HOW I TURNED FLAMENCO... and had a Flamenco Baby!

It’s been a slow seduction. Starting with a bit of flamenco ‘fusion’ (Ketama) and ‘chill’ (Chambao) bands in the car in Spain. Followed by my partner’s playing of these and some guitarist albums (Vicente Amigo, Tomatito) at home – for years, he says, with no comment from me. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like them, I protest, but they were just warm Spanish background music; I was into musical theatre at the time.

But maybe there was some subliminal education going on there, because when I went to my first Flamenco Festival at London’s Sadler’s Wells I was so inspired that I decided to use flamenco as a resonant element in my new novel. Research was needed, so I started flamenco dance classes (read the August 2011 post!) and had to take a course in Granada – where I… well, started to turn into a flamenca.

The music took over my iPod and car, the classes intensified; I became entranced by the complex rhythms, the excruciating beauty of those exotic chords, the discordance, the sensuality of it all. Nowadays, even the florid cante (singing) – that used to have me giggling and fast-forwarding – hits me in the gut with its raw emotion.

It isn’t just the music. I also seem to have been taken over by flamenco’s live-in-the-moment ways, where the only things to worry about are being fuera de compás (out of time) or being told ‘no me dice nada’ (you’re not saying anything). I write flamenco: I have ideas as to where the story will go, but let the characters come in and do what they will with it – as long as they keep to pace. Strangely, this creates more truthful and intricate plots than I could devise with my brain. I’ve even started to think flamenco, with less fretting over the future…

Is all this a good thing? Well, there are drawbacks. Such as an increase in dust, clutter and unopened letters round the house. And I’m more easily distracted than ever; there are powerful tracks in my car – like ‘Dos Punales’ (Two Daggers) on Josemi Carmona’s ‘Las Pequenas Cosas’ CD – that often have me ending up in the wrong town.

But there’s no turning back now. On February 15^th 2013 my flamenco seduction will have the happy outcome of the birth of my new novel, FLAMENCO BABY. Olé!

 

DAYDREAMER? PERHAPS YOU’RE A NOVELIST

‘A dreamer in broad daylight’ – that’s what Freud called the novelist. He went on to suggest that creative writing is wish fulfilment, and er… oh lordy, read Creative Writing and Daydreaming and see the rest for yourself. But the connection is undeniable, and I was reminded of this during a recent interview. If you spend half your life with your head elsewhere, consider whether you’ve got a novel in you!  

INTERVIEW FOR THE MOANING TIMES (http://themoaningnews.moonfruit.com)

Can you firstly tell us about your childhood, and when was the first time that you knew that writing was for you?

I was a wilful, daydreamy child for whom school was a torment; I was twice expelled - at six for a John Wayne clouting of a girl who’d been chasing my best friend with a worm, and at seventeen for generally floating around the place disengaged.  We had a bungalow in Cobham (Surrey) on a leafy cul de sac since plundered to make way for Chelsea-footballer mansions. My adorable half-Spanish mother took the family off to Spain for a month every year and is responsible for my hispanophilia.

I always wanted to write; I was making little sellotaped books at five years old. But in senior school I became self-conscious about it, took up the piano and started writing music instead.

How would you answer the question ‘Who is Cherry Radford?’

A novelist inspired by music, dance and all things Hispanic; a loving but neglectful partner and mother.

You have worked in music and in the medical field but compared to writing how much do they mean to you and if you could do one for the rest of your life which one would you do and why?

Writing is my life; I think about it every moment I can, and also when I shouldn’t be. Music is my buzz and my cure - and always an inspiration for my stories.  My scientific research background was invaluable for MEN DANCING, but I could never go back to it; I’m piloted by the other side of my brain these days.

Can you tell me about Men Dancing and why should people read it?

MEN DANCING is the story of a married, mother-of-two scientist whose world tilts after a chance meeting with a charismatic male Royal Ballet dancer. It’s a darkly humorous romance that seems to entertain people, but it also takes an often painfully honest look at the nature of marriage, desire, parenting and the search for fulfilment.

I hear there is a second novel in the pipeline so can you tell us what that’s about and when can we expect to see it?

FLAMENCO BABY follows a musician with a ticking body-clock who asks her gay best friend to be a sperm donor. He declines but treats her to a flamenco course instead - throwing them into a world of secret passions that test their friendship and make them wonder if there’s more than one way to have a happy-ever-after.

It should be out in early 2013, hopefully coinciding with the Sadler’s Wells Theatre (London) Flamenco Festival in February.

What made you want to start writing books?

If you spend half your life daydreaming, it’s nice to have something to show for it.

Do you have special routines or processes you go through to write a book and if so what are they?

I spend several months researching – for example, I took a flamenco course in Granada for FLAMENCO BABY – and generally mulling.  Then at some point I just start writing, wherever and whenever I can. I mostly use little soft-feel elasticated notebooks – I find it’s easier to let ideas flow with a pen in hand – and then sift / transfer to the laptop.

What things do you do when you are away from writing and what TV, music etc. are you into at the moment?

I’m not often really away from writing! I think up dialogue when I’m gardening, imagine scenes while listening to music (mostly flamenco fusion these days), enjoy other authors. I practise Spanish with my teacher and on Twitter, and have continued with the flamenco dance classes. Playing the piano relaxes me, and I have three lovely pupils. I watch films rather than TV, but I do like Strictly Come Dancing - and was thrilled to go to the show as a guest of Sir Bruce Forsyth last season. 

For anyone reading this who would like to get into writing what advice would you give them?

After skim reading about five books on novel making, ask yourself what you really need to write about. Mull over a plot for a few months, but don’t get too bogged down with the details – and particularly the ending – as once your characters come to life they’ll do what the hell they like with it. Then just start; there’ll never be a perfect time, so why put it off?

What things make you happy and what things annoy you?

I’m happy when someone tells me that they’ve got something out of my book, when they see what I was trying to do - or even things I wasn’t aware of myself.

I can’t stand it when people ask who my characters ‘are’, or assume that my female protagonist is doing something I’ve done or want to do. Listen once and for all, people: it’s MADE UP! Obviously I write about things I need to explore, but it’s like dreaming — you shouldn’t take it literally.

Can you tell me one thing about yourself that people might not already know?

I love watching international football games – such skill, such drama! And of course I adore the almost balletic Spanish team.

What are you up to at the moment and what’s next for you?

I’m researching for a madly ambitious third novel. It’s taking a long time but I’m really enjoying the ride.

http://www.cherryradford.co.uk/

HOW I TURNED FLAMENCO…

It’s been a slow seduction. Starting with a bit of flamenco ‘fusion’ (Ketama) and ‘chill’ (Chambao) bands in the car in Spain. Followed by my partner’s playing of these and some guitarist albums (Vicente Amigo, Tomatito) at home – for years, he says, with no comment from me. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like them, I protest, but they were just warm Spanish background music; I was into musical theatre at the time.

But maybe there was some subliminal education going on there, because when I went to my first Flamenco Festival at London’s Sadler’s Wells I was so inspired that I decided to use flamenco as a resonant element in my new novel. Research was needed, so I started flamenco dance classes (read August 2011 post!) and had to take a course in Granada – where I… well, started to turn flamenco.

The music took over my iPod and car, the classes intensified; I became entranced by the complex rhythms, the excruciating beauty of those exotic chords, the discordance, the sensuality of it all. Nowadays, even some of the wailing cante (singing) – that used to have me giggling and fast-forwarding – hits me in the gut with its raw emotion.

It isn’t just the music. I also seem to have been taken over by flamenco’s live-in-the-moment ways, where the only things to worry about are being fuera de compás (out of time) or being told ‘no me dice nada’ (you’re not saying anything). I write flamenco: I have ideas as to where the story will go, but let the characters come in and do what they will with it – as long as they keep to pace. Strangely, this creates more truthful and intricate plots than I could devise with my brain. I’ve even started to think flamenco, with less fretting over the future…

Is all this a good thing? Probably – thanks to my tolerant and equally crazy loved ones – but there are drawbacks. Such as an increase in dust, clutter and unopened letters round the house. And I’m more easily distracted than ever; there are powerful tracks in my car – like ‘Dos Punales’ (Two Daggers?) on Josemi Carmona’s ‘Las Pequenas Cosas’ CD – that often have me ending up in the wrong town.

But one thing’s for certain: my flamenco seduction will have the happy outcome of the birth of my new novel, FLAMENCO BABY. Olé!

WRITING’S JUST DAYDREAMS AND SELLOTAPE; AUTHORING’S ANOTHER MATTER

(Adapted from an interview for Hampton Reviews at http://hampton-networks.com)

Where are you from?

Cobham in Surrey, UK – but the bungalows in our tidy little cul-de-sac have now been replaced by footballer mansions. Brighton is my home town now; I love the pier and find my characters turn up there for important scenes. 

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An author, of course! I was making sellotaped books at six years old. But when I was about ten my mother sent a story I’d written to Pony Weekly and I got my first rejection; it rather put me off. I switched to music and composing, and then, much later – don’t ask me why – to science… I’m now back where I started, but with someone else sticking the books together.

Tell us about MEN DANCING. And do you have anything new in the works?

MEN DANCING is the story of a married, mother-of-two scientist whose world tilts after a chance meeting with a charismatic male Royal Ballet dancer. I’d call it a darkly humorous romance.

My next novel, FLAMENCO BABY, is still at the tinkering stage. It follows a bodyclock-deafened musician who asks her gay best friend to donate sperm. When he unexpectedly declines and offers a flamenco course instead, his consolation prize changes both their lives… 

Why did you write MEN DANCING?

Like the main character Rosie, I was feverishly in love with ballet and looking for a more creative existence.

How did you come up with the title?

It was originally called The Dancer, as he’s the catalyst for everything that happens. But then I realized it was about her relationships with all of the men in her life, including her sons. In her ballet-obsessed mind she sees them as dance partners.

How did you choose your genre?

I didn’t, it chose me. I always aspired to be quite literary, given my reading tastes, but as soon as I started writing there was this flippancy that wouldn’t go away. I’ve learnt to work with it.

What inspired you to be a writer?

My daydreams; I’ve spent half my life in them. I’ve probably got ‘Maladaptive Daydreaming’, according to the net, but it’s damn useful for writing dialogue.

Who is your favourite character in your books?

I should say Emma, since I took her with me into the second novel; she’s the girlfriend that tells you when you’re talking complete crap. But I also recall being all aflutter before some of the scenes with sexy boy-man ballet dancer Alejandro…

Have you ever used contemporary events or stories “ripped from the headlines” in your work?

Headlines – no, and I’m not likely to as I never know what’s going on. But contemporary events – yes, if you count the programming at Sadler’s Wells Theatre and the Royal Opera House. Oh, and the Spanish World Cup matches that I had on the telly in FLAMENCO BABY. For both novels I put all these dates in a diary – along with school and public holidays, Spanish fiestas, music / literary festivals and any other real dates that may affect my characters’ lives. I seldom change these things; they act as a comforting constraint – stopping me sitting there staring at a blank page of countless possibilities. 

What's the weirdest thing you've ever done in the name of research?

I stalked a famous dancer’s London home for what felt like all morning but was in fact less than an hour. It was awful: scary and demeaning. And of course it rained and there was no café opposite like in the films…

Do you ever suffer from writer's block?

No. I have periods where I mull rather than actually scribble or type, but that’s part of the process.

Who is your favorite author? What books have most influenced your life?

Penelope Lively. I find her writing deliciously elegant, insightful, humorous, moving… Uh, I have one massive crush on this lady! Can’t wait to read her new novel HOW IT ALL BEGAN, out this month. But as for books that have most influenced my life… well, my own humble produce I suppose.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging about writing?

No, writing is all pleasure for me. But authoring is another matter, lots of challenges there – mastering social media, bookshop events (I’m more shy than I let on). But the worst? I can’t stand it when people ask who my characters ‘are’, and the way they assume that everything my female protagonist does is something I’ve actually done or (worse) want to do. Listen once and for all, people: it’s made up! Obviously I write about things I need to explore, but it’s like dreaming — you shouldn’t take it literally.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

A computer obviously. But also a tactile elasticated notebook you can stick a (preferably coordinating colour) pen in, with a pocket in the inside back cover for keeping a print out of your diary and last chapter. I never go anywhere without it.

What advice would you give to writers just starting out?

Skim read about five books on how to write novels, then find something you really have to write about. Mull over a plot for a few months, but don’t get too bogged down with the details – and particularly the ending – as once your characters come to life they’ll do what the hell they like with it. Then just start; there’ll never be a perfect time, so why put it off?

How did you deal with rejection letters?

Badly. Still traumatized by Pony Weekly…