Sunday 26 August 2012

Interview with Alice Peterson - Author of Ten Years On



Please tell us a little about yourself
I ’m thirty-eight, live in west London, love my Lucas Terrier, Darcy and our dog walking adventures, am competitive at all card games and finally I love my job! I began writing in my early 20s, after I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) aged 18 and on the verge of signing a tennis scholarship to the USA. There is no doubt that having RA has influenced my work. I love to write with compassion and humour about disability and people who don’t always fit into the crowd. 

Please tell us about 'Ten Years On'
 Ten Years On is a story about love, grief, friendship and second chances. I came up with the idea when a good friend of mine had to leave London and return to her childhood home. She mentioned how strange it was to be back near her parents, and to see people from her past. I think we have all, at some point in our lives, wondered what happened to an old boyfriend or old school friend. This is partly what Ten Years On deals with. Through tragic circumstances Becca moves back home temporarily with her parents, only to meet Joe, one of her closest friends from university days.  They haven’t seen one another for ten years, which of course asks the question, ‘why did they lose touch?’ 

What was your journey to publication like?
 My journey to publication was exciting. I wrote my own autobiography, A Will To Win, which was the story of my childhood passion for tennis followed by my battle to live with RA. I found an agent, Clare Alexander, and she secured Macmillan. Looking back, I hadn’t realized how straightforward it all was!  Since the publication of A Will To Win in 2001 my writing career has had many ups and downs – I like to think it’s all character building... !

What are you working on now? 
 I’m working on a new novel. I can’t say too much about it except that after finishing ‘Monday to Friday Man’ - a romantic comedy set in the dog walking world of Ravenscourt Park, I desperately missed writing about dogs, so one of the key characters in the next book is going to be an incredibly handsome and clever dog!

What do you like to do outside of writing? 
 Outside of writing, I love swimming, playing cards, I’ve just joined a choir (God, I sound boring). I love seeing my friends and family – I have an incredibly supportive mum and dad whom I am very close to. Finally I love reading. I love all kinds of books, but my favourite author will always be Jane Austen.

Thanks Alice!

To find out more about Alice, please visit: www.alicepeterson.co.uk 
 

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