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Author Clare Whyle Talks To Slough Writers (2016-09-28 11:58:10)
Monday 26 September saw us enjoy the visit and talk by Clare Whyle who is part of the duo who write under the name Nina Whyle. Their Latest creation is My Disorganised Life (The 'Dis' part of Disorganised should be crossed through but not on this website - see picture.) It was an excellent evening with Clare dealing with our questions with loads of humour and honesty (and patience! - some of us have the knack of making questions far longer than any answer could possibly be!). And she was almost the last to leave the bar after. Good girl!
Clare Whyle writes because she loves the process, working in tandem with her long-standing friend Nina Bowden. 'Nina is a kindred spirit' said Clare, 'I don't really understand how but the writing just happens naturally between us. Where Nina is far better at plotting, dialogue, driving things on and cutting my flights of fancy, I'm sarcastically comedic, love developing the eccentric character and writing the descriptive.'
In the partnership nobody has a final say in how the book will go. 'It's really basic, we pass the manuscript back and forth between us. I write in pink and Nina in blue. And we absolutely slaughter each other's darlings. But if there's a bit you really like you try to sneak it back in later.'
Clare said that both writers have to supress their ego and learn diplomacy. What comes through when Clare speaks of Nina is respect and it obviously goes both ways. They trust each other to make decisions that benefit the work and never the individual.
So far they have sold 27,000 books but they are not rich authors although they are on their fifth novel. Clare does not mind having the books categorised as Chic-Lit. 'Women's fiction is the biggest market and it gives you freedom to go where you want and do anything with the characters as long as there's a happy ending. We have fun. Sex scenes are an absolute hoot.'
The writing duo live in Berkshire and Devon, but talk on the phone at least once a week. 'We have long rambling girlie chats and we know each other's lives intimately. This helps because we can avoid putting on pressure about the writing when one of us has other challenges in life. Sometimes we even talk about the book!'
At one time the couple reached number ten in the UK charts and had their hopes set on perhaps reaching the number one spot. 'What actually happened,' said Clare, 'was Fifty Shades of Grey and we were knocked off the top ten.'
Clare describes herself as a black romantic. Her preference would be for a black comedy with a sci-fi setting and a strong Thomas Hardy mood. When the two are not being Nina Whyle they focus on screenwriting and Clare admits to a passion for film.
'Pushing a screenplay is much tougher than publishing a novel on Amazon,' said Clare. 'The film business works on the old boy network where it is your contacts in the industry that count in getting a project developed.' Nina has a successful background as a film editor but even with her contacts in the business nothing is guaranteed.
Mike Pearcy
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