Janey Fraser began her writing career as a journalist. She has had hundreds of short stories published in women's magazines and was also writer in residence of a high-security male prison for three years. She is currently a royal literary fellow at Exeter University and lives with her second husband by the sea in Devon. She has three children and a dog. After the Honeymoon (Arrow, £7.99) is her ninth published novel. It's about one honeymoon destination; three couples; and six secrets. janeyfraser.co.uk
What was the first book to make an impression on you?
Eric, or, Little by Little, by Frederic W Farrar. It was on my parents' bookshelf and I read it when I had bronchitis at the age of eight. It made me cry buckets – and not because of the penicillin injections which, in those days, they jabbed in your bottom!
What was your favourite book as a child?
There were so many! If I had to whittle it down, Alice in Wonderland would be on my shortlist. I longed to look just like Alice and have all those wonderful adventures. Instead, I made do, by pretending that the side passage down our suburban house in Harrow Weald, was a secret world.
And what is your favourite book or books now?
Anything by Anne Tyler or Lisa Jewell.
What is your favourite quotation?
“Weeping for the past is useless. Weeping for the present merely dulls your eyes so you see less clearly into the future.” My mother left me this saying, written in beautiful copperplate writing, when she died at 56.
Who is your favourite fictional character?
Jane Eyre. As a schoolgirl, I was drawn to her because we had the same first name and were equally conventional. at least, on the surface.
Who is the most under-rated Irish author?
I’m not sure about under-rated. They are probably queuing up because the Irish have an ear for writing. But I adored Maeve Binchy’s books, especially those published in the eighties and nineties.
Which do you prefer – ebooks or the traditional print version?
Print. I need to turn a page. My husband thinks otherwise but that’s because he’s fed up of paying my surcharges at the airport.
What is the most beautiful book you own?
A book of sayings that my mother used to own. It's called Daily Strength for Daily Needs, selected by Mary W Tileston and was first published in 1904. My mother's best friend's mother gave it to her, soon after my grandmother died. Mummy was nine at the time. It's full of inspiration – some are religious and others are just good common sense. It's rather battered, however, so it's beautiful in the emotional sense rather than physical. I keep it by my bed. The pages are stuffed with bits of paper that are important to me like my children's early drawings.
Where and how do you write?
At the top of the house in my study overlooking the sea. However, I’m going to rent a room in the local arts centre soon because I have to run down three flights of steps if someone knocks on the door. Then my concentration is interrupted.
What book changed the way you think about fiction?
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It's based on a real story about a man who visits his dying professor every Tuesday and gleans words of wisdom. It's meant to be fact but it reads like a moving piece of fiction too.
What is the most research you have done for a book?
I did quite a lot for The Playgroup by sitting in on different nursery "classes" and reminding myself of the way that small children talked. It was very funny. There was always one little girl who hogged the dressing-up box.
What book would you give to a friend’s child on their 18th birthday?
Tuesdays with Morrie. See above.
What book do you wish you had read when you were young?
I wish I'd found Trollope when I was younger. I didn't come across him until my late twenties. I delayed the birth of my first baby by telling myself that I wouldn't go into hospital – despite having contractions – until I'd finished the last page of the Barchester Chronicles.
What advice would you give to an aspiring author?
Find a humdinger of a plot; write every day; make something happen in each chapter; create characters that reach out to people; give them each a problem; revise extensively; read it out loud.
What weight do you give reviews?
I can’t help but be swayed by them if they’re my own books. Otherwise, I’ve learned to make up my own mind.
Where do you see the publishing industry going?
Digitally. Also self-published although, hopefully, with a quality assurance mark.
What writing trends have struck you lately?
I’m not sure about trends but I keep feeling disillusioned about the lack of pace and an emphasis on character introspection at the expense of a good story.
What lessons have you learned about life from reading?
You need to take time out in order to treasure each word. Also, nice people in life aren’t always so. “Baddies” might have a reason for their difficult behaviour.
What has being a writer taught you?
That I couldn’t – or wouldn’t want to – do anything else. That makes me feel very lucky. However, I’ve also learned that other people don’t always see it as a “proper job”. Luckily, my husband is very supportive. In fact, he’s doing the ironing right now.
Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Dickens, who knew my great great great grandfather, Mark Lemon Romer, who was the first editor of Punch; MLR himself; Jane Austen; Anne Tyler; the poet Wendy Cope; Chaucer; and Fay Weldon, who's been a friend since I interviewed her years ago for the Daily Express.
What is the funniest scene you’ve read?
Most of Scoop by Evelyn Waugh. It got me through my A levels.
What is your favourite word?
Yes. I’m very bad at saying “no” when people ask me to do something (provided it’s legal and doesn’t go against my own moral values).
If you were to write a historical novel, which event or figure would be your subject?
Actually, I have one in mind right now but I’m not going to say who it is because I never talk about a book before I write it. All I will say is that she is a little-known Victorian woman who did an extraordinary thing.
