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An Interview with Cornelia J. Glynn

I am German and my six-month-to-a-year stay in London has just had a fiftieth anniversary, so you might have guessed I’m no longer a spring chicken, though to look at I could lie and say I am an autumn hen). My career path is rather varied—twenty-five years in the music business and a short spell in TV (behind the scenes—I was not a screen goddess…), after which I retrained as a homeopathic practitioner and later taught Hawaiian healing massage.

I started writing poetry in my twenties and had a poem published in the first-ever German anthology of modern poetry. My mother, incidentally, wrote wonderful poetry, and my sister is a published poet in Germany. I always loved writing essays and at some stage joined a creative writing group with one of the most innovative teachers ever. My creative juices really flowed and I was so inspired that I compiled the stories for I couldn’t make it up if I tried. I have written other (fictional) short stories too, but discovered my love for writing “funny stuff” in a creative writing group I joined remotely. It’s a rather big group and at the end we are given a writing prompt: Two words are loosely tossed into the room and we are meant to write 200 words. (Mine tend to be a bit longer but nobody seems to mind.) Some of the pieces are hilarious and I am playing with the idea of compiling others’ contributions in a book. It would be fun to read and put smiles on people’s faces and by gum (English expression) we can all do with some laughter lines… Amazing what can be written given just two little words—no matter how strange they might sound… So I am continuing to write the funny stuff and always look for people to listen to them and get their feedback. Some people write about grizzly things like murders or they write horror gripping you by the neck. I want to be entertained and entertain others.



What inspired you to start writing this book?

It was my first creative writing tutor whose way of teaching was second to none. His approach was unusual and so wonderfully different and he convinced me that I could be the writer I wanted to be.

Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

It did take ages to come up with the title, I couldn’t make it up if I tried—but one day it just popped into my mind and it felt right and it stayed there. Where my aspiration of the compilation of writing prompts is concerned, it could be “Two words—many stories.” The cover could feature a selection of two-word titles and one or two lines of excerpts of the stories themselves, in various fonts.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I worked for a slimming clinic opposite Harrods when I first came to London. It is an American outfit that used hard sell techniques to persuade people to sign up for their programmes. I then went to work for American Express in the travellers’ cheques (Africa/Europe/Middle East) section but got bored and joined one of the Virgin empire companies (not such an empire then).

Where is your favorite place to write?

On my sofa, with my cat by my side, or when I am in bed (with my cat by my side).

What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?

The same advice my mother gave me: write it first, then read it, then edit it. Don’t be too harsh with your criticism. What you think isn’t good enough, others may regard as masterpieces.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

“That was a fun read.”


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