Armadillo: First some basic biographical stuff. You were born in the Midlands where you still live, read History and Politics at Warwick University and taught English in Coventry schools for seventeen years before quitting to become a full-time writer for teens. So you're a real Heart of England girl, a bit like Shakespeare really. Did you never feel the lure of the bright lists and want to live and work in London?
Celia: It wasn't a conscious decision to stay in the Midlands, that's just how things worked out. I guess you settle where the job is and that becomes where you live. In some ways, it would be nice to live in London, but where I live is very central, so I can get to other parts of the country easily. I visit London fairly regularly and my daughter lives there now, so if I need to be there, I can stay with her.
A: I'm intrigued by the fact that you taught English although your degree was in other disciplines. Why was that? And do you ever wish you'd read English Literature instead?
C: I did a degree in History and Politics, but my post grad teacher training was in the teaching of History and English. I loved History, but I soon discovered I did not love teaching it. The approach then was very linear and trying to teach the Reformation to groups of 3rd Years (Year 9s) who just wanted to 'do the Nazis' was less than satisfying. In those far off days, the English syllabus was far freer with plenty of scope for creativity. I owe teaching a great debt. If I hadn't taught English, I would not have become a writer and teaching experience comes in handy on school visits.
I don't regret studying History at all; in fact I am really glad now that I did. I'm not sure how much an English degree prepares you for being a writer. Through teaching English, I learnt about academic criticism but, more important for me, I learnt about the writing process and discovered children's books. I also did a Master's degree in the teaching of English and that was a turning point.
A: It must be enormously useful for writing historical novels, having a History degree. I am very envious! Did you learn all about research methods at university?
C: It was useful, and that's why I'm glad that I studied it. Of course, the research methods are directly relevant and applicable, but they don't differ too much from any Arts subject research techniques. I went to Warwick University, which had a very different approach to the study of History, with particular emphasis on the history of marginalised groups: the working class, women, people of colour. I think the most valuable thing I took from my degree was an interest in what is now called Cultural History and an ability to discard accepted wisdoms and to think outside the box.
A: As well as your tremendously successful historical novels, Witch Child, Sorceress, Pirates and the upcoming Sovay for Bloomsbury, you've written lots of other novels for publishers like Scholastic and Macmillan, which could be characterised as "fantasy-horror". Tell us something about what attracts you to that genre, which is where I believe you began.
C: My first novels, published by Macmillan, were thrillers. I had this idea that, to get older teenagers to read, there should be a supply of sophisticated novels, almost adult in genre, style and content, but with teenagers at the centre of the narrative. The only books like this were American, and the most successful format seemed to be thrillers. I like thrillers, so I thought I'd have a go at writing one. From thrillers, I went on to the 'fantasy-horror', partly because I like horror, particularly the gothic, and I wanted to write a book about a vampire. And so on to historical fiction and fantasy proper, with a couple of 'real life' novels in between. I don't like writing the same thing, or sticking to one genre or type of writing. I go where the story takes me and the story will dictate the genre.
A: When you decided to write Witch Child, you moved to another publisher. Did you ever consider using a pseudonym for this new strain of writing?
C: Not really. I think pseudonyms just confuse everybody.
A: Is it a useful separation for you, writing a different kind of book for different publishers and do you think your readers understand it?
C: I don't know if readers understand it, but it has worked for me. It wasn't a conscious, literary decision - at the beginning, anyway. It started because I needed to make a living. I discovered that I could write more books in a year if I involved different publishers, but I could only do that if I wrote different kinds of books for them. The publishers wanted different things from me, so it worked out all right.
A: To return to the historical fiction, could you tell us something about Sovay, which is coming out in June?
Sovay began with a ballad of the same name which I first heard sung by the folk group, Pentangle, when I was at university. It is the story of a girl who dresses as a highwayman and holds up her lover, demanding that he hands over everything, including a ring she has given him. It is a test. If he gives her the ring, she will shoot him dead. Very romantic and dramatic and it has always stuck in my head. I wanted to write about Sovay, to give her a story, but when to set the novel? I chose 1794, at the height of the Revolution in France. This would allow me to bring in bigger themes and expand the scope of the story to include the turbulent and dangerous politics of the time and momentous historical events. It was also the height of the gothic novel ® so I couldn't resist adding a dash of that.
A: Female pirates, female highwaymen - do you have a feminist agenda?
C: It depends what you mean by a feminist agenda. I'm interested in women's history and re-discovering and re-interpreting their part in the past. I never write about anything that is not in the historical record. There were women pirates, highwaywomen, certainly witches. A lot of literature, particularly for young people is about people who are different, people who transgress in some way, who refuse to conform. I think this is what interests me, more than the fact that they are girls.
A: You've now added a third string to your bow with The Stone Testament (reviewed in this issue), a book that's hard to classify, but which is certainly closer to classic fantasy or SF even, since some of it is set in the future, even though not very far in the future. Will this be a continuing strand? Did you get satisfaction from writing in this new genre?
C: I always start with an idea, and that dictates the genre. I don't think I'm a natural fantasy writer and The Stone Testament was tough to write. I learnt a lot from the process, but I don't think I will be repeating the experience any time soon. Having said that, if I came up with an idea for another fantasy, I would have to go with it. It is dangerous to make up rules as far as writing is concerned, for yourself or for other people.
A: Do you have writers whom you admire who are working in your chosen genres? And who do you read for fun?
C: I do have writers whom I admire enormously. Writers for children and teenagers, particularly from the 'Golden Age' of Children's Fiction, include Philippa Pearce, Penelope Lively, Joan Aitken, Susan Price, Alan Garner, Ursula Le Guin, Robert Cormier ® there are just too many to mention. Writers for adults: Margaret Atwood, Annie Proulx, Carson McCullars, Cormac McCarthy, again, the list is long.
I'm wary of reading much historical fiction. I often find it irritating or off putting, and worry in case someone else's style comes creeping into mine, although I admire Rose Tremain and Ian Pears and I'm a huge admirer of Sarah Waters. I did read Stephen King when I embarked on 'fantasy horror', both his novels and writing on the genre, and a lot of thrillers early on. I still read American thrillers for fun. My current favourites are: Michael Connelly, John Connelly, Harlan Coben and James Lee Burke. I also read contemporary British writers like Ali Smith, Maggie O'Farrell, Hilary Mantel and I'm a big fan of Donna Tartt.
A: You must get a lot of fanmail; what do teenagers seem to appreciate most in your novels?
C: Often fans want to find out more about the books or characters, what happens next? Is there going to be a sequel? The letters I like most are those which tell me that although they are not keen readers, once they started my book (for whatever reason) they could not stop reading it. I know then that I have succeeded in what I set out to do.
A: How does a book begin for you - with a character, a place, an incident, or is it something vaguer?
C: A book often starts with a purely random thought that can be about a character, place or event. The initial thought is quickly followed by 'what if' something and the random thought is fitted into a context, characters are placed in a setting, settings are peopled by characters, events start happening and the story begins.
A: The Stone Testament last autumn, Sovay this summer, you seem very prolific. How many long novels can you complete in a year?
C: Not really, sometimes books get backed up for various reasons, like buses. I can only realistically complete one long book in a year.
A: Is there anything you can tell us about the next one? Is it fantasy-horror, historical or fantasy proper?
C: Historical with a touch of fantasy. Set at the end of the 16th Century and featuring a literary gent who used to live about ten miles from where I live now.
A: Are there yet more genres you'd like to have a go at?
C: I think I've covered most, except Romance, and I've never really been attracted to thatÄ
A: Your books have been very successful, you've been a full-time writer for over ten years and you do signing tours in the US and things like that. What are your remaining ambitions?
C: I would like one of my books to be made into a film, so when people ask me when's the film coming out, I can tell them. I would also like to have a go at writing an adult novel.