We were delighted to interview the lovely Ruth Leigh, a Suffolk-based author inspired by Felixstowe who recently published two books! Here she is to tell us more...
As a freelance writer, based in rural East Suffolk, I’ve spent the last fourteen years writing blogs, content and articles for various clients, including quite a few right here in the county. Living in such a beautiful place certainly inspires me but when people asked me, “Ruth, why don’t you write a novel?” I’d make a face and shrug, claiming that fiction wasn’t for me. I don’t know why, as I’ve been a voracious reader since the age of four and suffer from abibliophobia (the fear of running out of reading material). I’ve also spent years interviewing people and scripting just the right questions to get the story, so I’m very grateful to the lovely people at The Felixstowe Magazine for asking me some questions for a change. Here we go!
What inspired you to start writing?
My inspiration was lockdown. In March 2020, both of my income streams pretty much dried up and I was left with lots of time on my hands. I wrote a blog about a joke character, Isabella M Smugge (as in Bruges), a terribly successful and annoying writer living in a large Georgian house set in a weed-free garden. It went down well and two months later I wrote another blog and mentioned her again. I got a message from a literary agent saying he thought she would make a good novel and would I like to write two sample chapters and a story arc. A few weeks later, he got me a publishing deal and my first novel, the Diary of Isabella M Smugge, came out in January this year. The sequel, The Trials of Isabella M Smugge was published in October.
What genre do you prefer to write about?
I love humour as a genre, I must say. I always quote that line from Mansfield Park. “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery.” There’s a place for serious writing, of course, but I like to make people laugh and forget their cares for a while.
Tell us about your new book?
The Trials of Isabella M Smugge takes up our heroine’s story straight after end of book one. Issy Smugge is an insanely successful influencer and Instamum who moves from London with her handsome, hedge fund manager husband Johnnie, Latvian au pair Sofija and three children. She’s all about the hashtags, filters and followers, but her dreams of a perfect life in the country don’t come true. I left book one on a massive cliff-hanger and my lovely readers were left hanging for eight months until Trials came out and answered at least some of their questions. In this book, Isabella is in her second year in the country. She goes on Radio Suffolk, makes friends on the playground, has a wild night out in Ipswich with the toddler mums at a nightclub called Fluid, and tries to negotiate village life.
Was there anything specific that inspired this book?
I suppose book two was inspired by book one! I enjoyed writing it so much that the minute I finished it, I opened up a new document on my laptop and wrote the first few pages of the sequel. Living in Suffolk definitely inspires me as a creative writer. No two days are the same. I live in a hamlet on the outskirts of a village and we’re surrounded by beautiful scenery. It really helps me when I’m writing. My fifteen years in Suffolk, arriving in a new community with a toddler and a baby, negotiating the school run and making new friends, running the toddler group and being involved in all aspects of village life have most certainly influenced Issy Smugge’s experiences.
What are the connections to Felixstowe?
They say, “Write what you know” (whoever “they” are) and I enjoy dropping in local references that I know my Suffolk readers will get. In book one, Isabella and her family take off on a spontaneous trip to the beach for fish and chips, and I have to say that Felixstowe was in my mind when I wrote that scene. When the children were tiny, we always headed to Old Felixstowe for fish and chips, a bit of crabbing and a ride on the ferry. We graduated to the pier and Manning’s Amusements when they were old enough and as we’re only twenty minutes away, it’s our go-to choice for a bit of beach fun or shopping even now. Also one of our favourite Indian restaurants is located there. Issy Smugge isn’t averse to a bit of fusion South Asian cuisine, so I may well send her there for some mango chicken in book three.
I can’t imagine ever living anywhere else but Suffolk. The coast, the salty tang of fresh air straight off the North Sea, the aroma of fish and chips, beautiful heaths and forests and woodland – everything a writer could possibly ever want is here.
Do you have any interesting stories during your career as a writer?
Probably the two most interesting face-to-face interviewees I’ve met are Lord Edmiston who I interviewed at Luton Hoo, and Julia Immonen, a Sky Sports News presenter. Lord Edmiston told me about his journey of Christian faith, his meteoric rise to huge wealth and his desire to give away as much of his money as possible. He was an inspiration, very counter-cultural.
Julia Immonen told me something I’ve never forgotten. She went to a conference about people trafficking and was horrified by the scale of it. She felt helpless in the face of such a huge global issue, but said to herself, “Use what is in your hand.” In her case, that was the fact that she was very sporty and worked in the media. She and five other women rowed across the Atlantic to raise awareness and founded Row for Freedom. I borrowed that phrase for Isabella and apply it to my own life, often. Closer to home, I joined an organisation called ACW several years ago and went to my first Writer’s Day in Derby. Massively over-excited at being in the same room as lots of actual published authors, I bought a shedload of their works from the small, enthusiastic Scottish woman running the bookstall and accidentally nicked one of hers in the process! I realised my crime on the train home, messaged her and so began a great friendship. She proudly calls herself, “ACW’s Most Stolen Author”, which indeed she is. I did pay for the book eventually; can I just say!
For aspiring writers, what advice can you give?
The best advice I can give is what Stephen King says in his excellent book, On Writing. “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” In addition to that, I’d say network and get to know as many people as possible. You can be the best writer in the world, but if no-one knows about you, they can’t buy your books. I’ll be offering writing workshops from next year in my newly built writing cabin and one of those will be about how to market yourself and sell more books, or whatever written product it is you offer.
How can people find out more about you and buy your book?
To find out more about my thrilling world and to read my blogs and book reviews, you can visit my website at www.ruthleighwrites.co.uk. Signed copies of my books, along with edible merch, are also available there and you can buy them at Woodbridge Emporium and Halesworth Bookshop, and of course online. To find me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, it’s @ruthleighwrites. I absolutely love hearing from readers.
COMPETITION TO WIN RUTH'S BOOKS!
A huge thank you for Ruth for her time and insight into her life as an author. Ruth, generous lass that she is, is kindly agreed to run a competition with us, offering a signed copy of both of her Isabella M Smugge books! For a chance to win, all you have to do is answer this question:
Julia rowed the Atlantic Ocean for her Row for Freedom expedition. At its widest, how wide is the Atlantic Ocean from the UK to America?
Email your answer to info@thefelixstowemagazine.com by December 7th.
Good luck to you all!
