An Interview with Author Ali Bacon

I met Ali Bacon when she joined Bristol Women's Writers and began her her first contemporary novel, A Kettle of Fish, set in Scotland. She followed this with In the Blink of an Eye which reimagines the life of an early Edinburgh photographer and was listed in the ASLS best Scottish books of 2018. Her writing is still strongly influenced by her Scottish roots and Linen Press has just shaped up The Absent Heart. I interviewed her about her continued success and her ability to keep writing over many years.

What is your forthcoming novel about?
The Absent Heart is about Robert Louis Stevenson’s relationship with his muse Frances Sitwell. 

Could you outline the story for us, without giving anything away? 

Frances Sitwell is relying on faithful but diffident Sidney Colvin to help her escape an abusive marriage when she meets the young Robert Louis Stevenson. Colvin becomes his mentor while she allows Louis to pour out his heart to her in letters. When Stevenson dies and those letters come to light, she is accused by Colvin of having been his friend’s mistress as well as his muse. As her ill-fated attempts at discretion come back to haunt her, she risks losing her reputation, her forthcoming marriage and her long-standing friendship with Stevenson’s wife.

That sounds absorbing and compelling! 

Yes, the book unpicks a complex Victorian love triangle while exploring themes of love, desire, romance and bromance. 

This is your second novel with Linen Press and both have included historic detail. What drives you to write novels about real people who had some fame in their time?

First of all, I had no real intention to write historical fiction which I thought would be way too hard (research research!) but while writing my very first (contemporary) novel A Kettle of Fish, I stumbled across the story of early photographers Hill and Adamson. I found their story, especially that of David Octavius Hill, utterly compelling and wanted to bring it to a wider audience. I even considered non-fiction, but as a novelist at heart, a novel is what I had to write. In the end, In the Blink of an Eye was a big challenge but also highly satisfying, so I thought I should have another go!

What made you choose your current heroine?

Our family always had a sentimental attachment to Robert Louis Stevenson (one of my ancestors knew him) and when I heard a radio drama in which he played a part, I considered him as a subject, but of course there is very little about him that hasn’t been explored, and I preferred to write what is in effect an ‘untold story’ about one of those thousands of women whom history has neglected up to now. Frances (Fanny) Sitwell appears in every R.L.S. biography but is mostly dismissed as a brief episode in his early life. In fact, they remained in touch, and in my eyes their early encounter reverberated throughout their lives and their other relationships. As the victim of an abusive marriage, Frances Sitwell is also a fascinating subject in terms of how she negotiated the difficulties and restrictions imposed by Victorian society. 

How have your Scottish roots influenced your writing?

Although I look back on my childhood with great happiness, when I first started writing (in the early 2000s) I didn’t see this as a particular source of inspiration.  It was only after a holiday to my home county of Fife that I realised my deep attachment to the places I frequented as a child and decided I should celebrate them in A Kettle of Fish. It was a happy coincidence that the characters in In the Blink of an Eye also had strong connections to Fife, albeit in a different age. It was a delight to revisit (mentally and physically!) my home town of Dunfermline and also St Andrews, where I spent four wonderful years. I think my instinct was also to convey not just the places but the voices I recalled from my youth. The Absent Heart, apart from the character of RLS himself, is actually my least Scottish novel so far!  However, it probably helped that I have a personal connection (through my sister) to the location in Suffolk where R.L.S. and Fanny Sitwell first met.

Frances Sitwell

What’s your favourite part of the writing process?

If I’m honest, apart from brief periods of the first draft when I feel I am in the zone, I really enjoy editing – taking those rough sentences and smoothing them out, removing the cliches or sloppy bits of writing ( we all do it!) and cutting out needless verbiage.  I firmly believe that however good the story, this process makes a massive difference to the end product. The reader won’t be consciously aware, but getting small things right is what makes reading a pleasure.  

Least favourite?
I do struggle with getting the plot in shape – or structural editing as it’s usually known. As a ‘pantser’  I write without a lot of detailed planning, so I always have to rewrite and restructure. You could call it reverse engineering! I don’t mind the rewriting, just the anguished moments in which I have to work out what the final shape is going to be. 

Tell us more about Linen Press, and when is publication day? 

Linen Press is a small indie publisher for quality fiction ‘by women, for women’. Since the demise of Virago I believe they are the only exclusively female publisher. I met director Lynn Michel some years ago and was absolutely delighted when she accepted In the Blink of an Eye especially as Avril Joy, one of my favourite writers, (check her out!)  is on their list. It was a single book deal so her accepting The Absent Heart was not a foregone conclusion. In fact Lynn did ask for some tweaks and changes of emphasis with which I was happy to comply as I trust her publisher’s instinct. Now we are down to our favourite task of close editing in which small changes are suggested and discussed. See above! We’re working towards publication in the early spring and I’m already exploring people, places and events who might help promote it. 

You've won short story prizes in the past, are you working on these now?

I have a historical short story in the forthcoming Linen Press anthology Skeins.

Anything longer in the pipeline?

I have an idea for a novel set in the 1970s, but so far it’s just an idea!

How can people keep in touch with you? 

I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@AliBacon) and Instagram (@alibwriter) but for sneak previews of the book and bonus material, readers can sign up to my Absent Heart newsletter which will run up to publication day and beyond. There’s a link on my website https://alibacon.com or use this one http://eepurl.com/iTCrNc

Don’t forget Ali’s other books are also available.

In the Blink of an Eye (ebook or paperback) from Linen Press Books. https://www.linen-press.com/shop/in-the-blink-of-an-eye/

or Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blink-Eye-Ali-Bacon/dp/0993599729

A Kettle of Fish, (Kindle or paperback) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kettle-Fish-Ali-Bacon/dp/1781768625/.(Both are also available from WOB)

Read about Ali here; https://www.linen-press.com/authors/ali-bacon/

Thank you so much Ali Bacon and huge good luck with your new book!