Interview with the Author Ann Covell | Ann Covell Remembering the Ladies

Interviews

An interview with Ann

(Writing) is my thing – I cannot paint or draw, or sing,

but I am able to get thoughts across to others

with writing, so I do it.

Extract from author interview with pageonelit.com ~ 3rd July 2010

PageOneLit:

Where did you grow up and was reading part of your life?

Who were your earliest inflences and why.

I am a British woman and grew up in Yorkshire, England, where I was born. I now spend my life between England, Spain and America with my husband, John. We have a home in both England and Spain, but would dearly love to spend the rest of our years in La Jolla, California, my most favourite place in the world.

Reading was always a big part of my life. I lived in a small, rural village, with a school, church, a general store and a few homes. The main town was about ten miles away, so life was quiet as I grew up. I had a thirst for knowledge and always had my head in a book. I would read anything I could get my hands on. My father encouraged me in this, and he was the first real influence of my life. My school headmaster, Edgar Dawson, was another. He recognised this need in me, and ensured there were always books to read. He would get me to read them out to the younger school children! He gave me an opportunity to begin writing when he put me in charge of the school magazine at the tender age of ten years. He encouraged me to read as much as I could while at school, as well as write essays about “life in the village”, some of which were published in the local newspaper.

Pageonelit:

Why did you write?

As a lonely child, I would sit down and write about a book I had just read when I did not have another one to follow it. I would sometimes change the story, or the ending, or sometimes add another character. It was a way of escaping boredom, I suppose, and a way of remembering the characters. I was always sad when I finished a good book, as I felt I had lost friends, and writing about them allowed them to stay with me that bit longer. So writing became a habit. When I was sixteen I learned to type. Proud of my new skill, I began to write stories (never seen by anyone else), and the habit simply grew. It is my thing – I cannot paint or draw, or sing, but I am able to get thoughts across to others with writing, so I do it.

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