Tribute interview with Tony Clare

This weeks Tribute podcast interview is a belter. Discussing football, the working classes, writing about true life events and more, and all focused on the Tribute episode MILESTONE. You really need to give it a listen, then read these enlightening answers from the writer Tony Clare.

1. They always say you should write what scares you, and I think taking on a real life event of such magnitude must have been pretty scary. Did you have any reservations/fears when starting this Tribute?

When I wrote the original version I had no reservations whatsoever. It was before the Inquests had been announced and at the time I think awareness of the injustice still needed promoting. It had always been my intention to use the script to raise awareness if it got picked up and developed. I had planned to approach the Hillsborough Campaign to seek permission of course. However it never got picked up and so apart from reading it at a local literary festival, I just shelved it. When the Tribute Series call went out, I realised I could adapt the original. It was then that I did have some reservations as I had to ask myself if my intentions for the script were ok. I spoke to some writer friends and they reassured me that I should definitely put the script out there. I’m pleased I did as I hope it exists to remind people of how injustice can be challenged even when the machinery and power you’re facing looks impossible to defeat.

2. You make the point about this being about class very early on with the line about Wimbledon. How much does being working class define your character? Should it?

It defines him absolutely and yes I think it should. Of course not everyone affected by Hillsborough is Working Class and not everyone watching football at that time is/was. However, I think it’s important to remember that at that time there was a wholesale assault on the Working Class socially, politically, and culturally. There was a tireless and dogged attempt to demolish it. The apparatus that allowed the Working Class to organise was being dismantled through brutal legislation; the conditions which we were expected to tolerate in the simple act of going to see our national game were deplorable. It was like being treated like cattle. Worse. So I do believe that the 96 were killed for being Working Class (or participating in a predominantly - then - Working Class pursuit). I know that might sound radical but when I ask myself would the same conditions have arisen at Wimbledon preceding, during, and following a disaster of that type there, then the answer is no on all three counts.

3. I'm always disappointed by the representations of working class in British TV. They always seem cartoonish and offensive to me or stick to horrible stereotypes. Why do you think this is? Is it a problem of a lack of working class writers, or directors, or commissioners? OR all three?

It’s a great question and something I feel very strongly about. There are of course lots of great Working Class writers, but they enjoy nothing even close to fair or equal representation. The absolute genius ones make it through because it would be almost impossible for them not to. For example, Jimmy McGovern, Caroline Ahearne, John Fay etc. But these then exist as a convenient example for the commissioners etc to point out and say “Look there’s lots of opportunities for Working Class writers”; they become the exception that prove the Middle Class rule. As for the representation of Working Class people, well where do you begin? The demonisation of the Working Class has surely been executed most successfully through the medium of TV than any other form. They are such grotesque depictions that one can’t help feeling there’s something more sinister going on in the continual commissioning of these pieces. I remember the first time I was invited to MediaCity for a writing event. The first thing that I was greeted with was a floor to ceiling picture of Vicky Pollard, smack bang in the centre of reception. I know people cry killjoy when you call these things out, but I ask, does comedy sink lower than demonising and vilifying a teenage working class girl? Would the depiction of any other marginalised group hung so proudly in reception be tolerated? Another thing I’ve come across a lot lately at writing events etc. is people in the industry trotting out the line “Oh yeah, and another thing don’t be a twat, right; we’ve got to work with you, yeah?” This roughly translates as “adopt our middle class mores or fuck off”. It’s the exact opposite of how organisations successfully embed diversity into their culture. The treatment of the Working Class in drama and the representation of writers in the industry is something I think about every day and there are moments it literally brings me to tears. But conversely, it’s the exact same thing - the exact same thing - that makes me write.

4. Answering questions on my episode last week made me remember how many childhood memories are in my Tribute, is this the same as yours regarding the feeling of going to your first match?

 Yes! I hadn’t realised that until you asked me that question. I was taken to my first match by my oldest brother’s girlfriend (I’m the youngest of 6). “Even the route [she took] was designed for maximum effect”. She even asked if I wanted to get there by train or on the ferry!! I will never forget the sounds and smells and sights as I approached Goodison. As my own children get closer to making their first trip to a match, I’m very conscious of making it as good as it can possibly be. One other thing that I think might have influenced the script is that I always seem to remember the preparations and the journeys more than the games themselves - the big games that is. I can remember missing my coach home from Wembley; bumping into Margi Clarke on a train back home from a cup final. But I can’t remember which cup finals/Charity Shields they were!!

5. Hearing You'll Never Walk Alone is a hugely emotional ending, was that scripted to be under the dialogue in that way?

 Yes, that’s exactly how it was scripted. I wrote a short script a few years back (for one of Writersroom’s Rapid Response call outs on the theme of phone hacking following the revelations that Milly Dowler’s phone was hacked) which never got anywhere but I had always imagined it ending in the same way, but back then I didn’t dare put it in the script! It was about a lad in a desperate situation who sells his famous sister’s mobile number to the S*n. Here’s an extract from the final scene:

The pair stand, look at the MEMORIAL and slowly walk away.

Mark offers Billy a Chip. Billy grabs the entire cone, Mark snatches it back.

CLOSE ON: THE NAMES OF THE 96 ON THE MEMORIAL. OLD NEWSPAPERS swirl and eddy around the Memorial until one is whipped up and attaches itself to it. Its headline reads “MILLY’S PHONE HACKED”. The wind flicks us through its lurid pages. One by one images of the current scandal emerge from them. First MILLY, then the SOHAM victims, then the 9:11 victims and they join the names on the Memorial.

Then from history ... MARILYN MONROE, KAREN CARPENTER, PRINCESS OF WALES.

 A more severe GUST catches the PAPER and the Memorial shakes it off. Its pages separate and blow down the road before becoming stuck fast in the GUTTER.

 FADE OUT.

 THE END.

 6. Was there originally a longer version of this? It's such a tight Tribute, clocking in at 6 minutes, was that intentional to keep it short or did it just naturally come to that length?

 No, in fact it was a little shorter. I felt as though I wanted to write it at what ever seemed the natural length for it to be. That said though, all my scripts tend to be on the short side. My last feature script was 93 pages.

7. What other projects are you working on and how do they compare with Milestone?

 I’m working on three other projects at the moment. 45 is a radio drama. It’s about a travelling record salesman, MARK DRUMMOND, whose world is falling apart but hopes the resurgence in vinyl will revive him. His world consists of little more than one-sided conversations he has with the DAB radio in his Peugeot Estate and conversations he strikes up with the staff at service stations. It started out as entirely quirky but as I began to invest and believe more in the character I have attempted to introduce a degree of pathos. It was easy to find humour in what his life has become, but the more I wrote, the more I realised that the reference points and realities we construct for ourselves at difficult times are as real and meaningful than those existing in the worlds of those whose lives are more together and sophisticated. For MARK, his conversations with the radio and his obsessions with traffic reports are as meaningful as his contemporaries trips to the theatre and art galleries. I don’t want to speak above the level of my own experience, but it strikes me that there’s a point in writing when the care and belief you have in the characters reaches a level; a sort of barometer that tells us when the character is believable and the writing is at some level of seriousness! I was inspired by the Tribute Podcasts Series to write this. I have always found writing a 45-minute radio play incredibly difficult, but after I wrote the Tribute, I changed my approach to how I would write a radio play.

The Full Box Set is a single drama set entirely in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter about a man going through a rough time who decides to set himself up as Band Promoter when he overhears a singer/songwriter’s conversation in a cafe. He’s also become obsessed with Nordic Noir and this provides a quirky sub plot. He lives in a Volvo estate, dresses more for a snowy Stockholm than a windy Liverpool and seeks out Smorgasbord for lunch. It’ll probably get nowhere but it’s been great fun writing it.

Rash is a single drama about a lad who gets stranded in Dolgellau - a mid-Wales market town - when he misses his coach following a music festival. When he is unable to find work locally to fund his trip home, he decides to pan for Welsh Gold in the hills surrounding the town. When he eventually finds enough tiny specs of gold to travel home, he realises that perhaps everything he has been searching for in life is right where he has been left.

8 . Have you had a chance to listen to the other Tribute episodes? If so which ones have stuck out for you?

 I’ve listened to them all and love them all. It was delightful to see the diversity of the approaches to the call out. I think there’s something to take from each and every one. The honesty and integrity of all the pieces reflected the spirit of the project itself, I felt. I particularly enjoyed MARCIE LANE BY LIZ TAYLOR. I liked the theme, the pace, and the climax. Very clever, poignant and so moving. Similarly, BEN WEINER’S A GREAT MAN was so clever with wonderful twists and reversals and not a word wasted. Brilliant. I thought DAVID HENDON’S THE NAME ON THE BENCH was very intelligently written and was intriguing and thoughtful. He crammed in so much character to the piece. There has to be something for me to learn from that. PHILIP SHELLEY’S AN ORDERED LIFE was a masterclass and that too packed in so much character and was so three-dimensionally visual. I also loved how effectively and skillfully WILL MOUNT’S AN IRRESISTIBLE FORCE, DANIEL BRIERLEY’S GRANDPA, and LOUISE VALE’S REX maintained tone and intrigue so consistently throughout. I could go on with this and mention every single one because I genuinely loved them all. In all the pieces, the skill in which tone and style was established (by both writer and actor) was mind blowing for me, especially considering the brevity. In my own piece, lines I had considered to be almost impossible to interpret in the way I heard them in my head, were delivered by the brilliant Neil Caple the exact way I heard them in the very first take, without any direction or explanation from me. And in other places, he breathed more life into the lines and illuminated aspects of character I hadn’t seen. They’re pieces I will return to again and again, I think. It’s probably a writer thing but like one of your other interviewees said, I couldn’t believe mine was featured alongside such excellent work.

9. It's exactly a year ago today that the 96 got truth and justice. What do you think has changed since the verdict, and what still needs to happen?

 Yes, it’s exactly a year to the day and the sun shines just as brightly here as it did on that day too. I took a break from answering these questions and went for a run and thought this question through. I remembered listening to Ben Schofield’s brilliant reporting live from the Inquests; tears streaming down my cheeks and alone to nobody I quietly said “yes”. On that day I went for a walk and I did have the palpable feeling of feeling safer in the world. The strength of that feeling was such that I felt I had to include it in the Tribute script. I think a Milestone has been reached for both the families and society. However, I think it’s important that prosecutions follow as that will not only help ensure this type of disaster never happens again, but will remind the Establishment that impunity should not be part of their privilege. I also think about others fighting for Justice - Orgreave and the Shrewsbury 24 for example. Hopefully they will be inspired by the verdicts. Hopefully that sunny day will come soon for them too.

Tribute Interview with Robin Bell

How weird is this? I'm being interviewed on my own blog. I'll hand over to Katy Walker who interviewed me straight away so we don't get too bogged down in the oddness.

This week the tables are turned, as the featured Tribute writer is Robin himself, with the intriguing and evocative ‘Bookmark’, voiced by Broadchurch’s own Joe Sims. He could hardly interview himself, could he (well, maybe - he’d probably do a very good job of it, but I volunteered, with a few excellent questions from Will Mount). Here’s what we learned.

 What inspired you to write Bookmark?

I thought Tribute was a great idea. One of my all-time favourite TV shows was Six Feet Under, I loved how it faced death head on. I instantly knew who I would like to pay Tribute to. It was my Nan, who died 10 years ago. I have a note on my phone when this idea was coming together which has words to signify the stories I wanted to tell. It reads "Salad, flying rat, Gifts, long walks, fancying Darren Gough." I didn't find room for the last two.
I knew it was becoming a good fit when I felt my idea started exploring what a Tribute actually is, what memories are and the importance of them remaining in the past.

It seems rooted in a bygone era - of deckchairs, ‘salads’ and people called Beryl. And your description of the cat that brings ‘gifts’ is very relatable. How much is this based on your own memories of childhood?

A lot of it is based on my childhood and I wanted it to feel like a memory of childhood, so it has a storybook type feel to it. I'm sure my childhood wasn't all deckchairs, Beryls and feasts but they are the elements which form lasting memories. I guess you highlight the elements of the past which don't feel part of the present more because it's distinctive to that time. The 'gifts' part was bigger in the first draft and had a slapstick comedy scene of a rabbit running around a bedroom, but it had to go to stay on plot.

The grandmother ignites in her grandson a great love of reading. How much of Bookmark is a tribute to books/the written word?

I'm not sure if it's a direct tribute to books and the written word, but that element is in there to highlight how memories are the stories we tell ourselves about our lives - like the salad story that goes from disappointment to greatness or the flying rat punchline. I wanted to make that link between memories and stories. I also wanted the childhood remembered in the Tribute to be heightened and feel like it's from a book. Kids’ books often feel like an idealised version of what childhood was like. Roald Dahl books often do this, before he throws the darkness in.

Have you ever used a peperami as a bookmark?! What else do you use?

Unfortunately, even though I've banged on about the truthful aspects of the Tribute, the peperami is complete comedic artifice. Can you imagine what it'd do to the pages of the book - grease stains, meat smells, urgh shudder, it doesn't bear thinking about. I have used envelopes and football stickers as mentioned in the Tribute, also cinema ticket stubs, leaflets, bits of fallen plaster and a sock. I'd rather go with what is to hand rather than fold a corner.

Food seems to be a great comfort in this piece. Was this an intentional ‘device’? 

I wouldn't say it was an intentional device, it was one of the true story elements I started with. I wrote the description of it before I had the story actually, and the structure it eventually gave me the answer and the ending to the piece. I love the initial disappointment of being served a salad as a kid, and then it building up to become a veritable feast. I absolutely love the verve and excitement Joe injects as he describes the food, it's paced perfectly and really gives that moment great character.

The changes of tone and viewpoint are beautifully done. You switch between reminiscence, philosophy and eulogy and we don’t notice the joins - how conscious was this subtle movement through these transitions?

Thank you for saying that. Having written it I think you're always more aware of the joins, but I think a lot of the reason they're covered is in Joe's performance. He paces the story so well, modulating his performance perfectly to deliver maximum emotion and carry the listener through at the right pace during every step of the way. I was blown away when I first heard it. From a writing point of view, the transitions weren't something I focused on - with Twisted Showcase we move from domestic to uncanny within a heartbeat, even adding layers of ridiculous comedy on top sometimes so hopefully it is something I am used to.

Your protagonist’s invention is a fascinating idea. How did that come about?

After I had the parts which formed the memories I came up with the invention to tie the story together. As I thought of these memories it got me thinking about what memories really are, how much truth is in them, are they rose tinted, can they be corrupted, things like that. The more I thought about it, the more I began to think about where memories take place, they feel very real and powerful, but obviously, it's all in your head. That's when I had the idea of an invention which could take people back to their memories, and make what is in their head physically real. Once I had that idea I realised, if it existed, that there would be a high demand for that. Plenty of different uses as well, but for the purposes of the Tribute I thought I'd just focus on it being used to cope with bereavement. Basically, this is just a long-winded way of saying that I didn't view the story as being about technology, the focus for me was it was more about memory.

The narrator doesn’t want to be transported back to the sacred memories which he describes? Would you if you could? What one memory would you choose?

After writing Bookmark I'd have to say memories should stay where they are and that I wouldn't revisit them, but that is a boring answer. Also, I think we'd all love to go back and relive certain parts of our lives so we appreciate them more. I was just watching a Manic Street Preachers documentary on Sky Arts which follows them making the album Everything Must Go after the disappearance of Richey Edwards. It's a great documentary, and it ends at their first stadium gig at what was then called the NYNEX, Manchester. I was there, and yes it was brilliant, but at the time I didn't realise the importance and significance of that gig to the band and to their story. So maybe today I'd choose to go back to that gig, knowing more regarding the context with hindsight. But really memory is so powerful that we have the ability to take ourselves back: you can smell a certain fragrance which can take you back to childhood, or hear a certain song which takes you back to your early twenties etc. That's what I wanted to explore in my Tribute.

You’re the brains behind the Twisted Showcase - is this Tribute a departure in terms of genre? 

If any people who have watched my Twisted Showcase episodes then listen to my Tribute they will probably see it as a departure. It shares the oddness in some respects, and it shares a twist in the tale in that it transpires this warm, cosy story about a bygone era is set in the future and based on an unbelievable piece of tech. Maybe it is more in line with my kids’ TV specs or an amalgamation of those two styles.

What’s your next project?

I'd love to have the clarity to answer this one succinctly. It always seems like I have too many plates spinning at any one time. I've been trying to write a feature this year but keep getting pulled in different directions with spec script rewrites on two kids’ TV scripts and an adult crime drama. I'm also working on a stage adaptation of Twisted Showcase, and a few new one page pitches. Finally, there's a sitcom I'm co-writing with the co-creator of Twisted Showcase, Rhys Jones.

What have you learned from interviewing the other writers?

Oh wow, so much. From the many different ways that ideas come together, to how in control of what messages are told in different writers' stories, and how they view their own work, and how different writers view the importance of death as a theme. It's been enlightening.

Which of the other Tributes have stood out for you, and why?

They're all great and really different from each other. Philip did a great job selecting this bunch to form the series. It's really tough to select ones out, but I'll be brutal and just chose one - Eulogy for Tricia Slater by Sarah Penrose. I loved how it extracted humour from the subject of death.

What would you want your tribute to be?

I'm not sure, but make sure there's a cracking buffet afterwards that people talk about with the same glow Joe Sims gave that salad. Whenever I ask my Mum how a funeral she's visited went she'll always mention the buffet first - "They put on a great spread." That'll do me.

Tribute Interiew with Ben Weiner

Another great Tribute, this week from the son of a 'Great Man'. This monologue comes from a person who has always lived in the shadow of the deceased, but never in their thoughts. Every line is a gem, and as always the performance is spot on. I'm amazed at how different and original these tributes are each week. Here's what writer, Ben Weiner, had to say about A Great Man.

1.      The setting is very important to this Tribute, taking place in the office of the deceased surrounded by boxes which tell the story of his life. How quick was that decision to not have this eulogy at the funeral and set it in this office?

The decision to have the Tribute delivered in the office was part of the original idea. I wanted to tell this story for a long tome so I was happy when I saw Philip’s call for monologues as it felt like a good chance to get it out there. I thought a son looking for his place in the great man’s life was best served in private and amongst the dead father’s possessions so the office was the obvious choice for me. I also wanted to isolate the son. If it had been him delivering the eulogy at a funeral, he would have been front and centre, which did not feel like the right choice for this story.

2.      Was The Great Man in the tribute, or aspects of him, based on any 'celebrity' figure?

Years ago, I saw an interview with one of Mandela’s children who complained that her father was never around. It stuck with me. Whilst that was part of the inspiration for the idea and elements of the Great Man’s life (like his incarceration) mirror Mandela’s life, the Great Man is not based on any ‘celebrity’ figure.

3.One line says "I know I sound bitter.." and there a few occasions when the anger levels rise. How did you manage to balance a bitter and angry character which someone we side with?

Ha! I am working on another script right now and just received a note to make sure my protagonist does not seem too bratty, so I am not sure I always manage it! I was conscious of this risk going into the recording. Obviously, Carl Prekopp’s performance is a massive part of retaining the balance in the piece. Carl is a fantastic actor and it was a privilege to work with him. Philip and Will Mount were also around during the recording and were very helpful in ensuring the process went well. I think, in general, that so long as the listeners can find a way to understand the character, he or she is entitled to express any emotion they like.

4.There's a strong theme of fatherhood throughout A Great Man, at what stage does theme play a part for you, is it something you discover along the way, or a focus from the beginning?

It’s always different. In this case, it was a focus from the beginning, but the basis of a story about a son dealing with the death of his father, who was a great man, but a bad father had been floating about for some time. I had also just become a dad for the first time. I did not have a relationship with my father so it is territory that I felt vaguely familiar with despite the fact that my Dad was only famous in his own front room.

5. I was left really considering if James' Dad is a great man if he let down his son to such an extent. Do his other deeds make the fact he's a terrible Dad OK? Do you have any thoughts on that yourself or are you just posing that as a question for the listener?

Well, the jury is out on that one for me. I do wonder whether one person is able to make choices for society off their own back or whether those types of decisions are just products of society’s collective will. Maybe I have been reading too much into War and Peace! I don’t know the answer, but we certainly like figure-heads to gather around, for good or bad. I would tend to agree with James though that being a great person is someone’s inclination as much as an inherent quality of that individual. There is so much to sacrifice involved in being ‘great’. Time is limited and something is going to have to give somewhere. The choices James’s dad made hurt his son, but seemed to have helped others. I can’t say whether that makes it alright or not.

6. What other projects are you working on, and how does A Great Man compare to your other writing?

I just won the BAFTA Rocliffe writing for children competition. That script is about a family that get stuck in a series of parallel worlds and have to make their way back home. My focus is currently on writing for children. In that sense, A Great Man was a chance to dip my toe back into material for adults. It has inspired me to want to write more for podcasts and radio so hopefully that is something I can develop over the next year or two.

7. Have you had chance to listen to the other Tribute episodes? Which ones have stuck out if so.

Such a tricky question! I’ve listened to them all and I am honoured to be part of the series. Philip’s inspiration came from such a terribly tragic situation that it would have been a privilege to be part of something marking it in any case, but each piece is fantastic in different ways. There is such a broad scope of stories presented and I admire each and every one of them. If I had to choose three to take away with me, I would take:

1. VALEDICTION FORBIDDING MOURNING by KATY WALKER as it is so heartbreaking. It’s beautifully written and performed;

2. BOOKMARK by ROBIN BELL (that’s you, that is) because I love the ideas running through it and I found it interesting and surprising. I also loved the description of the food being prepared. It really resonated with me; and

3. MILESTONE by TONY CLARE as I found it utterly gripping and such a fresh way to approach an extremely difficult and important subject at a timely moment.

As I said though, I genuinely loved them all.

8. Why do you think it's important to write about and discuss death?

How long have you got? I am not quite Woody Allen on the subject (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udoh1DZ7JKw), but I do think Ernest Becker makes a good point in the Denial of Death, which is that human beings have made a very good stab at denying our mortality through the icons and symbols that we employ to cope with the tragedy of death. I think that denial is incredibly unhelpful when we face our own death or those we love as we often feel so unprepared for the loss. On the other hand, maybe that denial helps us get on with our lives. I don’t know the answer, but I do need to have the conversation. I cannot imagine writing anything, which does not involve the threat of death in some way, even if no one actually dies.

Tribute Interview with Liz Taylor

Every week I am blown away by the well thought out answers to my questions, but also by the vast array of approaches that the writers have undergone to create these Tributes. This is a really emotional tribute from Liz Taylor who has provided some great insight into her story here.

1. I love how you paint the picture of Marcie. Was she based on anyone or you just had a clear picture of the character in your head?

She was loosely based on a friend of mine - a very warm and vibrant, lively character who I've shared many milestones and happy times with. We had our children around about the same time and we had a falling out. I remember drafting her an email full of love and regret, telling her how wonderful she was - very much in the spirit of the email in the tribute. I liked the idea that you could write something for someone with a certain intention, like that email, and it could then end up being used for a tribute.


2. This Tribute focuses on regret a lot more than the others. There an obvious finality to death that means regret cannot be righted. Was that the start point for the story or was the heartbreaking story of a mother losing their child the first aspect to come when developing this?

I initially had two ideas - the email that should have been read out at the 40th and the loss of a child. I couldn’t decide which to focus on and then I realised that I could fuse them and give the tribute a back story with a big reveal. The simple tragedy of the story lies in the fact that it’s the wrong person reading out the tribute. No mother should have to bury their child and Marcie’s own life is a life abruptly cut short. The natural order should have allowed for Marcie’s son to read the tribute to his mother and that should have occurred many years down the line.


3. Do you think the choice to hold back the reveal of why they had a falling out adds to the emotion of that moment, or is that an emotional punch to the guts no matter where it occurs in the story?

The reveal for me is that Marcie’s son died some weeks earlier and that she has taken her own life after burying him. I wanted to keep the reveal to the end so that Marcie’s life could be celebrated and that the relationship between the reader and the deceased could be properly addressed. The reader very much wants Marcie’s life to be considered away from the tragedy and for her to be remembered fondly. Her final weeks - the events surrounding her son’s death and her own death - have obviously been extremely shocking and her friend doesn’t want those last days to get in the way of celebrating a life well-lived.


4. This Tribute is heartbreakingly sad, how difficult is it writing about such events, and do you see any positive moments of light within the Tribute that help you through the writing process of it?

I found it quite cathartic in some ways as I’ve suffered a lot of losses and my greatest fear is that something might happen to my own child. There’s some relief in putting it out there and giving voice to that fear. When you speak the unspeakable then it’s not quite so scary and unspeakable any more. I hope that the light comes in the celebration of the friendship. Marcie’s friend absolutely does not want to read that tribute but she is determined to celebrate her friend.


5. It's a short, tight and concise Tribute that is deceptively simple, I say deceptive because it manages to achieve such depth of emotion within a small space of time. Do you think keeping it straight forward aids the depth of feeling in the Tribute?

I’m glad that it comes across as straight forward as I was concerned that the reading of the email is a tribute within a tribute, which could make the time frame a bit confusing.


6. What other projects are you working on, and how does Marcie Lane compare to your other writing?

I would love to write for a continuing drama series in order to hone my skills and really get to grips with the whole discipline of juggling various story arcs. That’s the goal at the moment. To this end, I’ve written the first episode / pilot for a drama serial about two childless couples whose paths cross at an adoption event, setting into motion a string of events that wreaks havoc for all parties concerned. I’m hoping this will showcase what I can do with various characters and lives interwoven etc. My previous writing has been quite dark but I try to tell very human stories of the ‘it could happen to anyone’ variety. There has been a sense of loss and the fear of loss in a lot of my recent work.


7. Have you had chance to listen to the other Tribute episodes? Which ones have stuck out if so.

I’ve listened to all of them and I like them all. It’s pretty humbling to be included in the mix in all honesty as they are so beautifully written. For the way the words paint a picture, I really enjoyed ‘Eulogy for Tricia Slater’ and ‘An Irresistible Force’. I
thought they were very rich and poetic. I was also very moved by ‘Valediction Forbidding Mourning’, because of the subject matter, and ‘Turning’.


8. Why do you think it's important to write about and discuss death?

Because we’re afraid of it and it’s the only way to turn the heat down a little on that fear.