When Julia Williams popped over to talk to me about inspiration, motherhood and writing

(To celebrate Julia’s new novel, The Summer Season, I’ve 3 COPIES to give away and all details can be found at the end of this post)

When Caroline kindly asked me to guest blog, she suggested I talk about motherhood and writing. Or about what inspires me. So being greedy I decided to write about both…

Considering how difficult it is to write when you have babies, it seems a bit mental to confess that I only actually started to write properly when I had two small children in the house. The main reason for this was that in my former day job as an editor of teenage fiction, I gave all my ideas away. It was by its nature such a creative job I didn’t have either the mental or emotional energy to pursue writing as an alternative career. So it was only at the point when I decided to give it all up and go freelance that it seemed like a suitable moment to have a go. But while I had never planned to be a writer, I think at heart I’ve always been one. It was just when I was growing up writing for a living wasn’t a career that occurred to me as a possibility. And I thought everyone was like me and had a constant crowd of characters jostling for position in their head. (Turns out I was wrong about that, my husband for one, thinks I’m nuts.)

What I hadn’t factored in was how incredibly difficult it was going to be writing, when I had small people to attend to. Initially I was freelancing as an editor, which paid, whereas the writing did not. So I had to shoehorn any writing I was doing into the moments when there was a pall in the freelance work. I was working two days a week, so such moments were rare. And I often found myself in the early days, on non working days, grabbing an hour and a half in the mornings when my oldest daughter was at nursery and the then baby was asleep. As a result my first manuscript (which took me a year to complete) was an utter disaster, being both rambling, unfocused and suffering badly from a very saggy middle.

It took another year to fine tune it to something like the required standard for submission to an agent, by which time I was pregnant again. My very long suffering and wonderful agent faxed me to say she wanted to take me on, the week before the baby was born. As that first ms never saw the light of day, she had to wait rather a long time for my second oeuvre…

When I got back to my desk several months later, I was now paying for a nanny to care for the children three times a week, so income was a priority once more and writing had to come very low down the food chain. As a result I kept beavering away at short things – with a background in children’s books I decided to have a go at picture books (I did get a couple published by an educational press), and some children’s fiction, at which I was unsuccessful. I also wrote some synopses and sample chapters for some new novel ideas in the vain hope that I’d be one of those lucky people you read about in The Bookseller, who get taken on on the strength of a few brilliantly written chapters. (I wasn’t).

At the point at which I’d reluctantly decided I was just going to have to bite the bullet and go for finishing another novel, regardless of lack of money and time, I fell pregnant again. It felt pretty disastrous at the time, as I was seemingly stuck in Groundhog Day and an endless cycle of a new baby appearing just as the old one started to toddle about. But from that apparent disaster, the seeds of inspiration for my next book arose. Write about what you know, they say, and it has to be said, I do know a thing or two about the trials and tribulations of bringing up a family. So I came up with a story called Coming Full Circle, about a couple who feel like they’re falling apart as they cope with the mayhem brought into their lives by the advent of children, and who learn eventually to fall in love again.

I’d like to say that THAT was the book that got me published, but that would be lying. It did, however get me some interest from an editor, who made such helpful suggestions about my writing style, and the way I structure my books, that my third book, Pastures New, eventually did get taken on, albeit by a completely different editor.

It makes a big difference, having that book deal. I used to tell people I wrote a bit, but I never told them I was a writer. First and foremost I’m a mum. I still consider that my most important job. But once I had a contract, I felt I could justify what I did. I wasn’t just playing around at it anymore, doing a bit of creative stuff on the sidelines, while my children tumbled up around me.

But, what has become no easier, since I’ve been published, is the tension between my domestic and professional lives. All my children are now at school, and in two years, I’ll finally shed the school run. So in theory, I should have plenty of time to write. Practice is rather different though. Take the term which has just finished. Although life is always mentally busy before Christmas when you have children, the summer term is the part of the year I dread the most. The children have activities on most weekends, there are school trips to go to, plays to take part in, sports days to attend. The list is endless. I had planned to start work on my new book, in the six weeks before the summer term ended, only to lose several days to children being sick, one day for sports day, another day for open day, several taking my mother in law to various hospital appointments and so on. Net result, the book remains unstarted, though ideas are forming in my head.

And that’s where the joy of being both a mum and a writer kicks in. Because although I never have as much time as I would like to write (something I find increasingly frustrating the more I try to research material), the source of that lack of time, namely my family, are also often a source of inspiration. I don’t have sons, but drew sitting around at the tennis club chatting with friends who do was immensely helpful when writing Strictly Love, my second book; there’s a moment in Pastures New where Amy’s son breaks his arm – as two of my children have done. Cat, the heroine of Last Christmas has four children, because I thought she needed a suitable amount of mayhem in her life, and I know a thing or two about that, and in The Summer Season, I again drew heavily on direct experience when writing about Lauren’s twin daughters.

I don’t just write about things that have happened to me of course, I draw inspiration from all sorts of things, be it gardening (Pastures New/The Summer Season), dancing, Strictly Love, Christmas, Last Christmas, and my next book, This Christmas, or weddings and friendship, The Bridesmaid Pact. But one thing I’ve learnt over the years, thanks to a combination of having four children and having been a sandwich carer for aging in laws, I do know quite a lot about modern family life and the pressures it brings on people. It’s been a deep well of inspiration, and one I shall continue to delve into. So while I sometimes think it would be great to have more time to write, or look forward to the days when my children are off my hands and I can concentrate more on my work, I have a sneaky feeling I might miss it when they do. And a fear that when they’re gone, that well of inspiration might just dry up…

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About the author: Julia Williams has always made up stories in her head, and until recently she thought everyone else did too. She grew up in London, one of eight children, including a twin sister. She married Dave, a dentist, in 1989, and they have four daughters. After the birth of the second, Julia went freelance and decided to try her hand at writing, and The Summer Season is her fifth novel.

“Passions flare, secrets unravel and love blossoms in the heart of the summer season.

As summertime flourishes, it’s time for new beginnings…

Heartsease House is in desperate need of renovation. Its owner, widower Joel, is struggling to come to terms with life as a single dad. His plans to refurbish the house and garden suddenly seem like one burden too many.

Mum to twin girls, Lauren’s life is a constant juggling act. When her ex, Troy, turns up wanting to see his daughters, she’s determined to keep her distance. But it’s a lot harder than she imagined…

Then guerrilla gardener Kezzie bursts into their lives with her infectious enthusiasm to restore the gardens. But who is Kezzie? And what is she running away from?

As the warm days of summer draw closer, Heartsease House and its beautiful love-knot garden are transformed. But will Joel, Kezzie and Lauren be able to restore their own hearts?

Kick off your sandals, enjoy a glass of rose and escape into a gorgeous novel this summer with Julia Williams.”

I’ve 3 COPIES of Julia’s latest novel The Summer Season to give away. It’s a corker summer read and her best novel yet! All you have to do is leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) August 5, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select 3 winners. This competition is open to all.