Sunday, May 31, 2020

Ruth Dugdall’s MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS is #163 in the never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION


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****Ruth Dugdall’s MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS is #163 in the never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific excerpt from a fiction genre and how that fiction writer wrote that specific excerpt.  All INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links are at the end of this piece

Name of fiction work? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us? MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS is the title Thomas Mercer (my publisher) eventually went with, although for a long time it was called FAMILY SNAP, as it’s about a dysfunctional family, and the central character - Sam - is a photography student. She’s trying to find out who attacked her sister, Jena, and is using her camera to take photos as ‘evidence.’
What are the dates you began writing this piece of fiction and when you completely finished the piece of fiction? I first had the idea back in 2008, when I saw a TV documentary about a teenage girl, whose sister had been attacked on the local estate and left brain-damaged. This girl, she was so angry and sad. The police had lost interest. The attacker, she believed, could be next to her when she was in the queue for milk at the local Spar. She was certain it was someone on the estate. 
So, that got me thinking…what if that girl had decided to take matters into her own hands? It’s true, that in small communities, someone always knows. 
The novel wasn’t published until 2017, so it’s been through a lot of changes, but the central theme has been constant. 


Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? Because I’ve been working on the idea for a long time, I’ve written in a variety of locations - including three countries! The UK, Luxembourg and America. I’m not precious about where I work; just today, I worked at the kitchen table, then outside in the garden, and now I’m in the dining room. I move around, as I like to be warm and I also like light. I follow the sun! I do have a small study, but I don’t often work there as the floor is wooden and slopped, and my chair is constantly wheeling away from the table!
(Bottom Middle:  Ruth Dugdall's writing study) 


What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? Because I’m now a professional writer, I work in the daytime, just like it’s a regular job. I can’t listen to music when I work, or the radio - for some reason, it pulls on the same part of my brain, and is too distracting. But I can have the TV playing, and I’ll often put a box set on and just let it run. I’m not fully concentrating, but it’s quite nice to have background chatter. I drink constantly - coffee, tea, water and squash - but not alcohol. I’ve been sober for over a year. 

What is the summary of this specific fiction work? Sam is seventeen, starving herself and longing for oblivion. Her sister, Jena, is mentally scarred and desperate to remember. Between them, they share secrets too terrible to recall.
Eighteen months earlier, Sam was still full of hope: hope that she could piece together Jena’s fragmented memory after the vicious attack that changed their family forever. But digging into the past unearthed long-hidden lies and betrayals, and left Sam feeling helpless and alone in a world designed to deceive her.
Now, in a last bid to save her from self-imposed shutdown, Sam’s therapist is helping her confront her memories. But the road to recovery is a dangerous one. Because Sam has not only been lying to her doctors: she’s been hiding dark secrets from herself.

Please include just one excerpt and include page numbers as reference.  This one excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer. I don’t want food now; I’ve risen above it. My body is so empty, so clean, as though my insides have been scrubbed with salt. I ache with hollowness; the air that travels in my intestines is pure, and my mind is clean of memory. I haven’t needed to shit or piss in days. I am simple and clean and perfect, and very, very tired. Sleep is no good for me, though; sleep is not oblivion from the news that came today.
I want to disappear. I close my eyes and wait.


Why is this excerpt so emotional for you as a writer to write?  And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific excerpt? This section is emotional to me, because it’s the point in the novel when the reader discovers that Sam is anorexic. For a long time this wasn’t the case, but somehow it evolved and felt completely right. Writing about anorexia, I felt a responsibility to get it right. I didn’t want to glorify the disease, I also didn’t want to write anything that was `triggering`, so these sections are carefully written. 
          Another thing, I was told to tone down the graphic nature of anorexia, and I made a decision not to. It cost me an earlier chance at being published, but I didn’t want to sanitize this terrible condition, which has such a high fatality rate. Eating disorders and mental health issues generally, need to be discussed. The best feedback I’ve received is from survivors of the disease, who say my portrayal is accurate. 

Other works you have published? Ruth's first novel, The James Version, (aka The Red Barn) is a historical fiction based on the actual murder of Maria Marten at the Red Barn in Suffolk. The story is re-told with a fresh light on who really killed Maria.

Her second novel, The Woman Before Me, won the Debut Dagger in 2005. It is the story of Rose Wilks, a female stalker imprisoned for killing a child, who claims to be innocent.
Her third novel, The Sacrificial Man, published in 2011. It is the story on an Internet suicide pact that goes wrong.

Humber Boy B, set in Ruth's birthplace Hull, was published in 2015 as was Nowhere Girl, which is set in Luxembourg, and Things You Didn’t See
Apart from The James Version, all of Ruth's books feature probation officer Cate Austin. "Probation officers have more face-to-face contact with criminals than any other profession," she says, "they are the unsung heroes of the Criminal Justice System."

Anything you would like to add? Please can you mention that MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS is currently just £1 on amazon kindle? 


Ruth Dugdall was born in Hull and studied English literature at Warwick University before training as a probation officer. She then took an MA in Social Work. Following this, she worked in the Criminal Justice System as a social worker then as a probation officer. Part of this time was spent seconded to a prison housing, serious offenders. She continues to work within the Criminal Justice System, most recently in Luxembourg.
     She decided to concentrate on her writing career when her novel The Woman Before Me won the 2005 Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award. Her novels are informed by her direct experiences working within the criminal justice system and are published internationally. My Sister and Other Liars is her sixth novel. Ruth lives in Suffolk with her husband and two children.
http://www.ruthdugdall.com/


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#163 05 31 2020
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MY SISTER & OTHER LIARS
by Ruth Dugdall
http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2020/05/ruth-dugdalls-my-sister-and-other-liars.html