An Interview with Sue Guiney

One of the most interesting things about blogging is watching other people's lives unfold and it's always fascinating to read about people whose lives are full and focused.

Sue Guiney is just this. She already has one novel under her belt, Tangled Roots. She writes poetry and poetry plays, as well as being Artistic Director of CurvingRoad which finds new talent for the theatre and helps launch their careers.. And if this isn't enough, she plays violin in an orchestra . And that's just the stuff I know about. Now she's written a second book, A Clash of Innocents, which is set in Cambodia. It follows the story of Deborah who runs an orphanage of forty children - 'leftover children of Camodia's violent past'. Deborah is a no nonsense woman who gets things done. But when a troubled young American woman turns up at the orphanage offering to help, she is forced to confront her past as well as her future.

Against the backdrop of Cambodia’s violent past and the beginnings of its new Tribunal for 'justice', a story of displaced souls unfolds. In Cambodia, innocents are everywhere. Everyone is innocent, or so they would like to believe – everyone, except the few who, for their own private reasons, take on the guilt of the many.

I asked Sue a few questions.

Q. I loved the character of Deborah. She's strong and she's brave. Did you have a real life inspiration for this character?

Deborah is an amalgam of several people. There was a woman I met in Cambodia who does run a charity there, although not a children's shelter, and she is a bit no-nonsense and larger than life. But her work comes from a deep religious impulse and I began to wonder what a person would be like who had chosen that life but didn't have that strong belief system to fall back on. I combined her with several other strong, older women I have known from various places and parts of my life. That's the fun part - picking and choosing bits of personalities and putting them together to create a new whole.

Q. Deborah lives very much in the now. Both she and her sister are immensely practical women who get things done. You strike me as very practical too. How do you manage to stay focused in your creative life?

Ha. I wish! Actually, the combination of being a mother of 2 very different aged boys (there are 7 years between them), an expat and a writer forced me to become a bit of an “efficiency expert.” I‘ve become very good at time management and have learned to focus on 1 thing at a time. Sometimes I joke that if I could only find a way to harness this into a job, I’d be pretty rich by now. The downside, though, is that I find it difficult to do more than 1 thing at a time, and that can get annoying for others.

Q. One of the other main themes of the book is letting go. Not only of the past but of children who are growing up. As the mother of an eighteen year old, the 'learning to let go' resonated with me. Is that something you tussled with yourself?

That brings up one of the joyous mysteries of writing. When I started “A Clash of Innocents,” I had no idea that some of it would be concerned with this issue of letting your children fly off into their own adult lives. But at the time of writing, I was going through the “applying to uni” experience, and then the “bringing to uni” experience with my younger son, and all that personal angst poured into the novel. That’s what makes a piece of writing really compelling, I think – when there is something truly personal woven throughout it, and something unforeseen.

Q. I loved the descriptions of the children in the orphanage and following their routines. Tell me a bit about your daily routine. Is there a typical 'Sue day'?

Now that I am an “empty nester” my routine is more regularized than it was when I lived my life at the whims and needs of my children. Now, after 26 years of childrearing, I finally allow myself to wake up without an alarm clock, which means I get up around 8. This is the biggest self-indulgence of my life! Then I usually grab my blackberry (sad but true) and spend 30-40 minutes answering emails, even before I get out of bed. Then I shower and dress (unless I’m exercising first) and go eat breakfast while I read blogs. All that means that I don’t get to my desk until 10.30 or so. My mornings now are doing admin/business associated either with promoting the new book or CurvingRoad’s latest play. When I’m in writing mode (which I can’t seem to do while I’m promoting a book) I use the 3 hours of the morning to write. Afternoons are about business meetings, errands, more emails, etc. My husband always works late, so evenings are also then free to meet with people or do more blogging or correspondence. To be honest, it seems I’m always working these days. Not a bad thing, but there is something to be said for balance, which I don’t seem to have right now – unless I’m doing my yoga practice 2 afternoons a week!

Q. I remember seeing a photo on your blog of all your lovely Black n Red notebooks lined up. Do you still write your first draft in longhand?

Absolutely! I love my notebooks. Nothing makes me feel more like a writer than sitting with a pencil in my hand, my notebook on my lap, and staring blankly into space.

Q. Tell me a bit about your writing environment. Is it neat and tidy? And what is your nibble of choice whilst writing?

I moved into my older son’s room once he moved out and turned it into an office. It’s orderly without being too neat, I think. Everything has its place but everything is everywhere. When I sit at my desk I look at a wall with a corkboard covered with memorabilia from my writing life – early acceptance letters, flyers from theatrical productions, calendars of upcoming dates, postcards of my books, funny newspaper clippings that make me smile. There’s always a bottle of Evian at my side, but I don’t eat while I work. I force myself to walk the 2 flights downstairs to the kitchen if I get hungry.

Thank you Sue. It's a great book. The backdrop of Cambodia is fascinating and informative and the characters are as real as they could be. When it was time to leave them, I was sad to say goodbye.

Thank you so much, Lane. It’s been great being here and having a chance to chat with you. I’ve followed your blog for years, so it’s especially wonderful to feel more connected in this way!

A Clash of Innocents is available from her publisher www.wardwoodpublishing.co.uk and from Amazon, Book Depository or bookshops throughout Britain. Sue Guiney's blog can found here and her website here at www.sueguiney.com