Q: Hello Isabel. You initially approached me via the Book Group I run in Chichester via the meetup.com website as your debut novel, ‘Glasshopper’ hit the shops. Your publishers, Myriad Editions, were also kind enough to extend an invitation to me to your launch party at Chichester University earlier on in the month, which I very much enjoyed, thank you. How have you found the past few weeks since ‘Glasshopper’ was published? What’s been keeping you busy?

A: It’s been just over a month since the release of ‘Glasshopper’, and it’s been a busy time.  We kicked off with an official launch at the university (great to see you there!), and since then we’ve enjoyed a number of fabulous reviews in the national press, the glossies and literary blog sites like your own.  I’ve been over to the Isle of Wight (one of the book’s locations) for a Waterstone’s signing, and I was also asked by the Guardian to write an article for Alcohol Awareness Week, which appeared in the Family section on 17^th October.  We’ve got an eventful couple of months ahead, with signings at various book stores, readings at libraries and literary nights, and even an interview with Simon Mayo on his Radio 5 Book Club on 29^th October.

Q: You spent many years working in a Real Job When was it that you realised that actually writing was the job you wanted and how did you manage the transition between these two careers? How do you find your new career works alongside your role as a mother to two young children?

A:  When I left school I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do.  Having started out as a secretary at The Body Shop, I was gradually promoted through the ranks, and by my early thirties I was heading up the product team for their European region.  It was a great job with all the perks, but there was something missing.  I had a wonderful husband and two young children; a healthy bank balance and a nice little house . . .  and no free time, no energy and no creative life at all.

One weekend, having flown home from Frankfurt the night before, we took the family for a bracing walk along East Head, and I found myself in the throes of yet another raging migraine.  That evening we decided it was time to move on.  Six months later, I enrolled on the Creative Writing degree course at the University of Chichester . . .  and it was like finding my real place in the world.  Today I balance my fiction writing with studying for an MA, freelance work (I write corporate copy and gags for greetings cards), and family life.  Somehow it all fits in – just!

Q: ‘Glasshopper’ was initially a short story you wrote for your degree until one of your tutors suggested it was the beginning of a novel. You say you were “horrified and excited” at the prospect of writing a novel. How did you structure your time and discipline yourself to produce ‘Glasshopper’? Did you experience any moments of self-doubt through the process and, if so, how did you deal with it?

A:  Once I gave myself permission to imagine the story as a novel, I approached it chapter by chapter, and simply enjoyed discovering the characters and their dilemmas.  But I quickly came to an abrupt halt, and spent some weeks staring into space, wondering, worrying, frowning a lot.  Eventually, however, I tackled my inertia, by writing a plan.  I’m a great one for lists; flimsy bits of paper with handwritten action points are so reassuringly tangible – unlike the looseness of the words, “I’m going to write a novel.”  So, once I had the basic structure in hand, I was able to treat the story as chunks of writing, which gave me a sense of purpose – and achievability.  I think, to write a novel, you probably need creativity and tenacity in equal measure!

Q: Mary, one of the two voices in ‘Glasshopper’, the other being her son, Jake suffers with alcoholism and has a tendency, I think, to manic depression. Do you think of her more as a flawed protagonist or an antagonist to Jake? Jake seems to carry the weight of his world on his shoulders – an absentee father, an even more absent older brother, looking after a younger brother and coping with his mother’s illness. Mr Horrocks is a kind of Fairy Godfather. I felt this was a story about his survival and being forced to grow up. Would you agree with this? Is this the story you set out to tell?

A:  What I can tell you is that it all just started with Jake.  I fell for him instantly, and I really wanted to get into his world, look out through his eyes.  ‘Glasshopper’ isn’t a story about alcoholism, or family breakdown or depression.  It’s a story about the simple flaws of everyday people, about their choices and mistakes, their moments of joy and despair, and about the power of secrets.

The role of Mary is, of course, complicated.  When a child loses a parent through death, it’s a terrible thing.  But however traumatic that loss is, death has a certain finality to it.  However, when a child loses a parent to the clutches of alcohol, it’s a living grief, one which never quite resolves itself.  In Jake’s story, I hoped to show the lows, the highs, and the even ordinariness of his life over the space of ten months in the mid-eighties.

Q: Flight and birds are a recurring theme in the book. Was this intentional or did it just develop that way? Is it symbolic of freedom or something else?

A:  The bird and flight motif wasn’t intentional, but it certainly became a strong theme throughout the novel.  The appearance of birds just seemed natural and right at certain pivotal points within the story.  And, yes, probably at some level, I guess it’s linked to freedom, or the yearning for freedom.

Q: Jake’s grandparents on both sides are less than endearing characters. Bill’s mother is a grumpy old lady and Mary’s disown her when she falls pregnant outside of wedlock, despite subsequently marrying Bill and having two more children with him. Grandparents usually provide a loving and supportive role for their grandchildren. Their absence here not only clearly damages Mary but also I feel puts further pressure on the nucleus of this particular family. What are your thoughts on this?

A:  The maternal bond is an eternally fascinating one.  Throughout history our poets and scholars have explored the significance of the relationship between mothers and sons: think of Aphrodite & Eros, of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ & Gertrude, or of Joyce’s portrayal of mothers in ‘Dubliners’.

It seems to me that a breakdown between mother and child can be one of the most painful separations of all.  This is why I felt the role of Rachel, Jake’s newfound aunt, would be so vital to his survival, and to the preservation of his optimism.  To Jake, Aunt Rachel represents everything that his mother might have been.

Q: ‘Glasshopper’ is a fantastic title and I loved the definition you prefaced the book with. I also enjoyed your eighties references including the character of the same name in the Kung Fu TV series. When did you come up with the title and how?

A:  The title, ‘Glasshopper’, was the very last decision I made about the novel before I sent it out to prospective agents.  I was lying in bed one morning, gazing at the ceiling (I do this a lot, usually between 7am and 9am on a Sunday), and my mind kept wandering back to the scenes where Jake and Andy re-enact the Kung Fu shows.  It became suddenly clear, and I dashed down to my basement office, switched on the computer and typed out the word to see how it looked.  I loved it instantly, and it stuck.

Q: If you were a sauce, what sauce would you like to be? I would like to be Bearnaise: rich, buttery, naughty and fantastic with steak and chips.

A:  Mmm.  I think I’d have to be a good old-fashioned gravy: it’s not loud and flashy, but your Sunday roast would just be meat and veg without it.