Catherine Evans on reading, writing, and the making of her second novel

Catherine Evans was born in South Africa, and grew up in Swaziland and Malawi. The author of The Wrong’un, she has made her return to the writing world with All Grown Up, a novel that examines the early sexualisation of young girls and toxic masculinity amongst boys, confronting the reader with important questions about consent and underage sex.

Why do some young girls become sexually active early? If a man has sex with a girl who lies about her age, is he still culpable? If society is at fault for teaching both girls and boys a warped view of sex, who is to really blame when it goes wrong? All Grown Up is a brave, unflinching and gripping work from an exciting new voice in fiction.

Here, she shares her life in literature…

Did you always want to be an author?

Yes, always. Although I wanted to be a lot of other things too.

What inspired you to start writing?

I’ve always written stories, since I was tiny. But I knuckled down to write my first novel when I was in my thirties, when I suddenly realised that I absolutely had to get on with it.

Where did the idea for this book come from?

I saw a teenage girl on a bus. She was wearing a school uniform, but had such self-possession and presence that I found myself thinking about her for a long time afterwards. The story grew around her.

Tell us about your writing process.

No fanfare: bum on seat. I edit as I go along. To write is human, to edit is divine.

What comes first, the plot or the characters?

The characters. Always. The characters dictate the plot.

What did you learn when writing this book?

This is a very hard question to answer. I think I learned how confused I am about topics that should be simple.

Do you have any quirky habits when writing?

I need a constant supply of hot drinks. Brick red builders, strong coffee, double-bagged herbal… it doesn’t matter. I like writing very late at night. Sometimes I write with a glass of wine in front of me. I call it ‘channelling my inner Hemingway.’

The first book you remember reading is…

Asterix, Tintin and Lucky Luke comics.

Your favourite Irish author is…

John Boyne. The Heart’s Invisible Furies has been my book of the year. I also love Edna O’Brien.

The book you gift everyone is…

Stephen King’s On Writing. It’s the only writing guide anyone will ever need. You don’t have to be remotely interested in writing to enjoy it, as it’s also a fascinating memoir.

Three books everyone should read:

I, Claudius and its sequel, Claudius the God by Robert Graves; Holes by Louis Sachar; Three Men in A Boat by Jerome K Jerome.

You overcome writer’s block by…

I don’t have writer’s block. I have writer’s flood!

Do you listen to music when you write?

Not usually, but it doesn’t bother me if it’s playing. I can easily tune it out unless it’s something I really love.

The best money you ever spent as a writer was on…

All the gazillions of books I’ve ever bought in my life. You can’t write if you don’t read.

The three books you’d bring with you to a desert island are…

If I’m going to be a castaway, I’ll need long books, so: Middlemarch by George Eliot, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

A quote you love is…

“And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better” — George Eliot.

The book you always return to is…

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

Seeing your book in shops is/will be…

Infuriating. If it’s still in the shop, it means it hasn’t sold out.

One book you wish you had written is…

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan because it’s that good. Am I allowed two? Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie’s Half of A Yellow Sun. Sorry, three: Any Human Heart by William Boyd. Just perfect.

How do you use social media as an author?

I don’t. I suck at it. I need help!

Should books be judged by their covers? How did you pick yours?

Yes, absolutely, because the cover reflects a thought process. Covers should be distinctive and yet instantly reflect their genre. I like clean, striking covers with bold and unusual colours. My cover is of my main character, Neveah. The artist, Aila Bally, is very young and is just starting out, but her picture perfectly captures Neveah’s defiance, intelligence and vulnerability.

Do you find it hard not to procrastinate when writing?

Not at all. I wish I could write all the time. Someone dedicated their book: ‘To my family, without whom this book would have been written in half the time.’ I laughed. Then I cried.

The best advice you’ve ever gotten is:

Never play Leap Frog with a unicorn.

Your work space is…

Cluttered and untidy. My neuroses are all without.

Your favourite literary character of all time is…

Adrian Mole.

All Grown Up by Catherine Evans is on sale now. You can read an extract here.