Helena Fairfax

It’s a great pleasure to welcome author Emma Davies today. We’re both just back from the RNA conference in that London. Lovely to be home from the hurly burly of the big city, and sitting down to a quiet chat. Biscuits and a large pot of tea at the ready!

Where do you live, Emma? I live in a small village just outside of Shrewsbury in Shropshire. We moved to the county just after the birth of our third child about thirteen years ago and now can’t imagine living anywhere else, it really is very beautiful.

Shropshire is a lovely county.

Where is your favourite place in the world? I’m not well travelled at all, only ever having been abroad a handful of times so I’m afraid it isn’t anywhere spectacular or far flung. It is in fact a very tiny village in Worcestershire called Arley, which sits in a valley split by the river Severn, in fact the river splits the village in half. The Severn Valley steam railway also runs through it. My husband first took me there, in fact we did some of our courting there (what an old fashioned word!) so perhaps that’s why I love it so much. It has though the most amazing atmosphere; not just quiet and peaceful but somehow much deeper than that. I’ve never felt more at peace myself than when I’m there.

That sounds an idyllic place. A lovely setting for a courtship!

Being a writer is a great job.  What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? I’ve been pretty lucky in that I’ve not had any really awful jobs. The one I liked the least though was a bit of a gap filler where I did a stint in an employment agency. The job itself was ok but the people I worked with were rather shallow and materialistic which is not me at all. They only cared about their commission, which car they drove and which designer clothes they had. Bored me rigid!

What book do you wish you’d written? This is such a tough question! I have so many books that I have either really loved or which have influenced or inspired me that it’s hard to pick just one. However as a child I was given a copy of the Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and I read it endlessly, fascinated by the drawings. Of course I read it as a child might and it was not until much later that I began to understand its real messages, but I still admire it greatly and still have that same copy even now.

I love that book. And my niece loves it so much, she had a tattoo of The Little Prince done on her arm. Now there’s a book lover for you!

What’s your favourite song? I have a really eclectic taste in music and to be honest my favourite song changes depending on what mood I’m in. One of my favourite singers however is Kate Rusby and I could listen to Who Will Sing Me Lullabies all day.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them? I’d love to meet the much younger version of myself if that were possible, who was busy writing books back when she was seventeen. I’d tell her to pull her finger out and follow her dream!

Please tell my seventeen-year-old self the same thing whilst you’re there!

What’s your happiest childhood memory? Reading. Always. Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, and I frequently did. Oh, and the delicious anticipation of which new books I’d get for Christmas. I still get that now!

Me, too. I loved our weekly trip to the library.

If you had to marry a fictional character, from film, television, or books, who would it be? I don’t know why but as I’ve got older I’ve developed a bit of a thing for men with Scottish accents. Based on this completely irrational infatuation it would have to be Calum, a character from Linda Gillard’s novel Emotional geology. He’s just … um … phew … is it hot in here?

That sounds a great read. Just downloaded!

What’s the most important lesson life has taught you? Life begins when you make it. Nike really did strike gold when they came up with the phrase Just Do It!

And finally, please tell us about your latest book, where we can find it, and where we can find your blog/website

Letting in Light is my debut novel and available through Amazon. It’s just celebrated a book birthday in fact. Here’s the Amazon UK link

You can also find my website at www.emmadaviesauthor.com or wave hello to me on twitter @Emdavies68 or Facebook www.facebook.com/emmadaviesauthor

Many thanks for having me as your guest Helena; these were great questions!

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Thanks so much for coming, Emma. It was great to meet you. I loved hearing about your favourite village in Worcestershire. It sounds a lovely place. Happy book birthday to Letting in Light!

If you’ve enjoyed Emma’s interview, or have any questions or comments at all, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you!