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Debbie Taylor |
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Debbie Taylor is Editor of Mslexia, the fastest-growing literary magazine in the UK. She has been writing and travelling ever since she abandoned her career as a research psychologist. She has worked as editor of New Internationalist magazine, and co-edited The Virago Book of Writing Women. Her non-fiction book, My Children My Gold (Virago), was shortlisted for the Fawcett Prize for women's writing. The Fourth Queen is her first novel.
Everyone needs a holiday and our authors are no different. Some have had scorching holidays and some quite frankly were too unsavoury to let you into. From dream holiday destinations and holiday horror stories to top holiday survival tips and summertime memories we’ve got the low-down and we’re willing to share...
What's your favourite summer memory?
Hiring a pedalo in Corfu with my Best Beloved and setting off round a rocky headland, then coming ashore an hour later on a tiny deserted beach below a remote little taverna painted bright blue; sitting outside in its cobbled courtyard all afternoon in the shade of a resiny pine tree, listening to cicadas, drinking ice-cold home-brewed rosé wine from a terracotta jug and eating a series of delicious traditional dishes served in little white bowls: salted sardines, broad beans in garlic and tomato, artichoke with lemon, little pungent purple olives, crumbly goats’ cheese, a salad of bitter mountain greens… Reading, talking, getting gently sozzled. Bliss.
And your dream holiday destination?
Our ramshackle little house in Crete: on a tree-covered hillside overlooking the village.
Any top holiday survival tips you can pass onto our readers?
Go for three weeks instead of two. It takes at least a week to unwind, then it’s time to start thinking about coming home. Take a mosquito net if you’re heading for the sun. The hotel proprietor will think you’re mad, but you’ll be able to stretch out naked without worrying about that high-pitched whine in your ear. If you’re arriving in the evening, apply mosquito repellent before you step off the plane. I swear they hover over all the exits. Pack a toothbrush and a change of underwear in your carry-on bag and put off unpacking until the next morning (useful if they lose your luggage too). Buy shampoo and suntan lotion when you get there. Use the space for books instead! Leave your mobile at home. Don’t bother with postcards. Ignore British newspapers. Order champagne on the flight. Get them to put it on ice the moment you step on the plane. Make sure it’s a whole bottle.
What do you always pack for summer hols?
Mosquito prevention gear (see above) plus piriton to minimise the swelling if I do get bitten. A fat notebook for when the muse strikes. At least two more paperbacks than I can possibly read in the time available (just in case). My favourite straw hat. Lots of big flimsy floaty cotton scarves that fold down to nothing, but can be used as skirts, tops, towels, dresses, sunshades...
What place in the world do you think everyone should visit at least once?
Rural India
Had any holiday horror stories you can let us into?
I once slept in the open in Greece without a mosquito net or repellent and woke covered in red lumps the size of hens’ eggs, which kept on swelling until my entire body was a pulsating hot red itch and I had to fly home to recover. I was once mugged at knifepoint on the beach road near Dar Es Salaam. My own fault. What idiot would take a romantic moonlit stroll a stone’s throw from a poor squatter-camp?
What books will you be packing in your suitcase this summer?
Robert Graves’ Greek Myths. A large histology textbook. Catwatching and Dogwatching by Desmond Morris. Jane Rogers’ new novel, The Voyage Home. The latest Nicci French in hardback (I can never bear to wait for the paperback). A book about human evolution. Everything in paperback that I haven’t yet read on the Booker and Orange shortlists. At least one gruesome serial killer novel. An impulse handful of 3 for 2s I can’t resist at the airport.
Any events/festivals you are looking forward to this summer?
I’ll be away for the whole of July and August finishing my next book, but I’m running workshops at several festivals in October.
(If anyone’s interested, call the Mslexia office on 0191 261 6656, and I’ll write to you with details when I get back.)
It's a massive summer for sport - will Euro 2004 make you euphoric, will you be following the England Rugby team on their tour to the southern hemisphere or is Wimbledon more you thing? Or, does the idea of sport make you want to run away and hide?
What a shame. It looks like I’m going to miss most of it... (Ha!)
