Interview: Author Sarah-Jane Forder

Today the Cyder Scribes would like to welcome author Sarah-Jane Forder who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions.

To start, please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.

I grew up in rural Dorset in the 1960s and 1970s, enjoying a childhood of relative freedom and outdoor pursuits that many of today’s youngsters are denied. When I moved from London six years ago with my daughter, who’s now 14, I decided to write about the magical and simple things on offer in Dorset for kids and their families: and so my book Kids’ Dorset was born. I enlisted the help of local children and their parents to test the activities and places I featured: from crabbing at West Bay to kite flying on Maiden Castle, to fishing on Chesil Beach and dressing up as Tess of the d’Urbervilles in Dorset County Museum.  My wish is to reconnect modern, technologically savvy children with the natural world, with all the pleasures and benefits that can bring – to individuals and to society.

What was your journey to publication like?

Perhaps because of my background in magazines (I’m a former editor of The National Trust Magazine and The Wildlife Trusts’ national magazine, and currently consultant editor of and writer for Broadleaf, the Woodland Trust’s members’ magazine) and books (I edit literary fiction and non-fiction for a suite of London publishers), I was lucky. Local publisher Roving Press were happy to sign me up when I approached them with my idea.

To what extent does your local area (Dorset/Somerset) influence your writing?

Where I live – and the place where I was born – infuses everything I do. Dorset is rich in landscape, culture, history and lore. It never ceases to beguile and amaze.

Are you a member of a local writers group?

No.

Who are your favourite local authors?

Thomas Hardy, John Fowles

Do you have a favourite book set in the local area?

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles, Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner, almost anything by Hardy

Where can people find out a bit more about you and your writing?

Amazon, Roving Press

What are you working on at the moment?

A novel, part of which is set in Dorset

Where can we buy your books?

Local outlets, including bookshops and Tourist Information Centres;  Amazon

Thank you Sarah-Jane for joining us today.