Tinker, Tailor, Schoolmum, Spy
Page 29
Do you have a favourite comedy writer?
I started out reading Janet Evanovich when I was younger, and I still really enjoy her books. Stephanie Plum was my favourite beach read for years. Ben Aaronovitch is another author I really like – the Rivers of London series is a great combination of police crime, fantasy and comedy. I think I was influenced a lot by both authors. For learning about comedy, Keith Johnstone’s books are never far from my grasp. He is a pioneer of comedy improvisation and in his late eighties now; I did a workshop with him a few years ago and it was extraordinary.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Deep down, probably, although I don’t think I really realised it until about ten years ago! I have always loved the theatre, so I suppose you could say I’ve always wanted to tell stories. I started blogging after my son was born as a kind of therapy, but the blog became quite popular and I realised other people enjoyed my writing, too, so I signed up to do a master’s degree via distance learning at Falmouth University. Between that and the blog, I wrote almost every day for two years. After that it just became part of my life.
As a debut author, what was the most exciting part of having your book published?
Well, it’s all pretty exciting! Seeing the cover for the first time was thrilling. Sending off the final proof was a big moment, too. If I had to choose, I suppose it’s got to be seeing it for sale in a bookshop. Or rather, seeing someone pick it up and put it in their basket at a bookshop. Or maybe it’s not that either … I think simply having it in my hands, as an actual book, thumbing through the pages I wrote – I think that might be the best thing of all. I’ll let you know!
About the Author
Faye grew up in Essex before running away to drama school. She worked on the West End as a stage carpenter but decided to get a ‘proper job’, for reasons which are still unclear but may have been influenced by Rachel from Friends. After a decade working her way to the heady heights of middle management, Faye met her husband and moved to Dubai where she ditched corporate life for good in favour of having a baby, performing improvised comedy, and gaining an MA from Falmouth University.
Now back in London with her family, Faye divides her time between performing in musicals with her local theatre company and working as a freelance copyeditor, but her real passion is for writing novels about (and for) kick-ass middle-aged women. Tinker, Tailor, Schoolmum, Spy is her first novel, and won the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Prize 2020.
Keep in touch with Faye on Twitter and Instagram.
@WriterFaye
@writerfaye
About the Publisher
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