I think that I’ve always been a writer, in much the same way that I’ve always been female. It’s just something I am, rather than something I consciously set out to become. In that respect, I’ve been quite lucky. We tend to excel at the things we enjoy, and I enjoy writing immensely. Of course I have my off-days, and the occasional month of intellectual inertia – who doesn’t? But I always come back to the page. I think, in order to write good stories, you have to love stories themselves. Within every author is an inherent need to communicate: ideas, expressions, knowledge. A compelling need to get something across. To reach an ‘aha!’ moment of understanding with another person. Whether that person is reading you on a commuter train, whether they’re lying in bed or rowing single-handedly around the world. We reach out with our words and seed imaginings.
Read the rest of Marion's interview with Morgen Bailey.