on 3^rd May in e-book format, and later will be available in paperback.

I asked Anne a few questions about her writing and the publishing process so far.

What sort of things do you write?

Before I answer your questions, Jane, I’d like to say how pleased I am to be here joining the interviewees already on the site. Thank you for the invitation.

I’ve written plays for performance; short stories and articles for sale; and any number of unpublished novels. I’m also very keen on magazine fillers because I like both the short and pithy and the nostalgic.

Tell me a bit about what writing means to you

I find writing is a compulsion. Writing allows you to re-organise the universe you’re living in. As an extension of that, I think in conversations. Where other writers might get down the description, the atmosphere, the colour of the characters’ hair, I need to hear the voices. Once I do, things move along at a fair pace. The editor may have to make up a hair colour, but she won’t have any problem identifying the speech patterns. It’s good to be able to express yourself well in writing, to make people laugh and to tell a story. It can be irritating to your friends when everything in life is poked and prodded for a deeper, different meaning.

Do you have a routine where your writing is concerned?

Not really. Deadlines are a great motivation and often lead to surprising periods of disciplined work.

What has been your highest moment writing-wise?

Doesn’t get much better than opening the e-mail from Lea Schizas of MuseItUp. It was also good opening the letter from FebFest saying my play, HORIZONS, had won a performance slot. Having so recently moved into playwriting, and thrown away a distinguished collection of Mills & Boon, no longer required for research, it was great to have confirmation that my work was well thought of.

What, if any, have been the challenges in your writing career?

I’ve had two difficult stages. One was leaving behind correct, pared back prose when moving from the style needed to answer an office-type letter to writing short stories and plays. The second was in moving from dialogue into long prose. I’ve had to learn to love a sprinkling of adjectives and adverbs. I’ve had to learn to use description and the ‘s/he thought’ tag. You really need to read and de-construct the prose of other writers. I bought a lot of second-hand books and a clutch of highlighters. Going through the story with one colour for emotion, one for plot, one for characterisation is useful.

The most difficult moment  -  to date -  was accepting the advice from the RNA Reader the first time. I almost couldn’t read it, but of course, they know what they’re talking about and when you calm down, you realise that and get on with the business of re-writing. Oh dear! How arrogant that sounds, but I think most of us believe our work is perfect until someone takes time to point out that it isn’t.

Which writers have inspired you most?

I’m inspired by Louise Allen. I find her historicals are fresh and full of detail, lightly added. Before that Georgette Heyer – I love the period detail and the dialogue heavy prose. I also like contemporary writers who manage that. People like Maggie Graham (Sitting Among the Eskimos). In drama, I’m a fan of David Greig. I love his Outlying Islands. In the magazine fiction world, I greatly admire Kate Blackadder and the late Margaret McKinlay. Margaret also wrote novels.

What, if any, are the drawbacks of asking someone to read your work?

None, if you’ve chosen the right person. Asking family members or friends not in the business, is generally hopeless. A good critique partner is worth so much.

What advice would you give to new writers?

Keep writing and sending stuff out or post on an internet writing website where criticism is shared. Look at what the editor said on return. A scrawled sentence may succinctly sum up what caused the piece to be refused. Learn and move on. There’s nothing more likely to hold you back than fretting over an ‘unjust’ criticism. The Editor has a clear brief and does not intend to discuss how your piece could be interpreted as fitting it. Write the thing to fit in the first place. Writing is a business: if you cannot or will not, write to a brief, clear out the bottom drawer and set about filling it with rejections. If you want to simply write: just do.

Tell me about Mariah’s Marriage

MARIAH’S MARRIAGE, under a different title, began life as a first chapter entered in the New Voices competition run by Mills & Boon. It attracted a lot of good comments and when it wasn’t picked up by them, I wrote it anyway as my required book for the RNA NWS in 2011. It is based on some of my hobby-horses like mass education; the catastrophic effects of gossip, rumour and innuendo and the war between the sexes. Oh, and it is a romance across the class divide. It’s full of humorous exchanges between the hero and heroine, lots of lovely gowns and a seriously nasty villain. I love writing the villain.

I have heard your book is a contender for an award?

Thanks for asking about that, Jane. Because the book went through the RNA's New Writers' Scheme, it is a contender, along with eight others, for the Joan Hessayon Award. Very exciting. I get to attend the RNA Summer Party and rub shoulders with famous names from the romance world. The party's on 16th May. Fingers crossed….

What made you follow the route of e-publishing?

E-publishing is a good option for an un-agented writer. MARIAH was written to a shorter word length, 52,000 words, and shorter is attractive to many e-readers.

The link for buying Mariah’s Marriage from MuseItUp’s bookshop is:

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=585&category_id=69&manufacturer_id=278&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

To buy it from Amazon, click on:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mariahs-Marriage-ebook/dp/B00CMAEKPM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368346573&sr=1-1&keywords=anne+stenhouse 

What is your next project?

I’m writing another historical romance, set in early nineteenth century Edinburgh which began life, under another title, as an entry for the Mills and Boon New Voices (Note to self: no more of that). I keep seeing the end, but it keeps moving away.

How can readers connect with you?

Readers can visit my blogs. Novels Now is at http://www.annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com

Write, Watch and Critique Plays is at

http://www.annestenhouse.co.uk 

Thank you, Anne, and the best of luck with publication and with the Joan Hessayon Award.