Margaret Lambert is marking the recent release of her new novel The Rufford Rose by writing an exclusive list of things for Female First, that she'd like all of her readers to know about her. Find out what she had to say below...
- I am a very reliable and organised person. I write lists all the time.
- I love writing letters, by hand, with a fountain pen. Friends who receive them say what a pleasure it is to get a ‘real’ letter.
- Music has been an important part of my life, particularly singing. I have been a member of various choirs for over fifty years at school, college, church and locally, and have often sung solos with them. I prefer classical, sacred and folk songs.
- I was a Guide Leader in my twenties and thirties and loved training the Guides in various skills, camping, hiking, first aid and knots being particular favourites. I served as a District Commissioner for a while.
- At school I played cricket, very unusual at the time for girls to play so we didn’t get many matches as girl’s teams were rare and the boys were considered too dangerous with a bat to play them!
- Embroidery has been a hobby for many years. My mother taught me and I have found great pleasure in the calmness of sitting sewing something decorative and useful.
- Dogs are wonderful companions. We have always had Labradors which are such beautiful intelligent animals though our current one is of the chocolate variety and can be selectively obedient but he’s still utterly adorable. At least they get you out for a walk every day.
- Watching people can be very rewarding, observing mannerisms, facial expressions, what they are wearing, how they move and sit, how they speak and interact with other people, all can be valuable material for characters in my stories.
- I love visiting places with my family and they can be a tremendous source of ideas for stories. The guide book is always the first thing to buy and they are a very useful research tool for creating places to set my writing in.
- My family are tremendously important to me and spending time with them creates the memories which I hope they will treasure just as I treasure memories of my childhood.
The Rufford Rose by Margaret Lambert is available now on Amazon.