We must overcome failure, not fear it
AUTHOR Lynda La Plante, 75, is the creator of the hit crime series Prime Suspect and its brilliant detective Jane Tennison, brought to life by actress Helen Mirren.
My earliest memory is going for a walk when I was about three.
I suddenly realised my nanny mustn’t know how short I was because she was dragging me along with my feet barely touching the ground.
Napoleon is my hero.
How he rose from boyhood on Corsica to becoming Emperor of the French beggars belief. He had the most extraordinary intellect, plus he was short like me.
I am obsessed with fudge.
I have emergency packets hidden everywhere. I even keep a spare one in my underwear drawer.
My motto is ‘Rejection Does Not Mean No.’
I have that sign up in my office. It’s crucial for anyone who writes for a living.
My most embarrassing moment was in 1992, and involved the playwright John Osborne.
He was receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writers’ Guild. The event had been supplied with whisky by Macallan and every table was littered with empty miniatures. I made a snap decision to climb on stage and help John back to his seat. The next day’s headlines said I’d been drunk on stage too. I still ask myself if I did the right thing.
Fearlessness is a skill everyone should learn.
Some people fail at something early and it devastates them for ever. You need to learn to overcome failure, not fear it.
I’d like Nessun Dorma sung by Pavarotti played at my funeral.
I often play it on a loop when I am writing. It energises me so much I’d probably sit up in my coffin as he reached for that last,
wonderful note.
An unfulfilled ambition?
I’ve never had No1 bestseller in America.