I am thrilled to have interviewed author Clare Stevens, who shared with us details of her writing life, her book ‘Heartsound‘, which was released on 8th April 2024, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

Clare Stevens grew up in the wilds of Somerset where she was fed a daily diet of ghost stories cooked up in her older sister’s imagination. This fostered a love of storytelling long before she could read or write.

She has lived most of her adult life in Nottingham. She began her career as a journalist, working mainly for the Nottingham Post group, before spending several years in government communications. She then switched from spin-doctor to story spinner and embarked on an MA in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University, which she passed with distinction. Clare wrote her first novel Blue Tide Rising (2019) while on the course.

Clare is active in several Nottingham literary groups and in 2018 won runner up in the Nottingham Writers Studio awards in the ‘novelist of the year’ category. She has had numerous pieces of short fiction published and her second novel was released with Inspired Quill in April 2024.

She runs Creative Writing workshops across Nottinghamshire and, for six years, facilitated Creative Writing sessions at the Maggie’s Centre for people affected by cancer. She also manages PR and media for Nottinghamshire Hospice.

Clare’s favourite writing time is first thing in the morning when she’s still half in dreamland. She also writes in cafes and other public spaces, drawing inspiration from the unlimited supply of human interest.

When not writing or working, she can be found walking Max, her inexhaustible springer/pointer cross, or heading off for weekends in Whitby (her spiritual home). She runs a half-marathon once a decade.

It’s hard to pinpoint any one source, but it partly came from an experience a friend told me about years ago, and an article I read around the same time. It’s a story that had been gestating in my mind for many years. Eventually, during lockdown in 2020, the story resurfaced and I decided to write it down.

It was originally going to be a short novella, rattled off in a few weeks before I got on with the project I was meant to be writing (now novel three), but the characters had other ideas, the narrative took over and the novella grew into a full-length, three-part novel, spanning four decades.

I’m definitely a pantser not a plotter! I write first, and retro fit structure and plot. I write most of my initial drafts longhand in notebooks, often first thing in the morning. Later in the day I’ll transcribe what I’ve written. I end up with pieces of the story, in no particular order, all over the place.

I then have to piece it all together like a jigsaw. This was my process for my first novel. When I wrote Heartsound, I thought I’d be more organised, but ended up doing exactly the same thing.

It was difficult to decide on a title and I went through several working titles first, but none of them quite worked. Eventually, my publisher suggested Heartsound and it fitted the narrative and the musical theme – music from the post-punk, new wave era of the early 1980s features heavily in the story.

The name of the main character, Chrissie, comes from a song called ‘Christine’ by Siouxie and the Banshees released in 1981. Tara’s name just came to me. For other characters, sometimes they walked into my head fully formed and named, other times I researched names from the period I was writing about.

One of the reasons I started writing this novel during lockdown – when we were all confined to our homes – is that much of the content was already in my head, so research needed was minimal. I did, however, do some research online for the parts set in Slovenia and Bath. I
needed to write a scene in a gay club in Ljubljana in the early 80s. I contacted Ljubljana City of Literature, who put me in touch with people who might be able to help. I sent them a questionnaire and some follow-up questions. These people were incredibly helpful. One guy even sent me a grainy video filmed in a gay club in Ljubljana in the early 80s! This was brilliant, as it allowed me to immerse myself in the scene, observe what people were wearing, listen to the music and check out the vibe.

For the Bath scenes, I did some research through a ‘Bath born and bred’ Facebook group. I grew up in the area but left when I was 18 and some of my memories are hazy. People in this group helped me fill in the gaps.

It wasn’t a conscious choice. Heartsound crosses genre and could be described as literary/contemporary fiction/magical realism/queer fiction (because it features a same-sex relationship). It has also been described as book club fiction – ie character-driven, not an arduous read, but dealing with issues that make for good discussion. My writing naturally lends itself to this combination of genres and my first novel is also contemporary literary fiction/magical realism.

If we’re talking about how from the initial germ of an idea – it took decades! In terms of actual writing, I completed the first draft during 2020 and sent it to my publisher in 2021 where it joined a list of titles waiting to be published. It was due to come out in November last year, but there were some issues with the cover design, meaning my publisher had to go back out and commission a new designer. It finally hit the streets in April this year.

Life, loss and hope.

Motivation to write! I love writing, but like many authors, I find a million excuses not to do so. Writing is a solitary activity, which can be hard, so I find it encouraging to be part of a writing group. I think most authors find rejection, or fear of rejection, difficult, especially when they are querying agents or publishers. It can seem relentless. I was lucky in that I found a publisher for my first novel really quickly and they’ve also published my second novel.

My publisher is a tiny indie-press called Inspired Quill. They are lovely people to work with but at times the publication process can seem quite lengthy as they have limited resources to bring out the titles on their list.

It’s a fast read; entertaining and thought-provoking. It deals with real, contemporary issues, but leaves the reader feeling uplifted.

Max, my Springer-Pointer rescue dog, is my muse and writing buddy. He’s not supposed to be allowed in the room where I work, but during lockdown, when I did my day job from this room too, he snuck in, and I let him stay. Now I allow him in as long as he’s quiet! I also try out readings on him. Unlike my cat, who used to walk off mid-sentence, Max mostly stays attentive, although he does sometimes fall asleep.

I write first thing in the morning when I’ve just woken up. I produce some of my best work when I’m emerging from dreamland. I sometimes write at night when I can’t sleep because my brain’s buzzing with ideas. I call this the midnight muse, although it usually happens around three am.

I also write, and edit, in cafes where I can observe people. It helps with descriptions of dress, body language, mannerisms etc. Upstairs in my local Wetherspoons is a good place to write as I can get a refillable latte for £1.04, join the other home workers at their laptops, and watch the drinkers in the bar below from the balcony.

Mostly at my desk in a corner of a bedroom. It’s by a window which overlooks gardens and rooftops. Last year I invested in a sit-stand desk which has been a game changer for posture and energy levels. I won’t include a photo of my work station as it’s too messy!

I’ll be one of the tutors at Stoke College where Chrissie and Tara meet. Or one of Chrissie’s clients in Part Two when she’s working as a freelance graphic designer. I’ll be a particularly picky customer, adding to her stress levels…

“I pounced on this book first thing in the morning thinking I’d read a chapter before bed, but once I got my talons into it, I was hooked and I read right to the end. It kept me awake ALL DAY! My only criticism is that there was one thing missing. It really could have done with a talking owl. We’re very under-represented in literature. I mean, there’s the owl in Winnie the Pooh, and some fantasy rubbish, but that’s about it. And why do we always have to be so wise? That’s such a cliché. You’d have thought no-one had ever met a talking owl…”

“Now I’ve finished it, I’m gonna pass it on to someone else, but the question is To Who?”

A big thank you to Clare Stevens for sharing her writing life with us and for a wonderful interview.