From Hobnobs in bed to funeral homes and the dead - Deborah Rayner loves death so much it’s in her DNA… cheers to that
- CWIP
- a few seconds ago
- 4 min read
Congratulations on being included in the compilation! Could you tell us about your story in one sentence?
An absurdist coming of age story about a hapless young man and a beleaguered pig on the run.
Please can you tell us about the brilliant ‘When Death is the Day Job’ in one sentence? Gangsters, gallows humour, dead gangsters, village gossips, and ‘tell it as it is’ Yorkshire women, what’s not to love? What inspired you to use a funeral home as the backdrop for this witty tale? Growing up in the 1960s in a Catholic household, the middle child of seven, the highlight of my week was visiting my great-aunt and uncle after Mass on Sunday at the funeral home they ran in Bradford. Swapping a church hat for a top hat, pretending to drive the hearse, was the best time ever. Listening to the banter between the funeral directors and playing hide and seek behind the morgue, death as a day job must be part of my DNA. The gallows humour was ingrained in me from an early age, and writing a series of morbidly comedic books set in a Yorkshire funeral home was always inevitable. Do you find dark humour and death a natural conduit for making the reader laugh? Crikey, yes. There are so many amazing, witty women writing novels about murder and serial killers, and I love them all. Let's face it, there is nothing more certain than Death and Taxes, and if we’re not laughing in the face of them both, what are we even thinking?
It was film and TV that first got me hooked on how funny death and dead bodies can be, though. I remember watching old black and white movies like Arsenic and Old Lace, two sweet little ladies bumping folk off left, right and centre. Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) was an absolute favourite. Weekend and Bernie's - trying to figure out the perennial question… What do you do when you find a dead body just before your party starts? It never gets old.
Which witty novel inspired you the most growing up ?
I’m not even going to apologise for going with the obvious, Jane Austin, specifically Pride and Prejudice. The characterisations – every single one so well drawn, didn’t matter how minor the role was. The dialogue, oh my days, what wouldn’t you give to be able to write exchanges like that, sibling rivalry, Mrs Bennet and that wonderful Mr Bennet line, ‘For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?’ Just superb and as true today as it was then.
How long have you wanted to write and finish a manuscript? Where do you write? Do you take coffee breaks or stick to water /wine/other ? Any writing habits gratefully received.
Forever - getting a book over the line and published? Well, that’d be a life goal right there, and I’ll keep on peddling until I do.
I write lying on my bed with my laptop on my knees, fuelled by Yorkshire Tea in my Grumpy mug and chocolate hob nob biscuits is the only way I can keep adding words to the page - oh and spreadsheets and non-stop counting how many new ones I've squeezed out. I have to know the ending of the story I’m writing, but I'm an absolute pantster when it comes to how I’m going to get there. Two or three times a year, I’m properly posh though and head out on a WordyAway with my wonderful writerly tribe: Helen, Sharon, Tracy, Jo and Julie. We stay in fabulous old houses (always within walking distance of a pub – we’re not philistines), slam all the words down on the page, go on plot walks, and eat our own body weight in lasagne and fizz, then hit the karaoke. Never let it be said that women writers don’t know how to work hard and play harder.
Finally, can you tell us why you think CWIP is important?!
Where to start? What fabulous Helen and her amazing team (they may be small, but they be mighty) have done for witty, women writers, is nothing short of incredible. She has given us a voice – seriously – and such a fabulous opportunity for unpublished wordies like me. I doubt that people fully appreciate the effort and ongoing tenacity and determination it must take to bring something like CWIP to life and keep it breathing. I am utterly in awe of Helen and Team CWIP, and the way previous winners, listed and still trying writers, all pull each other up. It’s this unbelievably supportive community and I’ve made such brilliant new wordy friends along the way… not gonna lie, I’ve a lump in my throat just thinking about it.
If you could offer support we would love you to press the button below - so we can keep going!