Alison Jameson
Little Beauty tells the story of Laura Quinn, who lives on a remote island off the West Coast of Ireland and who is at a huge crossroads in her life when the reader first meets her. Martin Cronin, the lighthouse keeper and her boyfriend, continues to be noncommittal but now she has a chance to make a new life for herself on the mainland. She accepts a job as a housekeeper for a wealthy and dynamic couple, Finn and Audrey Campbell, and her life changes forever. The island and its people continue to pull her back and, when she does return, she is no longer alone but has a baby son named, Matthew. Little Beauty is about how one woman tries to find acceptance in a superstitious, tight, island community in the 1970s and it’s about loneliness and ultimately the lengths one mother will go to to make a better life for her son.
How much has your background in English Literature helped you to write this book?
Having studied English Literature at university has helped enormously. I would say it helps me in all aspects of my life really. There is so much to learn and absorb about people and society from the classic novels and I’m really glad I got them ‘under my belt’ at a relatively young age. Once I had that foundation, I was free to try all sorts of novels which I still do of course—and continue to learn about style and structure from them. One of the best things about reading fiction for me is to experience first-hand the range of unique writing voices that there are out there—and know that no two are alike.
You worked in the advertising industry for years—so what made you make the shift to writing?
I had always wanted to write and deep down felt that it was what I was meant to be doing all along. But I graduated in the middle of a recession and was lucky enough to get an interesting job (initially as a copywriter) in a Dublin ad agency when most of my friends had to go abroad. I knew then that it would be difficult to make a living from writing and also felt that I hadn’t experienced enough to write a novel. One job led to another and I ended up being a director at one of Ireland’s biggest agencies, IIBBDO. After five years working at that level I began to feel burnt out and was really yearning for time alone to write. I wrote my first book, This Man and Me while still in the job and, by the time I was offered a publishing deal, I was really ready for the change. I really believe in making the best of my life—and if I’d stayed in advertising I would have been disappointed by my own lack of courage. It’s not easy being a writer—but I do love it and I’ll never regret making the change.
This is your third novel, so please tell us about This Man and Me and Under My Skin.
This Man and Me is a love story of sorts . . . but it is really about a young woman trying to live her life after her father walks out. He was French. Before he leaves her life, she was Hélène and then became Helen. So she loses him and her identity at the same time. She is a funny, off-beat character and the book is about a series of encounters with different men. Not all are romantic or sexual: some are mentors, teachers and friends. The book is about how she finally settles into her life and finds what she is looking for in Paris. Under My Skin was inspired by 9/11 and it’s about a woman who works in an advertising agency and becomes separated from her husband after the attacks on the World Trade Centre. It also tells the story of an internet friendship and of a New Yorker called Arthur Glassman who sees 9/11 as a way to escape from his mentally-unstable girlfriend.
This Man and Me was nominated for the IMPAC award so how did this make you feel?
It felt really great! To be nominated for my first book meant that I was taken seriously as a writer and it sort of set me on my way. That said, there are more novels and writers than prizes and I really try not to think too much about prizes now—and the same goes for reviews. I think it’s important for writers to focus on the work at hand and, if at all possible, to turn a blind eye to everything else.
Please tell us about the character of Laura.
Laura is thirty-seven at the beginning of the book. An interesting time in any woman’s life! She’s a plain-looking woman and lacks self-belief and doesn’t really put enough value on herself. What she has going for her, though, is the good sense to make a change in her life—and the courage to ‘go her own way’ and not worry about what people think of her. She has an irreverent sense of humour and when she becomes a mother, loves her child fiercely. She gets plenty of knocks in her life, as everyone does, but picks herself up each time. She is, I think, a true survivor.
Why did you want to set the book in the 1970s?
I was a child of the 70s and have a great fondness for that era. This is probably because I have many happy memories of growing up on a farm with my brothers and sisters—with awful fashions and some great music. There was also a practical reason for setting the book in the 70s, though. I wanted the characters to have aged in the last part of the book—which has a more contemporary setting—which meant that the book needed to start earlier in time. The last part was important to me as I wanted to explore the idea that some people are stronger and more influential in their youth—and everyone becomes more equal as they age.
What is next for you?
I’m working on my fourth novel which will be completely different, so I’m excited about that and really enjoying the writing. Otherwise, my son gets his holidays from school tomorrow and I’m looking forward to the summer, writing in the morning, lots of time with him, and a nice glass of chilled Riesling in the evenings . . . what could be better than that?!