Interview: Helen Smith, Author of The Miracle Inspector - Page 2

Do you have a favorite line or excerpt that you would like to share from your book?

There’s a clip of me reading an excerpt from The Miracle Inspector on YouTube. It’s a scene in which Lucas’s godfather, Jesmond, visits an underground poetry in London. Jesmond is on the run and is something of a hero to the young people who go to hear him perform his work. One of my favorite lines is this: "He hadn’t realised that the ordinary little things that happened, the ones that took place between the big events while waiting for something more exciting to happen–they were the most important, after all."

What are some of your favorite ways to promote your work?

I love doing readings at literary events and festivals. I host a regular event called The Literary Cabaret which features a mix of readings from award-winning authors and music from singer Kate Arneil; we’ll be appearing at The Bloomsbury Festival in London in October. I’m a proud Literary Death Match champion and, having won a contest with a reading from my book Alison Wonderland last year, I have been invited back to judge literary merit at Literary Death Match in London in September.

I’m planning to visit New York in October and I’ll do some readings there. I’ll also be appearing at the Royal Festival Hall in London in December. People can’t always travel to see me read at events, of course, so I have found that doing virtual tours on book blogs are a great way to meet and interact with readers and promote my work.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

I try to write a thousand words a day. Some days, when it’s going well, I can do more than that. Some days I hardly write anything at all. I don’t much like the planning stage of writing a book. I like the writing when it’s going well. Editing is my favourite part: revisiting something that has already been written and polishing it.

What are some ways that you like to relax?

One of my best friends has a house in Somerset, near Glastonbury, and I go down there with friends and family when I want to escape from London. I love London, but sometimes it’s nice to have a change of air. We have boozy parties and sit around laughing and talking late into the night. Actually, that doesn’t sound very relaxing. But it’s fun.

Article Author: April Pohren

April lives in Iowa and is the stay-at-home mom of two young children. An avid book lover since she was able to hold a book, she has fallen in love with blogging and book reviewing. Her own little piece of the world is at Cafe of Dreams where she …

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