Fi Phillips

Without wanting to sound like Rolf Harris, "Can you guess what it is yet?". My favourite room, if I could extend my home to build one, would be a library. To be honest, our lounge is gradually becoming surrounded by book-cases so maybe I should start calling that room 'my library'. Each move seems to incur the need to buy yet another bookcase. My excuse is that to be a writer necessitates the need to be a reader too. I love books - paperbacks, hardbacks, old and new. I not only love to read books but also to re-read them, revisiting old favourites when the whim takes me. If I could surround myself with books and more books, I'd be a very happy person but... In a world where more and more, we have to consider how we are affecting our environment, is there a place for books? Is that a gasp I hear? Or a cry of indignation? Has this woman gone mad? Surely, as a writer, she's shooting herself in the foot to suggest that there may be no place for books. Let me exp...

Sometimes you can look at a seed and know exactly what it will grow into. Other times it's more a case of the ugly duckling who grows into a beautiful swan - who knew? Either scenario is fine as long as you allow your youngling idea a little room to grow. The idea for my novel is an excellent example of the duckling and swan scenario. What started out as a Tolkien-esque fantasy novel took several turns before I moved it to a new setting - a version of our future. As soon as I made that change, the novel took on a new, refreshed identity. One of my favourite characters, Born started out as a bit part - an assassin who would fail and die quite early in the novel. From that, her character developed emotionally, falling in love with another villain and ultimately being destroyed by his death. In the current version of the novel, in it's future setting, she's different again. Don't be afraid to let your story and characters change if they're not working. It's all pa...