Perth walks are writer’s inspiration
Juliette’s dog Vince likes a winter walk overlooking Perth through the roof.”
But Juliette didn’t set out to be an author. At 19 she went to London, breaking into the tough, maledominated world of advertising through an unpaid placement.
“There was a terrible recession, I think the men in the ad agency thought having girls working on the creative account was a novelty. Anyway, I got taken on and I stayed in that industry for 25 years.”
Juliette signed up to a writing class at Glasgow University in 2012. She wrote her first book Twister, a tale of a girl’s search for her missing dad in the USA, told in the magical realism genre, which this month got awarded Calderdale Book of the Year 2019.
“It was most unexpected,” said Juliette modestly.
Walks on Kinnoull Hill and Deuchary Hill at the leafy southern edge of Perth brought inspiration to Juliette.
“Twister is quite an outdoorsy book. I used to walk behind my parents’ house after school and this gnarled old chestnut tree was really spooky.
“Its still there. It had been struck by lightening and it stuck in my mind. If you read Twister you will see it gets to be a character in the story, the tree was the catalyst for an adventure scene.”
On July 4 the next book launched, ‘The True Colours of Coral Glen’.
“I’m really proud of the strong girl protagonist,” said Juliette. “There’s a magical world but central character Coral lives through a gritty reality.
“Coral can see colours others can’t. They open doors to another world.
“I guess I’m quite obsessed with colour from being an art director for advertising campaigns. Those sorts of details are surprisingly important.
“It’s quite a dark story, dealing with emotions around bereavement, but also full of colour, friendship, hope and love.”
Coral Glen is published by Scholastic and costs £6.99, it is available in all good bookshops and on request at your local library.
Juliette went to school at Perth Academy
The tree on Kinnoull Hill appears in a scene from Juliette’s book ‘Twister’ Published yesterday