Plus, she shares here top tips on how to keep the romance alive in a relationship. She should know - she's been married to Film Producer Robert Bradford for 40 years!
Books/literature
Tell me about your new book 'Breaking the Rules'It's a novel that comes out on September 3rd to tie in with the new edition of A Women of Substance. It's a story of a 23-year-old English woman who moves to New York determined to become successful. She wants to become a supermodel and succeeds. She then meets an actor, falls in love and goes to Paris where she then works. In the middle of all the success and romance she realises that a psychopath is stalking her and her two sisters. She takes the attitude that when those you love are at risk you break the rules.
Where do you get the inspiration to enable you to write?
I don't know. It's my imagination! You have to have a vivid imagination - what's in a novel has never happened. You need to tell a lot of lies. Living life and watching TV can help give me ideas. I get an idea for a person and I don't quite know who this person is, nor do I know where the person came from. I ask myself "why is this person here?" and then I start to invent. A novel is a monumental lie that has to have the absolute ring of truth if it's going to succeed.
How do you overcome writers block?
I have a slow day but never get a block. I start with a blank piece of paper and I can stare at it for a long time. Some people can get intimidated by the paper. I try to get something down no matter what it is and hope that it will inspire me for the next day. When I return I might think "here is a good line" and I start writing from this.
For any budding authors out there, what advice would you give them when writing a book?
Some authors claim that they just sit down and start writing. I don't believe that. I always try to break a book up into parts. I decide what has got to happen in parts 1, 2, and 3 and then I write an outline. You have to make yourself an outline and use this as your blueprint, in the same way an architect plans to build a house before building it. You have to give a character a past life. To tell the story that I am going to tell I need to know what happened before I start writing about her. Everything brings a lot of baggage to a situation. I need to know what's in the suitcase, what's happened before and how this person will react in certain situations. You need to know the character, write a character profile and write down a plan.
Which authors do you read?
I try not to read women writers as I am concerned that their stories will come out in my imagination when writing. I like thrillers and detective stories as I don't write them. I'm a fan of Ruth Rendell and her pseudonym Barbara Vine. I read a lot of French and English history as well as travel books. I recently read a book on Istanbul which has helped with a bit of research. The latest book I have read is a new book that's just been published in the US called the Power of the Dog - I found it interesting as I have two dogs.
Personal/Career
Do you have fond memories of working in London?(Laughs fondly) I loved working in London when I was a young girl.
How was it working as a fashion editor on Woman's Own in the 50s?
I'd been on a newspaper in Yorkshire prior to Woman's Own and was dying to get back to newspaper mainly because I didn't want to go to work in a hat and a suit. When I went back to working on a newspaper I could go back to wearing a dirty trench coat, albeit with a nice frock underneath.
Was it difficult to leave England for the US?
In some ways yes - but when you are married and in love all you want to do is be with your husband. I wanted to be with him (Robert Taylor Bradford) no matter what. Wherever he was going I was going and I would have gone anywhere to be with him.
You've been married to Robert for over 40 years - what are your top tips for keeping the romance alive?
Robert travels a lot. He has always been away on movies and I haven't always been able to go. A little separation from time to time keeps things a little lively. You have to like each other as well as love each other and you have to be compatible. We are very different but also alike. We are both Europeans and have the same British European outlook and are very similar in our thoughts and the way we react to things. You have to respect each other. I am always careful what I say when we quarrel as words can be very hurtful. I hate it when women emasculate their partners in public. I believe they should be nice in public and wash their dirty laundry at home.
A Woman of Substance Awards
Why did you launch these awards?The book A Woman of Substance celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and Harper Collins wanted to commemorate the anniversary. The managing director came up with the idea of creating a contest to honour women of today who could be role models in the same way that Emma Harte (the heroine of A Woman of Substance) was a role model. A committee was formed and we now have the Woman of Substance Awards. What we are looking for are ordinary women who have done extraordinary things and can be honoured as Women of Substance. It's a wonderful way to celebrate a very popular novel and Emma Harte, its heroine and protagonist who became a fictional role model all over the world.
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