{"id":23681,"date":"2012-04-20T18:28:36","date_gmt":"2012-04-20T08:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=23681"},"modified":"2016-03-01T09:48:37","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T23:48:37","slug":"elizabeth-pulford-author-of-broken-blackthorn-tussock-and-more-answers-ten-terrifying-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2012\/04\/20\/elizabeth-pulford-author-of-broken-blackthorn-tussock-and-more-answers-ten-terrifying-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Pulford, author of Broken, Blackthorn, Tussock and more, answers Ten Terrifying Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Booktopia Book Guru <\/strong>asks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Pulford<\/strong><\/h1>\n

author of Broken<\/a>, Blackthorn<\/a>, Tussock<\/a><\/em> and more
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ten Terrifying Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

——————————-<\/p>\n

1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was born in a very small town in Ontario, Canada called Grimsby.\u00a0 After my father died, my mother (being a NZ\u2019er) travelled on a war boat bringing us (four children under the age of five) back to her hometown of Dunedin.<\/p>\n

My schools were in Dunedin \u2013 primary and then technical college where I did my best to learn to be a shorthand typist.\u00a0 The typing was fine, the shorthand hopeless.\u00a0 I used to make up stuff until my first job when I realised that wasn\u2019t the best thing to do.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At twelve I wanted to be a model (with glasses, slightly chubby and a terrible giggle) uh \u2013 I don\u2019t think so!<\/p>\n

At eighteen I wanted to be a traveller (which I started at the age of 19)<\/p>\n

At thirty (with two small children) I wanted nothing more a good night\u2019s sleep and to be a \u2018good\u2019 mother.<\/p>\n

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That you needed money to do anything.\u00a0 So not true.\u00a0 I found this out when travelling and was broke.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>4. What were three works of art \u2013 book or painting or piece of music, etc \u2013 you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ballet and waltz music have always moved me.\u00a0 Especially Tchaikovsky and Strauss.\u00a0 There is something about that type of music that seems to connect with my soul.<\/p>\n

As a nineteen year old in London seeing West Side Story<\/em>. The movie for me was full of passion and colour, hate and love.\u00a0 Very powerful.<\/p>\n

When I first started out \u2018trying\u2019 to be a writer I didn\u2019t know how to do it, so I tried out a variety of styles like those from different and successful writers.\u00a0 But it felt all wrong.\u00a0 Then I read the novel The Spinster<\/em> by NZ author, Sylvia Ashton-Warner<\/a>.\u00a0 Her style was unconventional, simple and natural.\u00a0 That was the turning point for me and the adult short stories I was dabbling in at the time.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have always loved books, or even more so the people in the books.\u00a0 Once characters choose me, I have no option but to tell their story.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"\"<\/a>6. Please tell us about your latest novel\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Broken<\/a><\/strong><\/em> started out as a very different story.\u00a0 It was going to be a junior novel, straightforward about a girl who went into a comic to find her missing brother.\u00a0 Then for some reason or another I left the story where it sank to the bottom of my desk drawer.<\/p>\n

Three years ago while I was searching for another piece of writing I found it and thought I\u2019d take another stab at it.\u00a0 But the whole story was boring me, it was too straightforward, I wanted depth.\u00a0 I sat with it day after day but couldn\u2019t \u2018quite\u2019 get it, until the character Trace appeared and when she arrived I instantly knew that her best buddy Zara was in a coma.<\/p>\n

There are three layers to the novel.\u00a0 One in the hospital where Zara lies in a coma; two when she is in the comic and three the rising memories of when she disappeared as a child for six weeks.<\/p>\n

It was an interesting, odd book to write. Broken<\/a><\/strong><\/em> came to me in \u2018broken\u2019 bits and I really did have to trust the writing process that it would all somehow fit together in the end.<\/p>\n

Click here to buy Broken<\/em> from Booktopia,
\nAustralia’s No. 1 Online Book Shop<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A sense of hope.\u00a0 No matter what life throws at you, don\u2019t give up.<\/p>\n

8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It changes all the time.\u00a0 But mostly writers, who are very original and write the way they want, not follow a well-beaten path.<\/p>\n

In saying that I do really admire William Trevor<\/a> and Kate Atkinson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"\"<\/a><\/strong>9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Usually it is to finish the book that I am working on.\u00a0\u00a0 Nothing more, nothing less.<\/p>\n

10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read a lot.\u00a0 Try different books even if you aren\u2019t sure if you will enjoy them.<\/p>\n

Write as yourself, never mind if what you put on paper or onto the computer sounds a bit strange.<\/p>\n

Trust yourself.<\/p>\n

Try to find a small corner of time every day to write.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t have to be a masterpiece\u2026 just write and see what happens. For it is only through the act of writing that miracles happen.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth, thank you for playing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Click here to buy Broken<\/em> from Booktopia<\/a>,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s No.1 Online Book Shop<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Elizabeth Pulford author of Broken, Blackthorn, Tussock and more Ten Terrifying Questions ——————————- 1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in a very small town in Ontario, Canada called Grimsby.\u00a0 After my father died, my mother (being a NZ\u2019er) travelled on a war boat bringing us (four children under the age of five) back to her hometown of Dunedin. My schools were in Dunedin \u2013 primary and then technical college where I did my best to learn to be a shorthand typist.\u00a0 The typing was fine, the shorthand hopeless.\u00a0 I used to make up stuff until my first job when I realised that wasn\u2019t the best thing to do. 2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why? At twelve I wanted to be a model (with glasses, slightly chubby and a terrible giggle) uh \u2013 I don\u2019t think so! At eighteen I wanted to be a traveller (which I started at the age of 19) At thirty (with two small children) I wanted nothing more a good night\u2019s sleep and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[24,85],"tags":[993,1079,1797,5184],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23681"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23681"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57308,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23681\/revisions\/57308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}