First Writes: Briony Cameron
In this Q&A, we throw some questions about ‘firsts’ at debut authors. This month, we feature Briony Cameron, author of The Ballad Of Jacquotte Delahaye, the tale of a fierce and legendary female pirate in the Caribbean who is awaiting the hangman’s noose
What’s the first book you remember reading as a child? The Wrestling Princess And Other Stories by Judy Corbalis. I was absolutely obsessed with it as a kid, specifically the story about the titular Wrestling Princess herself. I suppose I’ve always had a love for strong women.
What was the book you read that made you decide to be a writer? I will say this forever and always, but The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. I truly wish I had the thrill of reading this again for the first time.
What’s your favourite first line in a book? ‘There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.’ The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader by CS Lewis. Probably one of the best opening lines to a book of all time.
Which debut publication had the most profound effect on you? Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It’s so moving and raw and just human. It’s devastating and powerful and changes you. It leaves you with this feeling in your gut that you can’t shake for days.
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up on a writing day? Usually, I’ll try to read or listen to an audiobook. Just a chapter to get my gears in motion and get myself in the mood for writing. I try never to force myself to write, because any time I’ve done that, the writing has been such a hot mess that it all has to be disregarded, so I centre myself and prepare with some reading.
What’s the first thing you do when you’ve stopped writing for the day? Honestly, I usually knit/crochet or play some video games. Whatever the post-writing mood calls for. Something that helps me switch off my brain and recover from whatever turmoil I’ve been putting my characters through.
In a parallel universe where you’re the tyrant leader of a dystopian civilisation, what’s the first book you’d burn? I would never in my life burn a book, I can’t even bring myself to dog-ear pages. But for the sheer irony of it, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
What’s the first piece of advice you’d offer to an aspiring novelist? Write for yourself. Write the book that you always wanted but never got. Be the person who brings that piece of art into this world. You will never regret staying true to that vision.
Briony Cameron: The Ballad Of Jacquotte Delahaye is published by Piatkus on Thursday 6 June.