Crushed by Denise Greenwood: Interview

I was lucky enough to be able to interview Denise Greenwood about her latest novel, Crushed. She was kind enough to let me interrogate her with a heap of questions, so many thanks! Full details of Denise Greenwood and Crushed are available down below. Crushed is already out in Ireland and will be released as an e-Book via Kindle, Nook and Kobo etc. It is due for release in the UK during early 2016.

Denise Greenwood

Can you tell me a little about yourself and your background?

I was born and raised in Blackpool but then lived and worked in Manchester for a number of years where I was drawn to the theatre, comedy clubs and culture scene. I now live with my husband Jerry and son Rees in a hamlet in Littleborough. It is on the fringe of an old Lancashire mill-town at the western slopes of the South Pennines. After a long career as a Policy Development Manager for a major UK retailer I turned my skills from technical material to writing fiction in 2010. I use my unconventional life experiences and love of psychology to create characters and stories to push the boundaries of fiction. My first two books Temptation and Star Keeper are contemporary literature which attracted full page features in Northern Life and Style Magazines but after writing my first two books I was drawn to my darker side and wrote a dark and chilling thriller. Although it was initially an exploration I now find it is where I belong so I am currently working on my next novel.

What were you like at school? Did you always plan on becoming an author?

When we first moved to Manchester I offered to sing a song in front of the class. My Irish roots taught me that bursting into song was second- nature. I later penned and presented a short play and chose two of my friends to act in it with me. I also remember as a small child sitting on a window ledge and reading a book which I became lost in. I still remember my wish - that one day I could write something that would make others feel as I did at that exact moment. When I was an adult I occasionally thought about my wish but it was merely a pipe-dream. Then, in 2009 while sat on a church pew, I was struck with an idea which I couldn’t shake off for weeks. In an effort to get the idea out of my head and onto paper I unleashed a hidden side of me that I’d forgotten about. I became that small child once again and I knew that wishes, no matter how old they are, mustn’t be ignored. I jokingly refer to that year as my “mid-life crisis.”

What types of books do you tend to read?

I have eclectic tastes and it depends on my mood. My first passion is the English Classics. I want to become lost in the world of yesteryear and the lives of characters that face adversity. I also enjoy lighter, more modern reading, particularly the tales of people who move abroad and then become immersed in a new way of life. I have a system – I read something heavy then move onto light.

Which writers inspire you?

Hardy, Dickens and Brontë because they bring together characters whose strengths are often hidden until they are challenged. Their individual stories become part of a bigger picture. Robert M Pirsig because he delves deep into the psyche then entices the reader to join him in his quest to answer life’s big questions. Often, the writer’s life interests me – what made them take up a pen.

What is your favourite quote?

“Tell me what company thou keepest, and I’ll tell thee what thou art” – Don Quixote PY11 Ch23 – Cervantes.

How would you describe your personal writing style?

Visual – I vividly visualise my characters and the scenes they are in. I carry them around in my head for months before I begin to write and it is almost like replaying a film. The words I use are like paint on an artist’s brush and I try to use them to convey the scene I have in my head.

What are your ambitions for Crushed?

I hope that my characters will stay with readers so that they find themselves thinking about them long after they have finished reading. As I visualised my book so strongly I know that Crushed would also make a good TV or film adaptation.

Crushed is unlike any other book that I have read previously, where did you get the inspiration to write it?

I was watching a TV programme, Once Upon a Time, and it was Robert Carlyle, who was playing Rumpelstiltskin, in a unique way. At that moment I remembered running along a street as fast as I could. I was seven years old and returning from my first school play. Rumpel had frightened me. As I watched the TV I wondered what had made Rumpel such a twisted character and although the TV programme tried to explain it, it wasn’t enough for me. What if there didn’t have to be a traumatic event to change a person? What if just the experience of one moment of weird emotion connected the person to unnatural inclinations? I then thought of a boy who had lived near me. He had been my friend briefly before he’d moved away. He was an odd and sometimes scary boy. I wondered what he would have been like if I’d known him as a teen and then an adult. My two memories gave birth to my protagonist.

Are there any true elements within Crushed? Maybe characters that bear similarities to people who you may know or maybe even the setting?

The setting is in Halifax, a short train journey from where I live. All the scenes in my book are based on places I have been to but I make them bigger than life and adapt them for my characters. I’m a keen observer and people-watch so many of my characters contain small elements of something I’ve observed in a person, whether I know them or not. I like small details such as a way of walking or a brief facial expression as they often betray an inner emotion.

Crushed - Denise Greenwood

How long did it take for you to complete Crushed?

I nurtured my ideas and imagined possible outcomes for a long while before putting together an outline based on the images I saw. Often being in a new place triggered something and so I returned to that place and took photos, notes and spoke to people before I began my research. It took roughly six months to get Crushed into my head clearly before I began writing and then it took just three to write it. However, Crushed wasn’t complete until I had gone through it for re-writes and finalised its flow and order. This took another three.

Did you ever feel like giving up whilst writing this book? If so, what pushed you to continue?

I never lost heart. Crushed was a part of me and I was driven to write it. My characters pushed me to continue. Writing Crushed was one of the most pleasurable but disturbing experiences of my life.

Was there a personal reason that you chose the colour red as the hair of the girls? Of course there are many connotations of red with blood and love but did you have a specific reason yourself for choosing it?

In the days of black and white movies female roles were easy to fathom – blondes were good and sweet, brunettes were often the villains or not to be trusted. When colour was introduced, the red-heads were sirens and feisty. On a more personal note, I have natural black hair but sometimes in bright sunshine one copper-red hair stands out. People have plucked one from my head and marvelled. I put it down to my Irish roots. I knew that my female protagonist had to have a hair colour that would make her instantly stand out from a crowd.

I’m strangely drawn towards Barrington. Did you intend for his character to become a Byronic hero of sorts?

It is the moody, weird and sometimes scary people that we remember most. I deliberately didn’t want to explain why Barrington was unique, it was down to the reader to decide but, I also wanted the reader to question what they thought of him. When he meets his perfect victim he is totally unprepared for what he experiences. It is foreign to him. Romance is not a word I would use for what develops as it is too strange for that description. A unique relationship is forged between two unique characters. Barrington appeals to the darker side and the journey into it should be taken lightly. I still question myself about him and his appeal – magnetic or weird?

What inspired the character of Judith, your antagonist?

Judith is an amalgamation of all the people I've met who take up a job or cause then corrupt it. She also has a perspective often seen in attention-seekers. They thrive on drama and twist their interpretations of what they see and hear then interject their opinions or selves with the assumption that they're doing good.

Did you have to conduct a lot of research when writing Crushed?

Research was part of my six-month process before I began writing. Not only did I research places thoroughly, I also asked medical experts about some of the scenes I had planned so that I could confirm the information I’d researched online. Small details also take time to research, such as the simple experiment of freezing Brazil nuts then cracking them so that the sound they make is similar to that of a small bone breaking.

The ending is not something that I would have imagined. How did you decide upon it?

When I’ve created my characters in my head then their story often presents itself to me. I see the ending first then I work backwards. Often when I’ve nearly completed a book I realise that the ending I’d first envisaged is not the true ending at all. As the characters and the story evolved I’m led to an extended conclusion. I always knew how I wanted Crushed to end but I do not like parcels that are neatly tied with a bow at the end. Just as when I watched an actor playing Rumpel on TV, I wanted more than a simple conclusion as life is not like that so I didn’t succumb to simplicity.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Write from the heart and forget the fact that someone else will read your work. You began writing for a reason, what was that reason? What part of you does writing reach or expose? Your instincts will tell you when you have finished. Then, go out to meet the professionals who are the gatekeepers to the publishing industry and listen to what they have to say.

Describe your story in one sentence.

A chance encounter with a young woman challenges a killer’s patience, rigid perspective and strict lifestyle as he struggles to maintain his façade but, is his perfect victim all what she seems?

Do you have anything to add about your writing process, Crushed, or anything in general that I have not asked?

At first writing was a personal experiment to see if I could do it but once I began, it released a Kraken. I realised that the “extraordinary” is to be found in every aspect of one’s life. I am constantly amazed by people who live ordinary lives and yet have strange perspectives. During recent years I’ve seen people create drama in their lives as a form of compensation for being so ordinary and as a writer it is manna from heaven.

Contact information for Denise Greenwood:

Website: http://www.denise-greenwood.com/

Twitter: @DeniseGauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/denise.greenwood.16

Book Trailers: - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiAhgB7epsJi05_Thf-wt2Q

Yours weekly,

Sadia Parveen.

@Sadia_x95

www.underthefable.com

Interviewing Rodge Glass On ‘The Jim Hangovers’ And The ‘Being Dad’ Anthology

It is a surreal moment when you are approached about interviewing an author, but to interview two authors and meet one of them in person is a whole other kettle of fish.

During the interview Rodge told me I am the third person to read his short story. The first person is the editor of the collection Dan Coxon and the second person is Victoria Briggs who also interviewed him. This was a bizarre moment. Not only was I reading a story before it was even published, but I was also the third person to read it. Mind-blowing.

So there I was in Rodge’s office, this established writer looking to me to begin the interview as I fumble through documents on my laptop to find my list of questions. My mouth immediately goes dry and I’m taking sips of water every ten seconds. I’m also begging the God’s that I could type as fast as he could talk.

Then, I begin. Immediately I was put at ease, though an established writer, he seemed very down to earth, which I admired about him.

Do you have a specific place you like to write? Or do you just write wherever and whenever inspiration hits?

Rodge admits he used to write wherever and whenever inspiration hit. Interestingly, his first novel was written mostly under the stairs. With his second novel he upgraded to writing in a cupboard. Yes, it made me laugh too. I thought I was the only person who chose interesting spots to write. These days, after the birth of his daughter, it became impossible to write at home while having a baby daughter to look after; therefore he took to writing in his office at Edge Hill University where he works as a Senior Creative Writing lecturer. He also uses train journeys as time he can use to write.

How organised are you?

Rodge’s organisation used to be very scattered, though he is now very OCD with his work. He believes if you’re not organised then you will get nothing done. Rodge is an editor for Freight Books, which is one of the reasons he’s had to become obsessively organised.

What made you choose to be a part of this anthology?

Rodge saw a call-out via Twitter for writers to be part of this anthology. Rodge hardly ever enters things like writing competitions; however after having just become a father himself, he believed it would be a great opportunity to get involved with. He wrote the story for himself, but believed it would fit into the anthology perfectly and if it didn’t happen, then he would use it for something else. Rodge believes Dan Coxon, the editor, knew of his work and after enquiring about the anthology, Dan encouraged him to submit a story to the anthology.

Is it a true story? If not, are there any elements of your real life in there?

All of Rodge’s stories have one element that is absolutely true. He then takes this element and expands it, adding in fiction. He doesn’t generally write about himself, he uses something from his life (no matter how small) and uses it for more unorthodox angles. Unlike in the narrator in the story, Rodge was never a big drinker, he’s never lived in London and he’s never known anyone called Jim, however what he has experienced is friendships fading and realising you don’t quite see the world in the same way afterwards.

When Rodge’s daughter finished breastfeeding and moved onto food, he used to be up in the middle of the night feeding her. It was a special moment for him because he was finally able to feed his daughter. He realised it was at this time of the night where your mind wanders like you’re still in dream mode. This was another element from his life he decided to include in his story.

How did the anthology come about being made?

It was Dan Coxon’s enthusiasm for the concept of being a father. There was a kick-starter campaign for the anthology, once Dan had collected enough writers. There are so many stories out there about being a mother, but not many about being a father and this was another reason Dan was so determined to make this anthology happen.

How long did your story take to write?

It took Rodge three or four months to write. He’s much more fragmented now his writing time. He writes a couple of pages and then comes back to it later. In the first draft, the story was more about friendship, then when he came back to it, he layered the story with references back to the narrators father and his relationship with his son.

Describe your story in one sentence.

‘A man feeds his child at sunrise, while reminiscing.’

What was your motivation/inspiration for this piece? Were there any writers that inspired you for this?

As an undergraduate, Rodge was majorly influenced by his lecturer and writer, Robert Alan Jamieson who he used to give his stories to, to give him advice on. Robert really helped him develop as a writer and whenever Rodge heard him say “you know what, that’s not awful” was what spurred him onto writing even more. It was his goal to impress others like Robert.

Another major influence was writer and artist Alasdair Gray, who he spent a lot of time with as he wrote his biography. Alasdair is old fashioned, dictated his words and he learnt from him. Rodge considers him his main mentor. He was so important to him, he dedicated knew he had to dedicate a whole book towards him.

At times it seemed Jim is the narrator’s father, other times he sounds like his brother and then his best friend, was this intentional?

It was intentional. Rodge believes a good short story only works if the writer is thinking all the time. Who are these characters? What are they doing? Why are they in this piece? He thought it would be intriguing having this ambiguity over Jim’s character.

Talk a little about how you structured your story.

A lot of Rodge’s stories have a scene he focuses on, but he cuts in and out of that scene. In this story, he’s having breakfast with his son, it is very much fragmented, as his mind begins to wander. He intentionally begins and ends the story with Jim. He doesn’t worry too much about the structure in the middle of the story.

I thought it was brilliant the way you set up the story as if a father is talking to a baby. It almost felt like the reader was the child. Was there any particular reason you decided to do this?

Yes, this was exactly his intention. Putting the reader in an interesting position. A baby can’t speak, and neither can the reader, so it became the perfect parallel. The reader can’t interrupt and express their views, just as a baby can’t. This wasn’t something he was consciously aware of when he first wrote it, it was something he later realised and played on this. He began writing the story almost as if the baby is listening and understanding the story, which obviously isn’t the case.

I’m loving the distinction between the narrators father being the complete opposite of the narrator and Jim’s mother. Was this done purposefully to make his father seem all the more terrible?

It wasn’t about making the narrator’s father look bad at all, just that he wasn’t a fan of the narrator’s mother. As a child this is something that affects your world and your view on things, which has made the narrator himself want to be different and be a better father than his was. Rodge discovered it was more of a challenge to represent a family that’s functional than a family that isn’t functional during the writing process.

Despite the narrator seeming not to have the best relationship with Jim, I found it interesting how they always used to go drinking together, what was your reason for this?

Some friendships are like this, they share a purpose in each other’s lives. For certain people, they want somebody to talk to, others want friends to go on wild adventures with. These days people don’t seem to expect too much out of friendships. Of course, the narrator is massively irritated by Jim, he believes he’s selfish, but Jim enables the narrator to drink. That is Jim’s purpose to him.

The narrator and Jim drank a lot. Like a lot. I’m guessing this means they were both alcoholics?

They were definitely alcoholics. Rodge mentions how he included anniversary dates in the story as an excuse for them to get drunk together. “Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway (November 27^th, 1582) celebrated.” They never cared about the actual events; it was just something to justify drinking in the day.

Edge Hill University provides diaries, at the bottom of each page are anniversary dates. Rodge flicked through each page and chose the dates he thought would work best with the story.

Why was there no mention of the narrator’s mother?

Rodge did mention the mother, but only in relation to the father. It’s a short story and therefore he doesn’t believe the mother needs to be mentioned. Furthermore it’s a story about fatherhood therefore only featuring men.

The narrator seems a little cynical when he mentions him and Jim were stuck in bad jobs and then says to his child, he will inevitably have a bad job too. Is this a character trait you intended?

It wasn’t a character trait he intended for; he also doesn’t see this comment as being cynical. Rodge imagined the father to be sending his child out to work from a young age, even something as simple as a paper round. Ask anybody, they will most likely have had a bad job sometime in their life. It’s just something people will go through and this is all Rodge intended this comment to mean. Rodge himself has been working since the age of thirteen. Though he did state the beauty of writing is the reader seeing something in the writing the author didn’t intend.

I absolutely loved the ending. By the way the narrator was talking I assumed it was Jim who stopped talking to him or they just lost contact, but to read he actually ditched him in a pub was pretty shocking. Why did you decide to end at this point?

Rodge decided to end at this point as a metaphor for Jim outliving his usefulness as a friend. The narrator at this point has realised he’s had enough of Jim. He’s not totally sure if Jim even realises he’s there while he talks. The narrator enables Jim’s rambling, which is the reason he is useful to Jim. By leaving, this is where his life really begins, when he can put his life back together. He gets a wife, has a child and he stops drinking.

Is there anything else I haven’t asked you, that you think should be included?

Recently Rodge has been reading a lot of Roberto Bolaño’s work for his next novel. The novel is about Chile, which is where Bolaño was born. In The Jim Hangovers the narrator mentions Jim saw himself as a young Roberto Bolaño (a great artist in the making) when in reality he’s somebody sitting around talking about it, when the reader knows they’ll never get around to actually doing anything.

And thus concludes my interview with the wonderful Rodge Glass.

Hope you enjoyed this insight to the writing process of ‘The Jim Hangovers’.

ABOUT RODGE:

Rodge Glass is a novelist, short story writer and editor who was born in Manchester. He was educated at the University of Strathclyde and Glasgow, where he obtained his PhD.

He has published three novels, a literary biography which won a Somerset Maugham Award, a graphic novel and has edited two short story collections.

Rodge now works as a Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at Edge Hill University. He regularly appears at literary festivals and events.

Yours weekly,

Jennie Byrne

@mustbejlb (on Instagram and Twitter)

www.underthefable.com

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