Here are some FAQ in order of frequency!

Is the book autobiographical?
No, it’s not autobiographical at all. I was inspired by the place I grew up in and what I know about Bournemouth Hotels, but I think a lot of writers are inspired by what they know and the place they are from.

Do you use a pen name?
No. I use my real name.

Where do you get your ideas from?
It’s not really a question of finding the key to a secret stock of ideas! I think everything is an idea: rubbish blowing in the street, the tiny leaves at the top of a tree, the way waves shine in the sun. It’s important for a writer to have his or her eyes open and to look.

Did you really grow up in a hotel?
My parents ran self-catering holiday flatlets from 1978 – 1987. That means that guests came to stay but they cooked for themselves – we didn’t have a restaurant and we didn’t make breakfasts. Saturdays were very busy days, because it was check in / check out day and there was lots to clean as every room had a bathroom, and a kitchen with a fridge and a cooker. I hated cleaning the fridges. I can still remember the smell and the way the Jif and water made my hands wrinkle, but I’m sure I didn’t actually work very hard at all!

When did you first start to write?
There’s a simple answer to this one: I can’t remember. I know I had notebooks when I was seven or eight and that I used to write stories and poems in them, but I don’t remember when I started. I used to write poetry and by the time I got to university, I already thought of myself as a writer. I think that I developed over a long period of time, but it was after I had a serious operation in 1999 that I decided that I was going to change jobs and make time for my writing.

Did doing the MA at The University of East Anglia help you a lot?
Yes it did, because what I wanted was a way of structuring not only the writing itself but also my life as a writer. It definitely gave me that. It was hard work, as I worked three or four days a week, went to Norwich one day and wrote at weekends, and it was very intensive, but it was just the push I needed to get me writing my novel. I started to trust myself more and the people around me encouraged me and saw something in my work which I hadn’t seen before myself. I also sold my first novel while I was still at UEA and winning the Curtis Brown Bursary helped me to do that. It has been a very different experience writing my second novel because obviously I no longer have that support structure around me; I'm much more on my own this time.

What are you writing at the moment?
I’m writing my second novel.

What are you reading at the moment?
I am doing my PhD at the moment so I am reading a lot of material for that which is very interesting, but quite heavy going. I am also reading Why Don’t You Stop Talking by Jackie Kay and Kate Atkinson’s collection Not the End of the World. I have just got hold of Women Who Kept the Lights which is about women who ran lighthouses in America. I’m excited about that as it’s research for my next book.

What else do you like to read?
I love Toni Morrison and have recently decided to re-read all of her novels as they are so wonderful. He’s wildly different I know, but I've also liked Douglas Adams since I was in sixth form. Each time I’ve been in hospital I’ve found myself coming back to sci-fi, like Red Dwarf. Other writers I love include Michèle Roberts, Jeanette Winterson, Ali Smith and Kate Atkinson.

What should I do if I want to get into writing?
First of all: write (it sounds silly, but talking about it is wasting time – all you need is a pen and paper!). Second: read. When I was nineteen I went on a course called ‘Starting to Write’ at the Arvon Foundation Writers’ Centre in Totleigh Barton in Devon. I would highly recommend Arvon - they have four writer’s centres all over the UK. You can apply for a grant if you can’t afford the fees.

>> read why Louisewrote The Water's Edge