5 Five quick questions

With Linda Mitchelmore

• When and where did your journey as an author begin?

Towards the end of the 1990s, my hearing began to deteriorate rapidly due to viral damage. Boredom set in when I could no longer enjoy music, films, television programmes or family conversations. So, to amuse myself, I began to send fillers to magazines and newspapers, some of which paid handsomely. I was bitten by the writing-for-profit bug!

• What is (or has been) your proudest moment as a writer?

I’m not sure if proud is the word I would use, but I have always been ridiculously thrilled to see anything I’ve written – even if it’s only a few words – in print. And I’m also pleased that I’ve had something new in print every year since those early days.

• Who or what is your greatest inspiration?

As all writers know, it’s almost inevitable that from time to time we’ll get rejections, and the first time I received one I was very upset. My dear old dad said: it’s only someone’s opinion, love – and there are millions of others. Keep going. You can do it.

• What is coming up next for you, fiction-wise?

My Emma trilogy, originally published by Choc Lit, has been re-issued by Joffe Books as a box set, and this year each title will be republished separately. I currently have three more completed but as-yet-unpublished novels under consideration. Oh, and there’s a fourth almost ready to go!

• What is your top tip for writers still on the journey towards publication?

Over the years I’ve often been asked to read and comment on work by wannabe writers. But I’m wary. Personally, I would never ask anyone to do that for me until I was ready to submit to a publisher or agent. My dad’s words are still loud and clear in my head – mine would only be another opinion, and what I might say could (possibly unjustifiably) hurt. And if that wannabe writer went on to be a Booker Prize winner – well!