Interview: Elspeth Sandys talks about A Gap in Nature

Elspeth Sandys is an award-winning author of ten novels, two memoirs, two short story collections and a book of non-fiction. She is also a renowned playwright with more than twenty plays broadcast on the BBC. In addition to her writing, she has worked as a creative writing teacher and an editor. Elspeth talks to NZ Booklovers.

Tell us a little about your novel.

A Gap in Nature, a three-generational story set in New Zealand and the UK, asks the question, How do you stop cycles of abuse in families. A mother emotionally suffocates her son. The son becomes an alcohol abuser as a result of which both his marriage and his career fail. The daughter of that marriage goes on a journey to find her father’s sister. What she finds is both the key to the past, and a way forward for the future. 

What inspired you to write this book?

Ever since I started writing I’ve been intrigued by the ways in which patterns of behavior, particularly those involving abuse,  are often passed from one generation to the next. I wanted to look at one family where abuse is happening and see how those patterns affected the people involved, and if they could be changed.

What research was involved?

No particular research was involved except concerning the early days of television in the UK

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

I write every morning for 3-4 hours. 

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

Claire Keegan’s ’Small Things Like These' is as close to perfection as anything I’ve ever read.

What’s next on the agenda for you?

Next on the agenda for me is a play about the rise of the far right. 

Quentin Wilson Publishing