Saturday, 4 December 2010
Friday, 3 December 2010
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Radio 2
Today I was on Radio 2 (the Jeremy Vine show) talking about happiness. Which is rather ironic when my career as a social worker / probation officer / crime writer is not exactly the most cheerful occupation!
But, okay, happiness is important. Happy means healthy, productive - better for the individual and the community, so I was glad to throw in my views.
And, yes, after a day at the computer, talking only with the characters in my head, I'm happy to talk about anything! Do other writers feel like that??
Keep happy!
But, okay, happiness is important. Happy means healthy, productive - better for the individual and the community, so I was glad to throw in my views.
And, yes, after a day at the computer, talking only with the characters in my head, I'm happy to talk about anything! Do other writers feel like that??
Keep happy!
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Crime Time Review!
Crime Time Home Latest News Reviews Features Interviews Profiles CrimeSpace Crime Time Magazine
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The Woman Before Me Ruth Dugdall
Giles Morgan
Rose Wilks has spent nearly five years in prison accused of the murder of a child. It is now up to her probation officer Cate Austin to help determine whether she should be released or is still potentially a danger to others.
This apparently straightforward decision is the starting point for a complex and often tortured enquiry that reveals a succession of damaged and painful lives whose paths end in tragedy. It is revealed that Rose comes from a broken home in Lowestoft with a mother who suffered from severe depression who ultimately took her own life. Rejected by her father and his lover she is handed on to her Auntie Rita who though supportive dies when she is still only sixteen. Having lost so much at such a young age she becomes insular and withdrawn and develops obsessive relationships over which she is desperate to gain some sense of control. When she embarks on her first serious relationship she becomes involved with a young man who has recently split from his wife but is still intensely in love with her. It is this potentially dangerous situation that leads to the horrific death of a child in a house fire which Rose is accused of starting.
The Woman Before Me is a harrowing portrait of personal trauma and dysfunctional family life and provides an authentic and believable portrait of life within the prison system. It is a novel that reveals its secrets slowly as probation officer Cate Austin builds up a picture of the chain of events that have defined Rose Wilks' personality and ends with a final shocking conclusion. Author Ruth Dugdall does an impressive job of creating complex characters who are capable of terrible actions but who also remain human and sympathetic. Indeed, many of the prison staff emerge as more morally corrupt than the inmates themselves in this intelligent and realistic depiction of life within the penal system. The Woman Before Me has generated praise as a debut novel winning the CWA Debut Dagger Award. The author was also the winner of the 2009 Luke Bitmead Writers Bursary. Impressive in its unflinching realism, this is a dark and haunting psychological thriller that possesses both depth and sensitivity.
The Woman Before Me
Ruth Dugdall
Legend Press, £7.99, 9781907461156
Giles Morgan
Posted at 12:54PM Friday 05 Nov 2010
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The Woman Before Me Ruth Dugdall
Giles Morgan
Rose Wilks has spent nearly five years in prison accused of the murder of a child. It is now up to her probation officer Cate Austin to help determine whether she should be released or is still potentially a danger to others.
This apparently straightforward decision is the starting point for a complex and often tortured enquiry that reveals a succession of damaged and painful lives whose paths end in tragedy. It is revealed that Rose comes from a broken home in Lowestoft with a mother who suffered from severe depression who ultimately took her own life. Rejected by her father and his lover she is handed on to her Auntie Rita who though supportive dies when she is still only sixteen. Having lost so much at such a young age she becomes insular and withdrawn and develops obsessive relationships over which she is desperate to gain some sense of control. When she embarks on her first serious relationship she becomes involved with a young man who has recently split from his wife but is still intensely in love with her. It is this potentially dangerous situation that leads to the horrific death of a child in a house fire which Rose is accused of starting.
The Woman Before Me is a harrowing portrait of personal trauma and dysfunctional family life and provides an authentic and believable portrait of life within the prison system. It is a novel that reveals its secrets slowly as probation officer Cate Austin builds up a picture of the chain of events that have defined Rose Wilks' personality and ends with a final shocking conclusion. Author Ruth Dugdall does an impressive job of creating complex characters who are capable of terrible actions but who also remain human and sympathetic. Indeed, many of the prison staff emerge as more morally corrupt than the inmates themselves in this intelligent and realistic depiction of life within the penal system. The Woman Before Me has generated praise as a debut novel winning the CWA Debut Dagger Award. The author was also the winner of the 2009 Luke Bitmead Writers Bursary. Impressive in its unflinching realism, this is a dark and haunting psychological thriller that possesses both depth and sensitivity.
The Woman Before Me
Ruth Dugdall
Legend Press, £7.99, 9781907461156
Giles Morgan
Posted at 12:54PM Friday 05 Nov 2010
Monday, 1 November 2010
Feeling it...
I went to see a jazz singer at the weekend. She's internationally known and has won many accolades, so it promised to be a good night. I settled down to listen, and she could certainly sing. The musicians were equally lauded, and I could hear the talent, the skill, the training...
But I felt nothing.
At the interval I got chatting with another woman in the audience, who said it left her a bit cold too. I spent the second half watching, listening, and wondering how it is that someone can have such ability yet still miss something.
It reminded me that at the moment I'm reading a book by an award winning author. Her language is beautiful, her images astound, yet I close the book and forget about it until I next go to pick it up. It hasn't moved me. Like the jazz, I can appreciate the skill, but my heart is untouched.
That is why computers can't do art. Technical ability is all well and good but for an artist to really reach an audience they have to invest a little of their soul.
But I felt nothing.
At the interval I got chatting with another woman in the audience, who said it left her a bit cold too. I spent the second half watching, listening, and wondering how it is that someone can have such ability yet still miss something.
It reminded me that at the moment I'm reading a book by an award winning author. Her language is beautiful, her images astound, yet I close the book and forget about it until I next go to pick it up. It hasn't moved me. Like the jazz, I can appreciate the skill, but my heart is untouched.
That is why computers can't do art. Technical ability is all well and good but for an artist to really reach an audience they have to invest a little of their soul.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
As posted on Authonomy today
Writing a novel was the easy bit. It was finding a publisher that nearly sent me off the rails….
Winning the Debut Dagger in 2005 was a watershed moment for me. Until then I had thought of writing as a hobby – I’d self-published my first novel (The James Version) but was still working as a Probation Officer. The Dagger gave me the confidence to resign and dedicate myself to writing full-time.
The day after the Dagger awards I signed with a top agent and the novel was going to be submitted to six major publishing houses. I thought I had made it…
But that would have been just too easy. The Woman Before Me didn’t get picked up by the major publishers. They worried that it was ‘not commercial enough’, and that it didn’t fit neatly enough into the ‘crime novel’ box. It went into the bottom drawer and I started to write my third novel, The Sacrificial Man (still posted on the site).
I joined authonomy when it first began, and receiving feedback from fellow authonomites gave me the confidence to keep going. Having my novels posted on the site has helped me develop as a writer and I made several friendships that extended beyond the forums.
A few of the writers on the site were already with Legend press and last summer one of them posted a thread about the upcoming Luke Bitmead Bursary. It seemed perfect for The Woman Before Me. The bursary aims to promote and publish a new writer each year, and was set up in memory of Luke Bitmead, a talented writer who sadly committed suicide.
I won the award last October. I cried through much of the ceremony, knowing that I would finally see my novel in print. (The second place winner and two runners-up are also authonomites.) A few days later I signed a publishing deal with Solidus Press for The Sacrificial Man.
So, after waiting nearly five years, I finally achieved my goal.
To be a writer you have to be tenacious and dogged – having a strong support network helps. If I had one piece of advice it would be this: don’t give up. You never know just how close you are to succeeding.
The Woman Before Me is now in print. It is a psychological thriller set in coastal Suffolk. It is about Rose Wilks, whose life is shattered when her newborn baby Luke is admitted to intensive care. Alongside her in hospital is Emma, who has just given birth to Joel and the two women become friends. Joel dies and Luke is thriving – then tragedy strikes and Rose is the only suspect.
The novel starts with Rose having spent five years behind bars. She is just weeks away from release if she can convince probation officer Cate Austin to recommend parole.
As Cate is drawn into Rose’s story she begins to question everything she thought she knew about justice, love and obsession.
Good luck to all of you in getting that elusive publishing deal!
Best wishes,
Ruth
Winning the Debut Dagger in 2005 was a watershed moment for me. Until then I had thought of writing as a hobby – I’d self-published my first novel (The James Version) but was still working as a Probation Officer. The Dagger gave me the confidence to resign and dedicate myself to writing full-time.
The day after the Dagger awards I signed with a top agent and the novel was going to be submitted to six major publishing houses. I thought I had made it…
But that would have been just too easy. The Woman Before Me didn’t get picked up by the major publishers. They worried that it was ‘not commercial enough’, and that it didn’t fit neatly enough into the ‘crime novel’ box. It went into the bottom drawer and I started to write my third novel, The Sacrificial Man (still posted on the site).
I joined authonomy when it first began, and receiving feedback from fellow authonomites gave me the confidence to keep going. Having my novels posted on the site has helped me develop as a writer and I made several friendships that extended beyond the forums.
A few of the writers on the site were already with Legend press and last summer one of them posted a thread about the upcoming Luke Bitmead Bursary. It seemed perfect for The Woman Before Me. The bursary aims to promote and publish a new writer each year, and was set up in memory of Luke Bitmead, a talented writer who sadly committed suicide.
I won the award last October. I cried through much of the ceremony, knowing that I would finally see my novel in print. (The second place winner and two runners-up are also authonomites.) A few days later I signed a publishing deal with Solidus Press for The Sacrificial Man.
So, after waiting nearly five years, I finally achieved my goal.
To be a writer you have to be tenacious and dogged – having a strong support network helps. If I had one piece of advice it would be this: don’t give up. You never know just how close you are to succeeding.
The Woman Before Me is now in print. It is a psychological thriller set in coastal Suffolk. It is about Rose Wilks, whose life is shattered when her newborn baby Luke is admitted to intensive care. Alongside her in hospital is Emma, who has just given birth to Joel and the two women become friends. Joel dies and Luke is thriving – then tragedy strikes and Rose is the only suspect.
The novel starts with Rose having spent five years behind bars. She is just weeks away from release if she can convince probation officer Cate Austin to recommend parole.
As Cate is drawn into Rose’s story she begins to question everything she thought she knew about justice, love and obsession.
Good luck to all of you in getting that elusive publishing deal!
Best wishes,
Ruth
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Where does the time go?
I can't believe how quickly time has flown. Since The Woman Before Me came out in August I seem to have been in this whirlwind of activity - and I totally love it! It must be all those hours/days/years cooped up writing that have suddenly made me a bit loopy for interaction.
And I have been sooo lucky. The book signings have been a joy - some really memorable people, sharing their stories. Like the young mum who bought my book and read it in just one night, having never finished a novel before. And the woman who had come out of prison just the day before. So many generous people...
The readings are also a real eye-opener. Like the event in a rural cow shed (re-furbished, I hasten to add) on a foggy Monday night, when everyone bought 2 books each. I drove home (carefully - fog lights on) with a big smile on my face.
Yes, so far I love the publicity side of writing.
So, I've updated my events list. Hope to see you in a cow shed sometime!
And I have been sooo lucky. The book signings have been a joy - some really memorable people, sharing their stories. Like the young mum who bought my book and read it in just one night, having never finished a novel before. And the woman who had come out of prison just the day before. So many generous people...
The readings are also a real eye-opener. Like the event in a rural cow shed (re-furbished, I hasten to add) on a foggy Monday night, when everyone bought 2 books each. I drove home (carefully - fog lights on) with a big smile on my face.
Yes, so far I love the publicity side of writing.
So, I've updated my events list. Hope to see you in a cow shed sometime!
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