A Kite Dancing in a Hurricane
Hay Segovia, Agatha Christie's house, writing what you don't know
Dear Reader,
‘You’re a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr Bond…’ I know exactly what Mr. White means, although I’m less doom and gloom about it and more counting my blessings. Lately I’ve been here, there and everywhere, and as I write to you in these snatched moments, there’s so much I want to tell you. But first: how are you? I hope skies are blue where you are and grasses green.
I was lucky to squeeze a last drop out of summer in Segovia, Spain for Hay Festival in early September. I didn’t research our destination in advance, partly because I was busy — kite, hurricane — and partly because I find google takes the wonder out of things. So you can imagine my awe when we pulled up to a Roman aqueduct! And my surprise when the hotel lobby offered a mural of Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Clark Gable… anybody who was ever somebody sipping cocktails and being fabulous beneath that very aqueduct. It turns out Segovia was a Hollywood hot spot — I chose to believe Cary Grant slept in our bedroom.
If you get the chance to visit, go. Not only for the aqueduct — which is standing all these years later with no cement, only excellent geometry — but for the layers of history, from the site of a medieval synagogue to Spain’s last Gothic cathedral. The citizens of Segovia opened their homes and gardens — and at one point, a 13th century palace— to ply us with more food than I’ve ever eaten in my life. A restaurateur carved three suckling pigs with a dinner plate because that’s the way his father did it for the king after the war. If this all sounds like a surreal fairtytale, the castle was reportedly the inspiration for Walt Disney.
Hay Festival itself takes place in a former monastery, now a university. I’m thankful to the British Council for inviting me to join Cristina Ward in conversation about both Double or Nothing and A Wild & True Relation. The theme was writing powerful women, and it was the first event to bring my books together like that. The audience consisted of mainly university and school students. There were a lot of teenage boys who I think had been told ‘Bond’ and not much else, so I had fun smuggling an hour of feminism into their day, which I’m happy to report they all seemed very on board with. #SeAcabo. And I LOVED their questions! From ‘Where do you most like to write?’ to ‘What’s your favourite car?’ — to find out the answers, watch out for the event here.
I was struck though that at an event about writing powerful women, only boys asked questions, so I was particularly touched by all the girls who came up to talk with me personally afterwards. One question from a girl really moved me: she asked for advice on pursuing one’s dreams in the face of being told they are unrealistic or impossible. I think this perhaps speaks to the silence of the girls in the audience, and it’s a very difficult question to answer, because there’s so much in the world that tells all of us we can’t be who we are. I explained that in my case, writing is who I am, it’s as natural and vital as breathing, so if I listened to the doubts of others, it would be like denying my need for oxygen. I have to be me, or I’m not alive. Believe in yourself. Be yourself. I hope it helped.
I went straight from Segovia to Greenway, Agatha Christie’s home in Devon, for a week-long writing residency. If you’ve been following the newsletter you’ll know this is my third visit, and by now the garret overlooking the magnolia tree is my home away from home. No wifi, no phone signal, no car, and high winds closing the footpaths — the whole week was made for an Agatha Christie mystery, and though I didn’t discover a body, I did write 13,000 words of Book 3 in the Double O series. If you read my missive from Cove Park, you’ll know I’m trying a new process for this book, writing in bursts while cut off from the world (kite, hurricane). This has led to a revelation when it comes to writing what you don’t know — more on that below for paying subscribers!
From Greenway, it was a hop, skip and a jump to Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival (best name ever?). I first appeared at Budleigh with my debut novel, Testament, and it’s where I met Dame Hilary Mantel, who I was lucky enough to call a mentor. Hilary and I shared letters as I finished A Wild & True Relation and she finished The Mirror & The Light, and it was deeply moving to return following Hilary’s passing and bring this very Devon book to Budleigh, where a scene takes place. The festival hosted a remembrance for Hilary, celebrating Wolf Hall in music and words at the church, where I swam in Hilary’s cadences, laughed and cried.
Budleigh also saw me reunited with my partner in crime Charlie Higson for a conversation about all things Bond, James Bond. As always, it was a joy to thoroughly geek out together, something I’m looking forward to this weekend in London celebrating Bond Day on Saturday (00)7th. I’ll be in conversation with Charlie, David Lowbridge-Ellis and a host of other fab Bond folks at Regents St Cinema, where we’ll be treated to a screening of Casino Royale with a glass of prosecco in hand! I’d love to see you there.
And if you’re in Edinburgh, catch me this Friday in conversation with Sara Sheridan, kicking off the inaugural women’s fiction festival.
I’ll sign off with A Very Nice Thing. Leaving Budleigh, I rejoined the world wide web to discover A Wild & True Relation is on the Historical Writers’ Association Golden Crown longlist for best novel of the year. I couldn’t be more thrilled. And it was lovely to get the news with Hilary’s aura reverberating in the air.
I have more events coming up in Bath and Hay, Wales, so keep an eye on my socials and website for more details.
Hope to see you soon!
From Kim, With Love x
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