Interview with Alison Weir
On the 29th of June at Waterstones L1, a best selling historical fiction and non-fiction author came to talk about her new book, Elizabeth of York the last White Rose. Yes, this actor was Alison Weir the famous Novelist and historian.
Zillo young reporter Georgia attended the event and interviewed Weir and here is what she had to report back:
Zillo: Out of your total of you 34 books, which one is your favorite?
Weir: I usually say the one Ive just done but looking back it would be my non-fiction The Lady in the Tower, The fall of Anne Boleyn because it was wonderful to have a scope of the whole book to write about 3 or 4 months in forensic detail because I really found that fascinating.
Zillo: Do you enjoy going into detail then?
Weir: I do like detail yes. I like to put it in because it brings things to life, adds colour and makes things live, people can visualize. However my publishers told me people won’t be interested in that, they won’t want to know that so a lot of that gets edited out
Zillo: Dont understand why, i’m very interested in every little detail in your books
Weir: Thank you, I absolutely agree
Zillo: Why are you so interested in the tudors?
weir: well you couldn’t make this story up, its a larger than life dynasty, dynamic characters, highly intelligent people, highly motivated and ambitious. And they’re very colorful, very energetic and charismatic. But not just that, its a period of history that we have a good visual record for much like Hans Holbein’s portraits and we’ve got the remains of these magnificent palaces and we can imagine some of their lifestyle. And its also a period of which we’ve got a good written record, this is an age with the spread of printing and diplomacy which means lots of letters and information. And Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon brought royal marriage into public focus basically for the first time in our history. Unforntuantely, we don’t have all of the details we’d like to know but we’ve got the visual record. And a King with 6 wives that he beheads 2 and a young girl in 1670 who becomes Queen for 9 days, Elizabeth the I and her reign
Zillo: It honestly is such a powerful story
Weir: It really is and it gets me mad hone people make films and change it. Ive spoken out on this several times and a film director said it was demeaning to keep the facts. How is it demeaning? It sells short those who know a lot and those who know a little.
Zillo: I think this is a difficult question because its such a big topic but what is your favorite Tudor story?
Weir: My favorite would be Elizabeth the I because she’s such a dynamic character and there’s much to like about her. I mean she could be an absolute swine but I do admire her s much she’s a real survivor and she had a terribly difficult childhood and she became a great queen in many many ways. But as I mentioned earlier, I also find Anne Boleyn’s story compelling, I know a lot of other people do to she’s a very popular character.
Zillo: Do you have any tips for new writers or people interested?
Weir: Yes, write about what you know about, if you’re writing fiction then show rather than tell. Don’t just say Anne Boleyn was angry, show her clenching her fist or her face going hot. But most importantly, never give up. Keep going because I got demoralized when my book took years to print and I stopped finishing products but don’t let that happen. I would just say never give up, show rather than tell and write about what you really know about.
Zillo: If those are your tips for writing then what’s your favorite thing about writing?
Weir: Oh the creative side of it definitely and also the research, I love the research and I tend to go off on tangents in a book which is a start of another book there. I just love that putting something together and making something new of it. I never know where it’ll take me and that’s the exciting bit. So when I propose a book I say, this is how I see the story line but it may well change while i’m at it.
Zillo: You’ve got lots of knowledge so how long have you been writing for?
Weir: well really, Ive been writing from 1965 but that was as a hobby and I wouldn’t want anyone to see what I wrote back then. And I first published in 1989 and this is my 34th book so i’m pinching myself that this actually happened. My first book had lots of rejections at the beginning, my first Six wives I submitted in 1974 and 1024 pages not double spaced. And nowadays it would be like, 500 pages double spaced so you can get the idea.
Zillo: Was there a particularly memorable rejection?
Weir: Oh yes, one came back saying there was a world paper shortage which was a bit ridiculous and my publishers have laughed about it ever since. You think you’re going to launch yourself on the world the you’re young but it doesn’t work, you’ve got to work for it. And be prepared to take advice, if somebody rejects a book it might not be because its a bad book. It might be because the publishers have already got a person writing a similar book and they can’t have someone competing. But always ask for advice and why your book has been rejected, they may not always tell you but its always good to ask.
Zillo: so it not easy at all then is it?
Weir: No, my publisher once told method out of 1000 unsolicited manuscripts a year, only 2 get published. You’ve got be in the right place, right time, right people, right product which is really difficult.
