Malady of Love
Please can you tell our readers what to expect from your current novel the Malady of Love?
The Malady of Love is about the tenderness, intimacy and anxieties of love in a fragile romance between a man and a woman. As their relationship deepens each discovers that becoming the object of another person’s affections also makes them subject to the other person’s flaws. His attempts to woo her are foiled by her corrosive survivor’s guilt, whilst she bears the brunt of his crippling fear of betrayal. Yet despite their difficulties the undeniable desire for closeness finally drives them together. For the first time in their lives they are filled with a optimism and fighting their instincts to wound or flee from one another, they begin to forge a future together. But their brief and shimmering happiness is plunged into turmoil when they discover that they have conceived a child. As the ramifications of the pregnancy dawn on them, old fears begin to surface once more. Can each of them find the courage to confront their histories or will they forever be trapped by the traumas of their past?
Its is a very unique concept. Where did your inspiration come from for this novel?
The idea of writing about a relationship purely on the privacy of conversation stemmed from my experience as a Counsellor. In counselling, I am there in a room, whilst people availed their problems. I focussed, listened, to what they were saying and everything else seemed irrelevant. I just wanted to replicate that experience
Further to this, when you talk to your close friends about personal issues, there is a natural curiosity into wanting to listen to them. This natural curiosity makes us all fascinated by other people’s relationships, almost voyeuristic.
In terms of fiction, I read a lot of innovative female authors such as Annie Ernaux, Ann Hébert, Hélène Cixous, Nathalie Sarraute and Marguerite Duras. The literature of anxiety appeals to me in a stylistic way also.
Why did you want to focus so closely on a couple's interactions and their consequences?
Writers often focus on creating atmosphere and describing the environment through description. My landscape was a more universal one of emotions and psychology. . For me, tenderness and romance in a relationship can be found, not just in the grand gestures, but also on this more personal level and also in the way we adapt to these changing emotions. I am fascinated how and why people behave and noticing the difference over a period of time and according to circumstances. For example, when we are young, we ‘go with the flow’, when we want to be with people. As we get older, through experience, we lose that ability somewhat, and in the back of our minds, even though we may like someone we become more judgemental and form our own ‘checklists’ and criteria for a suitable partner: thus in looking for Mr 100% Right we miss out on Mr 90% or Mr 80% Right, simply because we want the perfect fit first rather than developing it into a perfect fit i.e. ‘going with the flow’.
How valuable do you believe love and romantic relationships are to the creation of a novel?
Undoubtedly, for books about people and relationships it must be central, after all an author has the same degree of intimacy in writing his book in terms of exclusivity, involvement and engagement. If you did not like what you are writing would you still be doing it?
How did you go about constructing such an unusual novel?
Research is important. The male character suffers from Selective Mutism as a child – the inability to speak, through extreme anxiety and trust issues, in certain environments. I tried to link this, to his later life, with the common perception that men find it difficult in expressing themselves in a relationship. I wanted to state this in a sympathetic and sensitive way rather than have a superficial view of it. The female character developed whilst researching into twin-loss for another project. I needed to understand the emotional dynamics and impact of twin-loss.
As adults, their relationship, in terms of closeness and trust, could be considered as one of ‘twins’. Hence you get the possibility of an early trauma repeating itself in later life. This then echoed the notion that people enter relationships with similar type partners and thus often repeating the same cycle of fears and behaviours and anxieties.
All of these elements are based on real life situations and I wanted people to be able to relate to them.
What element of writing the book did you gain most enjoyment from?
The challenge of writing about difficult issues in a ‘beautiful’ way whilst maintaining the depth of sensitivity that reaches out to touch people, so that they can empathise or understand the issue that commonly affect us.
What future projects have you lined up?
Ideas come and go, some will stay and others may not. Currently I am doing research into a fiction about physical intimacy and how that, as opposed to verbal communication, can impact upon our relationships. If I cannot develop the ideas strongly then I will drop it and focus on something entirely different - the scheming and back-biting in the office workplace.
When did you realise you wanted to be a writer?
In my late teens, after leaving school, but making ends meet and developing a career were priorities. I used this time though as a training ground, practicing all sorts – including some awful explorations, but you need to do this to understand what works and what does not.
What is your writing background?
I had a poem published in an anthology by the International Library of Poets when I was young. It was basically a play on the word ‘Rose’: did the romantic poem refer to a flower or a woman?
Later, I had written a book called ‘Humanity’s Rage: Or How to Stop Blissful Ignorance and Start Worrying’. This was a passionate plea from the heart for people not to forget our humanity in a time of anxiety and turmoil. It is a very political book that tapped into people’s concerns of how we treat each other and the importance of respect for all regardless of our differences.
What advice could you give to someone wanting to write an innovative novel such as yourself?
Read, write, refine and rehearse your craft as much as possible. Even if you have ideas that are not about your current project run with them and explore the possibilities. Innovation is about risks and focussing on your vision whilst others seek to criticise. Think beyond the box and when you find a way of writing let your passion drive you. A novel with belief and passion behind it will be a novel fuelled by motivation.
Interview by Lucy Walton