Ruth Saberton article (2nd draft)

‘The Story Behind one of Cornwall’s Most Inspirational Authors’

Cornwall is known and adored for its fantastic food and stunning scenery, but what also makes this region of ours so great is the vast amount of settings and inspiration it offers to budding authors. Novels such as ‘Poldark’ and ‘Jamaica Inn’ have reminded us on why our county is so unique, and now we are proudly represented by another devoted author with a passion for Cornwall; and now the Duchy has a new budding star…

Ruth Saberton’s story is one that will inspire many, as her progression from being an English and Media teacher at a local comprehensive to becoming one of the most popular and well-loved Cornish writers of all time is a clear demonstration of her determination and dedication to her passion to follow her dreams.

From an early age Ruth had a devote interest in writing, and would send her stories to various magazines and newspapers, who foolishly rejected her over and over again. Despite this, she carried on writing in her spare time, whilst continuing with her teaching career. Despite working incredibly hard, Ruth did not develop her creative voice, much loved by fans today, until her perception of writing suddenly changed when she went to Lanhydrock and saw a male author selling his own books, who told her to; ‘Write about what you know.’ This advice inspired Ruth to write about a romantic comedy about an English teacher.

This lead to Ruth’s big break came with the release of Katy Carter in 2010, a novel that found fame after a copy was picked up by Richard Madeley (best known from the television duo Richard and Judy) and she became an overnight sensation, who even got a mention on popular TV Show, ‘Have I Got News for You.’ Since then Ruth has written numerous books that have delighted her fans; her latest book ‘The Letter’ is not an exception and seems set to become one of her best ever works.  She was inspired to write ‘The Letter’ after her mother stumbled across some old family photographs, and the faded pictures of her relatives and their past gave her inspiration for her characters. Her Great Aunt spent her whole life waiting for her fiancé to return from the war, and received no closure after she was told that he had gone missing. Her Great Aunt longed to be a writer and wrote endless letters to the Red Cross, but she never got to tell her own story. Ruth wanted to tell this story for her, and she says that she hopes she has managed to keep her great aunt’s story remembered.

When did you first decide you wanted to become a writer?

‘I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember and as a child I filled endless notebooks with stories about ponies and forced my poor family to read them. A few years ago I decided that rather than just dreaming about being an author I was going to really go for it. I wrote my first novel in about five months and writing it was the easy bit. There then followed endless rejections from agents and publishers and it was soul destroying. I didn’t give up though and writing about what I knew proved to be the key and I started Katy Carter Wants a Hero, the very fictional tale (!) of a teacher who dreams of being a best-selling novelist.”

Is there something or someone in particular who first inspired you to start writing?

“As a child I read just about everything I could get my hands on. I loved the pony stories written by the Pullein Thompson sisters and I longed to live that life of hunting and hay bales (not easy to do in Uxbridge!) I think I wrote to escape a childhood of being indoors far too much and away from all the things I wanted, animals and countryside. In my imagination I could have those things.”

Which of your books are you proudest of and why?

“I’m proud of all my books, it’s like having children! How can I pick a favourite? I am very fond of “Katy Carter Wants a Hero” as it was the first one published and got me featured in the National Press. I also adore “Dead Romantic” as I wanted to write it for so long and the themes within it were very close to my heart. I’m very excited about my new series set in Cornwall, Polwenna Bay, and the sexy bonk buster that I’m about 100,000 words into. The Indie books have been a revelation too and I am beyond proud of how well they sell and the boost to my career that working with Michele Gorman and Talli Roland and Nick Spalding at Notting Hill Press has been amazing. THE LETTER though has a special magic…”

Ruth has also just written and just released a story for younger readers about her other passion, horses. Ruth’s novel Chances has also proved to be a massive hit with fans and Ruth thoughtfully donated the proceedings of one of her books to the British Horse Society charity. Her passion for Cornwall continues to grow and shine through in her work, hopefully for many years to come.