| I became a writer in a fairly unconventional way. It is something I never imagined I would be doing. To my friends and family, I was always, ‘Alice, the tennis player’. At the age of 18 I had been awarded a tennis scholarship to America and was about to sign a contract when I experienced pain in my right hand. Three months later I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). RA is a chronic autoimmune illness that affects the joints and there is no cure. I have never picked up a tennis racket since. The diagnosis felt like a death sentence. I went from a happy, carefree teenager with an exciting future in America to someone sad, stripped of confidence, in relentless pain and terrified of what lay ahead. Six years after the diagnosis, and having finally accepted that my life had taken a different turn from tennis, I met someone who encouraged me to write my story. Firstly, he said it would be good for me to have a creative project, but just as importantly, it might help anyone else who felt alone and vulnerable, not just those with RA. We all have dreams but what I have learnt is that life is not always mapped out according to them. After eighteen months of work, I sent the final draft of A Will To Win to an agent, Clare Alexander, at Aitken Alexander Associates Limited, and this was the beginning of my writing career and a new exciting future. After A Will To Win was published I wrote M'Coben, Place of Ghosts which was published in 2003. My grandmother was a central figure in my life and her story spans an Edwardian childhood and a life in southern Rhodesia where she and her husband turned a vast wilderness of untamed veldt into their home. Poignant, funny and compelling, it captures the spirit of an extraordinary generation, but also sadly shows a Zimbabwe on the verge of self destruction and terrible change. To date, I have written two novels, both represented by Clare Alexander, which reflect what it means to have a disability in the family. Look The World In The Eye was my first, about two sisters, one of whom was born with a cleft lip and palate. Her name was Isabel, but she was called Bells for short. Bells is quirky, honest to the point of rude, loveable, infuriating, funny, endearing and a very good judge of character. She was based on someone I knew and I chose to write the story around her because characters like Bells play a real part in our society. We can often learn a lot more from them than they can from us. I did part of my research with Changing Faces- a leading charity which supports people with disfigurements. I spoke to one of the workers there who had grown up with a facial disfigurement. Her father said to her: “Don’t hide behind your hair; you look the world in the eye,” which was the inspiration for the title. You, Me and Him was again inspired by someone I knew who had a son with ADHD. She described so vividly what it means to have a boy with this condition and how hurtful public reaction can be. She inspired me with stories about his schooling, the funny nativity plays, supermarket trips, heart-breaking tales of bullying, trying to find a hobby to burn up his energy, their touchingly close friendship but also how having a son with a disability put a lot of strain on her marriage. Listening to her reinforced my feeling that you don’t have to look very far to see families who struggle with family members with various difficulties or problems. It is all around us. It is normal; it’s just that not many people write about it. Thirteen years on from the diagnosis, and with the help of a drug that works, I am now able to lead an independent life in London. I am working on a new novel which continues along the same theme of representing someone with a disability in popular fiction. I work closely with the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) to raise awareness of the condition, and to highlight particularly how it affects the lives of young sufferers. Finally, I used to be inspired by top tennis players or the idea of being a Wimbledon champion. Now, the things that get me going are: - A facial - The T2 Crossword - My double bed with goose-down duvet - White wine and olives - Good-looking doctors - Friends - Coffee - Surgeons who perform miraculous operations - Sister Helen painting my toenails silver after each operation - Researchers and scientists who are working towards a cure for rheumatoid arthritis - My magic drug – it still works (for more information see medical update) - My grandmother - who died at the age of 99 in September, 2002 - My Amanda Wakely dress - My goddaughter, Emy and my nephew, Billy - Dad who still says, ‘sod it’ - Mum who still makes lampshades - Writing - please look out for the next novel! |
        
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