Leap… actually… crawl forward four years and now…

… I’m the author of  The Doors of Riverdell  a vivacious modern family saga set in the gorgeous Riverdell House, home to the multi-generational, messy-as-a-wealthy-divorce Threlfall family.

As Tolstoy writes, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” (Anna Karenin, 1873). This is the starting point for my love of family sagas, books with a great big heart and oceans of emotions to dive into, exploring the mirk of family dynamics. But where most family sagas centre on the past I wanted to create a modern statement, a sexy, gutsy series where you can see the characters grapple with current issues.

But how do you make the change from one career to another?

Q&A with marianne rosen

What books have inspired you as a writer?

I’m forever inspired by books. Books have been the second constant in my life, alongside home, and I’ve moved my books so many times! Books have always been both a retreat from real life and a source of hope for real life. A few books that have touched my life deeply appear completely different to what I write about. The Lord of the Rings is my personal classic, alongside Dracula, A Prayer for Owen Meany and Perfume. I think because they are stand out novels, the sort that can never be rewritten. They taught me not to be scared of the shape of your heart, or the size of your book, or the long journey ahead, or of throwing normal out the window. In terms of the genre of my work, some strong influences would be the work of Kate Morton, Mary Wesley, John Irving, Lucinda Riley and Freya North, modern authors writing about ideas as timeless as home, love and family.

What inspires you as a reader?

I read very critically, woeful thanks to my degree, and sometimes it can take me ages to finish a book because I’m getting caught up in the how of it; how the author writes, constructs, creates and delivers the story. This can be really distracting to the story itself. I think most writers start out as readers, falling in love with the power of a book to transport us as children. When I get too critical I tend to return to my original passion as a reader; fantasy. There is so much you can learn about world creation and imaginative integrity from fantasy. Plus, I think it’s an amazing genre for new authors and experimental work. The whole point of fantasy and sci-fi is to break new ground and it’s a wonderfully restorative place to refresh your creative energy. So, now, whatever I read, I’m always looking for that magical sense of travelling out of normal life to a world far away, into the life and woes of other characters. I’m also a huge nonfiction reader. Books are the greatest source of education and if you read, you never stop learning.

What themes are central to your work?

Home, obviously! If there’s a book with my name on it, it’s going to be exploring the need we all have for belonging. But within that context, the impact of family. The family we come from and those we make ourselves. Especially how we nourish our lives when we come from difficult or damaging family backgrounds. How we grow into being our most true selves.

Another big theme for me is sexual identity and orientation. I wanted to give my readers hope that no matter what their backgrounds, or formative experiences, or current relationship, they could find a way to explore their desires. Our sexuality is so wrapped up in notions foisted on us from childhood, of normalcy, of decency, of permissible desire, so I believe that our sexual identity is hugely influenced by family. I write across the spectrum of sexual orientation and it’s a subject I’m passionate about. I always wanted my writing to give an open platform to sexuality, which I believe to be fluid, in both identity and orientation.

How do you prefer to write?

I’m a hideous organisation geek. I write to a strict schedule, with a gazillion structural systems and a colour-coded post-it note fetish to boot. It’s an aesthetic notion that art cannot be organised, but I prefer to see what I do as crafting and I work now as I did when I was running a craft business. I know how long it takes me to do everything and have a writing plan that stretches to the end of the decade. To counterbalance this, I give myself sessions of total imaginative freedom.

I was born by the sea, grew up sailing on my father’s boat, the wonderful Barracuda 45 as featured on Howard’s Way and will disappear in my old VW T4 to park up on the beaches of North Wales at any given opportunity. In 2018 the T4 and I toured the NC500 in Scotland, in November, overheating the old girl half way up Bealach na Ba, achieving nightly temperatures of -1 and views of the Outer Hebrides to die for. Getting away in the van, by myself, with a blank notebook, taking risks and pushing my comfort zone, is how I allow my creativity to thrive. I always come back with loads of fresh ideas to make up new folders.

What’s been important to you in your writing journey?

Community. When I took the plunge into a new career I had to let go of a wonderful community of colleagues around me and I knew I wouldn’t succeed without finding my new tribe. The first thing I did was join The Hay Writers’ Circle, they gave me the space to believe in myself as a writer and that is so important. Most writers spend a huge amount of time telling no one what they do, feeling almost ashamed of their yearning or ambition. At some point you have to step out into the world wearing that fragile hope on your sleeve and there is no better way to begin this than with a group of other writers. That community expanded into contacts with judges, published writers, editors, cover designers, book bloggers. The greatest community I am part of is the #bookstagram crowd on Instagram. It helps to remember my great love of reading and the immense passion of readers to nourish my creativity as a writer.

It also helps me to have goals. Creative work is hard work, it can be a lonely slog. It took me four years to write and get my first book published. Along the way I set myself constant targets and goals to keep my sense of momentum going. If a plan wasn’t working to achieve a goal I’d change the plan. I also know writers who loathe that system and are brilliant at pantsing what they do. There is no one way to write, only the right way for you.

What are you working on now?

Between polishing the other books in the Riverdell Series, I’m working on a new novel, Colour Me In, a modern story about facing up to what colour means in our lives. An early first chapter was shared in development at Hay Festival in 2019 and received positive audience feedback. You can find the performance, introduced by the Chair of the Booker Prize 2020, Peter Florence, on the Hay Festival podcast. One audience member said about the main antagonist, ‘That struck home with a vengeance!’ Sue Limb, the BBC scriptwriter, described it as ‘a very striking account of how a family can be dominated by an over-achiever…written with sensitivity and fluency.’

And of course, I’m always thinking about the next project, a trilogy set in an abandoned mansion…