we are denz

WeareDenz chats to Wiltshire author Jan Mazzoni about her acclaimed debut novels Stones of the Madonna and The Snow Fox Diaries. Utterly compelling, deeply moving and skilfully written, both novels are testimony to Mazzoni's ability to tease, intrigue and inspire.

What motivated you to write a novel?

I was a shy, only child with an embarrassing Italian surname! Because both my parents worked, I spent a lot of time alone. From a very early age I would carry around a book rather than a toy, literally hugging it to me, knowing that at any moment I could open the pages and be instantly transported to another world. It wasn't that I was unhappy, just that I so enjoyed dipping into other people's lives, sharing their dreams and their dramas.

And then, I've always written - I mean professionally. I was an advertising copywriter, mostly working in London but I also spent a year in New York which was an experience and a half. Since then I've also written vegetarian cookbooks, articles galore, short stories and serials for magazines.

Writing a novel was the obvious next step. It's a big commitment of course, so I put it off for as long as I could and then got so hooked that I wrote another one straight away.

Most authors stick to one particular genre, yet the two novels you have written are quite different in style and focus - was this intentional?

Though the big publishing houses tend to want their best-selling authors to stick to a tried and tested formula, there are a few authors brave enough to try something different. My work isn't that well known yet and so my readers have no expectations - this seemed the perfect time to write exactly what I wanted.

Having said that, there are similarities. Both protagonists are women approaching middle age and struggling to find themselves, though admittedly they do this in very different ways. Both have troubled relationships with wayward husbands, both need to face ghosts from the past before they can move on. But the main similarity, I think, is the kind of reader who will hopefully enjoy them.

Where did your inspiration for Stones of the Madonna come from?

In both cases the starting point was a location that - to my mind anyway - is quite unique. Stones of the Madonna is set in a village on the Amalfi coast in Italy, a place where I've spent a lot of time over recent years. It's a stunningly beautiful area, breath-taking in every sense of the word. Maybe that explains why some visitors seem to go into a sort of hypnotic state, highly sensitive, prone to acting completely out of character. It's all very odd - and of course wonderful material. It was probably what drew the artistic crowd back in the last century too. John Steinbeck, Tennessee Williams, Pirandello, Stravinsky, Picasso, and people from the world of ballet like Leonide Massine and Nureyev - all of them spent time there.

As with all such gems it's now being ruined by tourism, which is why I decided to set my story back just before the last war. It's the time I'd have liked to have known it. My protagonist and her doctor husband arrive there one hot morning to start a new life, but of course that's never easy to do, is it?

And The Snow Fox Diaries?

The setting this time is today's Exmoor with its wide empty plains and vast skies, its chintzy tea rooms and hunting fraternity. It's almost the Exmoor of say fifty years ago, except for the holiday cottages which bring new people to the area who have different ways of seeing things. My leading character is such a woman, fresh from the city and at first captivated by the natural world around her. Then she comes across this beautiful albino fox. As she's drawn into her struggle for survival she becomes increasingly aware of the other side of life in the country, the nastier side, which at first means she and her husband grow closer, support each other. But then the strain begins to show.

It's been described as a gripping and thought-provoking novel, which I hope is true. Though it's a story about people and relationships, I admit I also want it to highlight the plight of wildlife in our countryside. I believe most of us have an inherent need to know there are wild creatures who we may never see but who are out there, closer than we think, sharing our environment, this moment in time. Look at the popularity of all those TV wildlife documentaries. Surely that proves something?

How difficult is it for a new author to get published and how have you overcome these hurdles?

Though they say they're always on the look out for the next Booker Prize winner, it's very hard to get published by one of the mainstream publishing houses - it's very hard to actually get them to even look at your manuscript! Our obsession with celebrity doesn't help. Having the right name - i.e. one that's known by the general public for something, anything really - is what matters, even if the book is actually the work of a ghost writer.

Of course there are always exceptions: unknown but talented authors who somehow manage to break through the barrier.

I decided to publish my books myself. It's risky obviously - you have to pay out a considerable sum of your own money and risk losing it. But the thrill of having complete control of the whole process is unbeatable. I insisted on being involved at every stage, including with the cover designs which are very important.

What did you find most challenging about the experience?

The biggest challenge was to stop myself from getting despondent when dealing with the complex and demoralising business of marketing the books. This is a process geared towards mainstream publishers - tiny independent ones are simply an inconvenience and generally discouraged.

And the most rewarding?

The most rewarding thing was that - despite all that - WHSmith agreed to sell the books in their airport bookshops, even making them part of a special promotion. Their leap of faith was justified with excellent sales. Both books are what you might call 'a good read' so they're ideal for journeys of all kinds. Then again, one of the nicest things a number of readers have said about Stones of the Madonna is that it's so atmospheric they felt they'd actually been to Italy. Maybe I should market it as an alternative to that expensive holiday?

What advice would you give anyone considering writing a novel?

Enjoy it. Writing a novel is a big project. If it becomes a chore you'll probably do what so many people do and abandon it somewhere along the way. If you find yourself looking forward to sitting at your desk, anxious to get back to this world you've created and these characters who you probably know better than your closest friends - you'll get there. And your novel will be that much better for it.

Jan Mazzoni's Stones of the Madonna and The Snowfox Diaries can be purchased from http://www.thornwoodbooks.com