Jo Derrick

Former editor/publisher of QWF, Cadenza and The Yellow Room. Flash fiction and short story writer.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag In an old castle, as long as it was inhabited by lots of other people. I think I'd be too scared being in a cottage in the woods!

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag I think the more you read and the more you write, the more you improve. I write solely for pleasure and if I get published, it's a bonus.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag I used to request new books from the library for this very purpose. Just lately, however, I've been buying books again. I have been following the book recommendations of my current favourite writer, John Boyne.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna. I'll be starting it in a few minutes time!

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag I like to keep the number of characters to a minimum. Once I've pictured them in my head, I can also hear their voices. Children's voices are distinctly different from adults', so quite easy to write, I find.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag No good news, but can't wait for January to be over!

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag Another difficult question! My favourite decade - the 1970s!

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@ThompsonEirin @TheFriendMag @jennieg_author Love that book!

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@Jenni_Gregory4 @TheFriendMag Have you tried John Boyne's books? If not, start with Water, then Earth, then Fire. They're all novella length. The Heart's Invisible Furies is amazing, but quite long.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag A difficult question! I don't usually get reading slumps. I guess I had a bit of one straight after my op last year and could only read very light stuff. A Freya North novel was the first book I read post op.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag I love a deadline! I write best under pressure.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag I mostly read in bed or on the settee in the lounge. I tend to write at my PC in my office. I love writing longhand in my notebook either by the sea or in a pub!!

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag Definitely not!! So many celebrities are writing novels now. I'm sure they don't get dozens of rejections!

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag January has felt like a very long month so far, and I've started dipping my toe in the water writing-wise after cancer treatment.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@_MikeMcCartney_ Happy Birthday! Xx

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@HelenYendall @TheFriendMag Ooh! I do hope so! We're away the last week in May, so hope it doesn't clash!

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag Yes! The Other Elizabeth Taylor by Nicola Beauman is a particular favourite. Margaret Forsters books are great, as are her husband's, Hunter Davies' The CoOp's Got Bananas. The Tom Jones autobiography is very good.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag Going for walks, reading lots, getting my hair done, having a weekend break with my husband and meeting friends and family for lunch.

[Jo Derrick @yellowjo]

@TheFriendMag Definitely a reading plan...to finish reading all of John Boyne's books. I also want to rewrite my novel and publish my third short story collection, health permitting!