The first book I wrote – Cloudesley – was a fantasy adventure for children. I’ve worked on it since with my stepsons and we’ve had great fun coming up with names and stories. Maybe one of these days I’ll go back to it and see if I can get it published!
Susan Lewis
I used to have George Clooney for a neighour when I lived in LA. My dog Casanova once broke through the hedge into his garden (after George’s pot-bellied pig) and I went diving in after him yelling “Casanova! Casanova!” at the top of my voice.
I was once banged up in a Filipino jail – all in the name of research! I was only expecting to get a look at it, but the officers were so keen to be helpful and to ensure that I had an “authentic” experience that I didn’t have the heart to turn down their extraordinary offer. It was quite scary, as I was half afraid they might not come back for me, but luckily they did, after about twenty minutes. (Twenty minutes that already felt like twenty hours!)
After being expelled from Red Maids School in Bristol at the age of 14, I was invited back 40 years later to be a guest speaker at their prize giving. I was told afterwards that it was probably the first time the word sex had ever been mentioned at the event! I wondered if the headmistress would have liked to expel me again!
My dogs Casanova and Floozie were the first dogs to be flown from LA to London without having to face quarantine. This was such a big event for us. I was ready to come back to England after seven years in LA, but no way was I going to put my beloved dogs into quarantine, even for a day. The relief when I received an email from Virgin telling me they got the go ahead was like being told we were all going to live after all.
My reading time is generally between 1 am and 4 am. I’m a terrible sleeper, and as I write all day giving me no time to indulge in something I consider vital to my existence, I use the hours I’m awake to absorb myself in the works of other authors. My current favourite is Fredrik Backman – A Man Called Ove and Britt-Marie Was Here.
I love audio books. I listen to them in the bathroom, in the car, the kitchen, basically any time I’m not writing. It’s a great opportunity to revisit the classics, many of which are brought so vividly to life by the reader’s performances that they almost seem new. Having said that my husband and I just listened to Sebastian Faulks’s Jeeves wedding and laughed so much we kept missing bits.
My favourite drink is pink champagne. We don’t have it that often, to be honest, but it generally comes out for birthdays, and at Christmas. And maybe on publication day. Oh yes, on anniversaries too. And when someone unexpectedly drops in. And to celebrate Friday, or Saturday… J
I’d love to live in France again. I’ve lived on the French Riviera twice already – the first time for four years, the second time for five years. I wouldn’t choose that region again, just because I’ve done it. Maybe we’ll look into the south west instead, it’s less hectic, beautifully rural, still very sophisticated in parts… We both speak French, which is why we’d choose that country over Italy, which we also love. It’s all quite complicated now though given Brexit, so perhaps that dream will have to remain on hold.
I committed to support Liverpool FC in my marriage vows, and my husband committed to support me if I lost the plot. We wanted to bring as much humour as love to our ceremony and I think we succeeded. It was a wonderful, truly romantic evening at the Villa Ephrussi on St Jean Cap Ferrat, one that lives on in our guests memories as well as our own.
