|
Writing
fiction is a passion for Pauline Fisk; a way of creating
a partnership between herself and her readers through the
pages of her novels- something that can never be found in
film, television or computer.
One
of her aims is to teach children to learn to love life through
books, as she herself did; extending the boundaries of the
real world by stretching young people's imaginations to
see that the world is full of wonder - and hope.
'There
really are boats like the Princess of Pengwerne in Sabrina
Fludde, waiting to take young readers through the seas
of their imagination, drawn to new horizons by the lure
of lore.' (Pauline Fisk)
Her
writing draws on her deep love of her local surroundings
- its landscape, people and legends are inextricably linked
with the stories she tells. Sabrina Fludde, for example,
sprang from Pauline's move to the medieval town of Shrewsbury
(Pengwern in the book) and her writing became an outlet
for the discoveries she was making about the history, folk-lore
and modern street life of her new home. It was also inspired
by the River Severn's legends and natural life. In particular
it grew out of the old railway bridge over the Severn, which
is 'every bit as creepy as the one in the book.'
Pauline Fisk's is an eerie imagination. Skilled
with atmosphere and setting, she gathers a whirling
pool of emotions and events, everything brushed
with a breath of otherworldliness, nothing simple
or safe.' 
|
|
|
Scotland
on Sunday
|
Growing
up in the suburbs of south London, Pauline was a quiet girl
with a huge imagination and a passion for storytelling that
was the only way she knew to overcome her shyness. She hated
school with a vengeance and was only happy in her own make-believe
world, until she discovered, at the age of nine, that stories
could also be written down. This almighty revelation led
to the momentous decision - to become an author, not 'when
I grow up' but right here, right now.
She
started by writing stories based around her favourite authors
at the time, Alan
Garner, Enid
Blyton and A.A.
Milne. She also spent hours searching for evidence
of fairy life and the reality of magic in the back garden,
scouring the sky for angels. A habit she has never lost.
Her
dream was to write like her heroes: Emily
Bronte, Dylan
Thomas, Tolkein.
She spent the next thirty years searching for her own voice,
whilst abandoning her bra, shoes and all other non-essential
items to live in Shropshire in the Sixties, living 'the
good life'. After marrying, having five children and spending
her time weaving tapestries, cloths and rugs, she returned
to writing via journalism.
However,
this was not what her dreams had been about, and finally
she felt she was ready to trust her own voice and write
her first novel: Midnight Blue. It went on to win
the Smarties prize and was shortlisted for the Whitbread
Children's Award.
Sabrina
Fludde is her sixth novel, the others include Telling
the Sea and The Candle House (both Lion Publishing).
'It's
a grand obsession this writing of books, and as long as
the stories spring up then the river never ends.' Pauline
Fisk
Biography
provided by Helen Dunning Publicist to Pauline Fisk on her
book Sabrina Fludde
|
