I am delighted to welcome Belinda Hunt onto the website today. Belinda is an author and founding partner of MardiBooks, the independent publisher run by writers for writers.
Alex: Belinda, tell us a bit about yourself.
Belinda: I have always written. Short stories, poems, a novel and now a second novel on the way... and of course had the wonderful luxury of studying literature at University. Knowledge has always been a great currency for me.
My family are great readers and I grew up in London and the provinces surrounded by learning, knowledge and books. The smell of leather bindings, wooden shelves, dusty pages... joyous sensory memories; recitals with my grandparents... their voices resonating in my core with myriad classical texts from the Western Canon and beyond... discovering the world through the experiences of the generation which fought both wars gave me a fascination for exploring world culture and human nature...
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Belinda: I am enormously influenced by satire, parody and human frailty...both on a global and personal scale and this influenced my earlier thinking and writing. From Pope to Python, I guess... and I am a great lover of Waugh and Wilde.
I love stories. I think Hemingway is maybe one of the greatest storytellers...
and as a teacher I cannot ignore the impact of Shakespeare as a craftsman of character and human frailty.
The resilience of man and the triumph of small things becomes more important as I get older and with this, more contemporary writers...The patterns of our lives become oxymoronically more complex and yet more simplistic... the human condition ultimately satirising our own existence maybe?
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Belinda: Both! I am a planner and a thinker but am happy to evolve and move position as stories unfold.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Alex: Belinda, tell us a bit about yourself.
Belinda: I have always written. Short stories, poems, a novel and now a second novel on the way... and of course had the wonderful luxury of studying literature at University. Knowledge has always been a great currency for me.
My family are great readers and I grew up in London and the provinces surrounded by learning, knowledge and books. The smell of leather bindings, wooden shelves, dusty pages... joyous sensory memories; recitals with my grandparents... their voices resonating in my core with myriad classical texts from the Western Canon and beyond... discovering the world through the experiences of the generation which fought both wars gave me a fascination for exploring world culture and human nature...
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Belinda: I am enormously influenced by satire, parody and human frailty...both on a global and personal scale and this influenced my earlier thinking and writing. From Pope to Python, I guess... and I am a great lover of Waugh and Wilde.
I love stories. I think Hemingway is maybe one of the greatest storytellers...
and as a teacher I cannot ignore the impact of Shakespeare as a craftsman of character and human frailty.
The resilience of man and the triumph of small things becomes more important as I get older and with this, more contemporary writers...The patterns of our lives become oxymoronically more complex and yet more simplistic... the human condition ultimately satirising our own existence maybe?
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Belinda: Both! I am a planner and a thinker but am happy to evolve and move position as stories unfold.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Belinda: I am writing a psychological thriller...based on two sisters. A family tragedy resulting in jealousies creates patterns in the girls' childhoods from which entrenched positions push them apart to the point where one must consume the other to survive...
The idea came fully formed to me, influenced by a fragment of a life story relayed to me by an elderly lady, in a dark corridor of a haunted house, many years ago...
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Belinda: The Hobbit. I was seven and entranced by it...the characters, the story, the concept of integrity... I think certain books frame our world view... this was one for me.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Belinda: A mixture. Start with fact... always... then see where it takes us. I think in poetry this is enormously important as the language is so concise, we cannot be a waffling serialist...we hunt for the exact meaning and spear it. The same with stories... to take your audience on a journey, you must rely on knowledge or stereotype. The latter these days proves to be enormously problematic... even in fantasy and imagination, we must tether ourselves somewhere... Research helps us ground our writing in something recognisable to the reader...
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Belinda: In some way we all do... but in the letter of your question, no... not specifically... I am neither historian nor biographer!
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Belinda: Catch 22 keeps doing it for me... I love to re-read...
Alex: How do you market your books?
Belinda: Not enough! I love creating the work...marketing it takes time and energy away from the next genesis. And this is why we set up mardibooks.com in 2011... in order to publish and share the experience with other writers.
We sell on our website, on Amazon and through traditional booksellers and of course our books are available in libraries.
We have built up a base of approx 250 writers, whom we have published in ebook and some of whose books we have published in hard copy as well. Over the past 10 years we have created writing workshops with and for various arts charities and run open mic and book signing events as well as holding virtual launches.
The idea came fully formed to me, influenced by a fragment of a life story relayed to me by an elderly lady, in a dark corridor of a haunted house, many years ago...
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Belinda: The Hobbit. I was seven and entranced by it...the characters, the story, the concept of integrity... I think certain books frame our world view... this was one for me.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Belinda: A mixture. Start with fact... always... then see where it takes us. I think in poetry this is enormously important as the language is so concise, we cannot be a waffling serialist...we hunt for the exact meaning and spear it. The same with stories... to take your audience on a journey, you must rely on knowledge or stereotype. The latter these days proves to be enormously problematic... even in fantasy and imagination, we must tether ourselves somewhere... Research helps us ground our writing in something recognisable to the reader...
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Belinda: In some way we all do... but in the letter of your question, no... not specifically... I am neither historian nor biographer!
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Belinda: Catch 22 keeps doing it for me... I love to re-read...
Alex: How do you market your books?
Belinda: Not enough! I love creating the work...marketing it takes time and energy away from the next genesis. And this is why we set up mardibooks.com in 2011... in order to publish and share the experience with other writers.
We sell on our website, on Amazon and through traditional booksellers and of course our books are available in libraries.
We have built up a base of approx 250 writers, whom we have published in ebook and some of whose books we have published in hard copy as well. Over the past 10 years we have created writing workshops with and for various arts charities and run open mic and book signing events as well as holding virtual launches.
We provide internships for students wanting to get into the publishing world and they support us with their skills in social media as well as learning the trade.
We are always keen to hear from students as well as from writers seeking networking and publishing platforms to help them grow and develop.
You can take a look at our bookshop here where you can search under your favorite genre.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Belinda: Art... I am training to become an Art Psychotherapist and work as an Art Historian as well... My family, whom I adore are wonderfully supportive with my creative energies... Unwind? What is that? You can view my art work here.
Alex: Which authors do you particularly admire and why?
Belinda: Storytellers; those with depth and resonance... characters, places, plots... evocations... use of English... as a craft. Margaret Atwood; Jeanette Winterson; Alice Walker; Pat Barker; John Steinbeck; Earnest Hemmingway; Toni Morrison; Saul Bellow; Ian McEwan; William Boyd; Sebastian Faulkes.
Alex: Thank you so much for sharing this with us Belinda.
Belinda: It's my pleasure.
We are always keen to hear from students as well as from writers seeking networking and publishing platforms to help them grow and develop.
You can take a look at our bookshop here where you can search under your favorite genre.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Belinda: Art... I am training to become an Art Psychotherapist and work as an Art Historian as well... My family, whom I adore are wonderfully supportive with my creative energies... Unwind? What is that? You can view my art work here.
Alex: Which authors do you particularly admire and why?
Belinda: Storytellers; those with depth and resonance... characters, places, plots... evocations... use of English... as a craft. Margaret Atwood; Jeanette Winterson; Alice Walker; Pat Barker; John Steinbeck; Earnest Hemmingway; Toni Morrison; Saul Bellow; Ian McEwan; William Boyd; Sebastian Faulkes.
Alex: Thank you so much for sharing this with us Belinda.
Belinda: It's my pleasure.
