When I started doing author interviews, I had no idea I’d meet so many creative and interesting people from around the globe. Romany Heartford, is no exception. She’s a delightfully witty and book obsessed debut author from England.
Her upcoming #YA novel, MAD GIRL’S LOVE SONG, is on my #TBR list and I can hardly wait for it to come out!
Out-of-control teen girl sent to a strange island facility? Unreliable narrator? Is that doctor evil? Possible love story? Ummm… Yes please to all of the above!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy getting to know Romany as much as I have.
Romany, thanks again for taking the time to visit with me today. Can you tell my readers a little about yourself?
Absolutely! Thanks for having me. Well, I live in England, where I'm a Secondary School English teacher (11-18 yr olds, for my friends across the pond) mum to three kids and a total book obsessive. Even my purse looks like a book (Wuthering Heights, if you're interested). Ever since I can remember, I've also been writing. My younger sister had a bit of success as an author (9 books, traditionally published) and I've been trying to smile, even though I was green with envy, and catch up with her ever since.
When I first became a teacher, I thought the holidays would give me loads of spare time for writing - which turned out to be ludicrously naive.
What type of material do you usually write?
My favourite is historical fiction; the past is such a treasure trove. I quite literally couldn't make anything up which surprises and delights in the same way. Despite all my best efforts to be commercial - I find that I veer towards the upmarket/ literary end when writing.
Mad Girl's Love Song is neither of these things though - it's YA contemporary which I also like to read. I've found watching the escalation of this area of the market fascinating. So different from the Sweet Valley and Judy Blume books of my teen years (not that I didn't love them, I styled my hair like Jessica Wakefield). But I think there's such a diverse range of YA now, that showcases some of the best skills, in terms of a quick hook, fast pace and innovative narrative structure. Teen readers are very lucky.
And over the years, I hope I've got better at world building, without the crutch afforded by the various treasures and 'truths' of the past. Mad Girl's is set on a remote island where a group of Doctors are using their idea of science to 'fix' mentally disturbed teenagers. It's quite dark and is my second proper attempt at writing within a contemporary setting. My first was a clumsy effort at catching the 'yummy mummy' bandwagon. Not sure whether yummy mummies were a thing in the States but needless to say it's one of those manuscripts that belongs firmly in a locked drawer!
I’m dying to know, what does your writing and revision process look like?
I tend to think of writing a book as requiring three waves. The first of which is simply getting those damned words onto the page. And there's nothing simple about it. I have good and bad days - days when I wonder why I'm torturing myself and many imposter syndrome days in between. Despite also having occasional days where I feel like a magician at my keyboard, like many writers, I find this first part the hardest.
Phase two is a lot of deleting (remember all those bad days) and rewriting to create unity and structure and also stress checking all my plot lines for weaknesses. Does everything work? Does it make sense or need more explanation? Do I need to build more tension? Are my characters consistent? But developing? Does the dialogue sound natural? Does the ending work? Lots and lots and lots of rewriting. I once read that Ernest Hemingway rewrote his last page 14 times, I didn't think that sounded like a lot.
The final phase - is where I fine tune the semantics, imagery, foreshadowing, punctuation etc. If I'm lucky, this is where I start to like and sometimes love my book. At no stage do I write sequentially, from beginning to end. I write an episode or chapter at a time, at whichever point of the story i think i can have the best impact on at that particular moment. And although I try to plan from the beginning - the plot very much evolves and often changes completely as I go.
What is the hardest part about writing, in your opinion?
Sitting down and nailing words to the page- especially when I'm in the first phase of writing and everything feels clunky or when I've just read one of those best books to read in 2024 - and I know my writing will never compare.
What is your favorite thing about being a writer?
When it's good, it's really good. Those sweet moments where everything comes together - really are euphoric. Like the rush of striking gold - or so I imagine - I've never actually struck it!
What advice do you have for new/debut authors?
To enjoy and celebrate the process, as you go (after all, you've earned it) - from getting to know all the other people in the publishing community - through to all those 'first' moments. My cover design was finalised a couple of days ago and it was bliss! As luck would have it, I'm on holiday in France at the moment, so champagne is a steal.
So, what’s your favorite book?
Too many choices and I can be quite fickle, depending on what I'm currently reading! But I've recently finished The Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman, which is the best book I've read in a long time - so I'll pick that.
If you’ve enjoyed getting to know Romany, make sure you follow her on X for fun bookish content. And you can bookmark her Wild Ink Publishing landing page, for updates on her debut novel.
xo
S.E. Reed
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