Rebecca Handley

I have an appalling memory! I remember almost nothing from early childhood and just titbits from my early teens. I have wondered if I’m an alien who was plonked here around the age of 11 (a theory supported by my sister).

My best memories are probably holidays in Norfolk with early mornings of grudgingly getting out of bed to sail on the morning tide, followed by long days on the beach with sandy sandwiches and tepid flask tea, and unpredictable weather that saw us shelter under a tarpaulin when the rain struck. When summarised like this these are odd favourites but they were full of laughter and joy.

Oops, see above! My nose was always in a book though. As a young child, I wanted to like Enid Blyton’s magical worlds but was enraged by her sexism! My dad read to us often so I’d pick Lord of the Rings my most beloved, early favourite.

I’m sure I’m like most writers in that I started young. My stories and rhymes were often in school newsletters and progressed from there.

My parents had our house exoricised, which is no mean feat from the practically minded the Church of England. My sister and mum in particular felt changes in temperature and saw a woman walking around - but I didn’t witness or feel anything! Despite that I believe it’s all possible and I can easily let my imagination go and terrify myself.

It’s not really a decision. I’ve found that writing has taken over my life and is emphatically how I make sense of this mad, dangerous, selfish, beautiful, love-less and loving world. I would love to make a living doing it, but I write anyway. I started with prose then in 2012 made the bonkers decision to formally study screenwriting, then the 2020 lockdown brought me back to novels, with the delicious luxury of thousands of words instead of a ‘max 60 pages’ for a TV show!

Pace I guess. The novel flew out of my head but adjusting to a longer word count was difficult. I also use a script editor for screenplays and I didn’t have the budget to do this for FALLEN so had to rely on friends. Mostly it was a joy to write!

My story of course! “He knows when you’re awake”, which sees serial killers at the receiving end of the naughty list.

Children I’ve been lucky enough to meet over the years and in particular as my own daughter grew up. We (adults, society, religions) constantly underestimate kids’ intelligence, capabilities, empathy and understanding. OBVIOUSLY I wouldn’t want any child to be alone and in danger but my story pits a group of savvy, intelligent and supernaturally gifted teens against an arch-evil villain, without any adult oversight or support. I love fantasy and adventure and supernatural, but this is a story of young people overcoming adversity and retaining their integrity.

I write, I paint, I walk, I talk to my pets, when I'm lucky my daughter and her friends deign to talk to an oldie like me. I drink gallons of tea and sometimes too much wine, I cook and, best of all, have reserved family days that involve at least 2 of the above.

I collect myths and legends and frequently regurgitate them in my stories. The best example is my upcoming new novel, DRUID. This incorporates Celtic legends and myths with Druid lore, plus a healthy dose of the supernatural with multiple malign and benign deities. Not quite ghost stories, more spirits lurking in underground caves or ambushing lone travellers in deep, dark forests.

I love, love, love traveling. I’m a Londoner and I gain immense pleasure from languages and mannerisms, cultures, architecture, cuisine, music and of course myths and legends, they are a source of pure joy. I will spend hours in the window of a café or on a park bench just people watching. Australia in the outback is awe-inspiring, without man-made monuments. There is a feeling of age you can only get where humanity has not invaded and imposed order. … But I am utterly captivated by ancient civilisations, by the visceral thrill of imagining our ancestors walking on the very stones I’m treading. Of course I love Egypt, most especially the temples which send shivers down my spine. Tikal in Guatemala left me speechless! My next dream destination – to be relished all the more after a lockdown year of travelling only in my mind – is Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

So, pretty much everything about leaving my house tbh.

Supernatural ‘things’ might be real! Things we don’t yet understand – or it might all be bonkers inventions. As a novelist in this genre, you must convey a belief that what you are writing is real.

Otherwise it’s more prosaic - anything fantastical must have absolutely and clearly defined rules for the story world, which means that everything thrown at the reader makes sense.

Speaking as a Brit, we have a long history of patriarchy, which has still got its tentacles sunk into society (look at the gender of your average boardroom). Early European cultures valued woman (including the Druids), then the Roman Empire arrived in full patriarchal glory! The Normans picked up the mantle in the UK and methodically devalued and marginalised women, which then spread like a virus all over the world. Women have been systematically side-lined, devalued, underutilised and exploited for a centuries and it will take time for society to re-learn equality (this obviously doesn’t just apply to women).

I have just finished draft 1 of DRUID, set at the height of their Empire. It draws on historical research (around architecture, farming and community living), fiction (around deities, handed-down mythical characters, and the supernatural) and extrapolated politics of the time. A young, female Druid Outlaw must take on the might of the Empire when they fall into corruption and anger the gods.

Really positive! I really appreciate the support and the gateway, as a newly and as-yet unrepresented writer, into the writing world! Thank you.