Jo Fenton

 It's over three months since I last brought you an interview. Where does the time go when it's not around here?* I was almost certainly wearing more than just t-shirt and shorts when I published that last one! It has been brilliant weather-wise for the last few days and that has made me think about my summer reading. For sitting outside, I prefer a paperback, and, as well as a good read, I need a book with a cover that looks respectable: one that won't alarm the neighbours. I realised yesterday that I'll have to wait until later in the year to read my copy of Ian Fleming's Live and Let Die. You'll see what I mean if you have a look at this article from 007 Magazine on the 2006 Penguin editions. In a (strange sort of) way, that brings me to this week's guest; once you have read the interview, you will be able to (literally) see why Fabergé is on my summer reading list.

I met Jo Fenton at the Swanwick Writer's Summer School last August. As well as being great fun to talk with, Jo is an inspiration when it comes to fitting writing around another career. I look forward to seeing her again in Swanwick this August when she will be running the short course, 'Write Your Novel the Snowflake Way.'

Jo Fenton grew up in Hertfordshire, UK. She devoured books from an early age, particularly enjoying adventure books, school stories and fantasy. She wanted to be a scientist from aged six after being given a wonderful book titled Science Can Be Fun. At eleven, she discovered Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, and now has an eclectic and much loved book collection cluttering her home office.

Jo combines an exciting career as a manager in Clinical Research with an equally exciting but very different career as a writer of psychological thrillers.

When not working, she hikes and runs (very slowly), and chats to lots of people. She lives in Manchester with her husband and Golden Retriever cross and has the joy of having her two grown up sons living nearby. She is an active and enthusiastic member of two writing groups and a reading group.

Now that you know a bit about the author, it's time for some questions:

Despite not being encouraged in schools, and frowned upon in social situations, do you think daydreaming can be valuable?

Daydreaming was always essential for me when I was at school – although perhaps not during lessons! I certainly did a lot of it out of school! Apart from the obvious benefit of expanding the imagination, daydreaming enables an escape from the real world. Life is often stressful, probably even more so nowadays than when I was at school (rather a long time ago!). Daydreams provide a way of venturing into parallel worlds, offering safety, thrills, love and anything else that might be missing from reality. Every day when I got home from school, weather permitting, I would hop onto my bike, and cycle around the area where I lived, but my imagination went much further afield than that estate in Hemel Hempstead.

If you happened to be called upon to be a supply teacher for a short period (à la jury service), what would you teach (other than creative writing or English)?

I would split my time between teaching about Clinical Research (how medicines get to market), and the essential-but-never-taught skills of time management and organisation.

Could any of your characters be teachers? If so, what would they teach?

I think one of my White Knight Detectives, Will, would be a good teacher. He’s very patient and clever and good at explaining things. However, his skills would probably drive him to teach computer hacking – a valuable attribute, but not one that would go down well with the school governors!

If you could go back to school, what would you like to study that you didn’t originally?

When I was at school, I was determined to become a doctor. My A-level grades let me down as I was dyspraxic and unable to write fast enough to complete an exam, but my subjects were always geared to sciences. If I could go back now, I would study English Literature, Drama and Creative Writing.

Thinking back to your time at school, might there have been a book in your satchel that wasn't on a reading list?

I seem to recall, from the age of about 12, there were a lot of Mills and Boon books creeping into my satchel. Also, I suspect the large volume of Agatha Christie stories that filled my time didn’t fit into the school curriculum either.

What else would have been in your satchel, and what are you carrying around at the moment? These don’t have to be books.

I always liked to have a fluffy pencil case filled with my favourite pens – usually roller balls, as being left-handed, ink pens were my nemesis! Nowadays, my handbag is full of lots of STUFF – most of it rubbish – old receipts, paper with train booking details, toiletries, and my version of a first aid kit, which consists of painkillers, digestive remedies and an inhaler. Anyone who works with me knows they can come to me if they need any urgent medicines. I am a walking pharmacy!

School’s out! If you had 24 hours to do anything you wanted (with unlimited funds and none of your usual responsibilities), what would you do?

I would love to go hiking somewhere exciting. The Swiss or Austrian Alps are beckoning, and I would be thrilled to find a relatively easy but stunningly beautiful mountain path to amble along until I reached the top, then have a fabulous packed lunch (or probably afternoon tea by the time I made it to the summit), and then hike down again in time to see the sunset and reach the bottom just before it got dark.

What was the latest daydream of yours that made the leap into the real world? 

A few years ago, I was on a cruise, around Scandinavia and Russia, and there were guest lectures. One of these was about Fabergé eggs and I learned that some had gone missing. I may have missed some of the lecture as my mind wandered into the realms of ‘what if…’. The discovery that one of the eggs was possibly in a bank in Preston (in the North West of England) sparked the thought that maybe a heist would be set up to steal such a priceless object. My latest book, Fabergé was born. The story fitted nicely into the Becky White Thriller Series, and in addition to theft, features abduction and a rising body count.

It's probably time for a lesson. What single piece of advice would you like to share? This could be about writing or life in general.

I think the best piece of advice I could give is ‘build habits.’ I personally use an app which tracks the habits I’ve created: journaling, daily gratitudes, and of course, writing my novels. Any sort of tracker is good; whether it’s a diary, daily to-do list, or whatever works for you. I’ve been told it takes about three weeks to ingrain a habit. I would argue that’s very much an average, and the length of time needed increases or decreases in direct proportion to your enjoyment of the activity. Being completely honest, trying to incorporate habits that you hate doing is going to fail. Have things on your list that you want to do and then find the time and energy to do them.

Now for the Random Question. What piece of technology do you wish you could have had access to sooner?

I would have loved to have had a mobile phone when I was growing up. Apart from preventing a lot of arguments with my dad when I wanted to use the phone, it would have been helpful whenever I wanted to meet a friend and the arrangements were a bit vague. I’m sure I’m not the only one to have waited outside the wrong branch of WHSmiths in a shopping centre.

An ideal book to take out of the house this summer

I'd like to thank Jo for taking the time to answer my questions. Hopefully the weather will stay nice and we can all enjoy some fresh air and fresh stories - respectable paperback covers are optional :)

Check out Jo's Amazon page where you can find her books in Kindle and paperback formats.

 

*Line from the song 'Great Provider' by Barenaked Ladies.