Up Close With: Gail Aldwin

Meet the wonderful writers and patrons behind LWS.

Published in

London Writers’ Salon

3 min readAug 3, 2023

All people are innately creative, says this week’s featured member. Gail Aldwin began focusing on writing and publishing novels after redundancy from her teaching role, and she’s since published two coming-of-age novels and is working on a psychological suspense. Persistence is key, she says from her tiny writing desk in a corner of the room. You’ll find here there three to four hours every day, kickstarted by the an 8am writers hour session.

Gail Aldwin

Based between London and Dorset, UK
Has published two coming-of-age novels, now writing psychological suspense
Works at a tiny writing desk in the corner of the room

Where are you based?

I split my time between a tiny flat in South West London and a home overlooking water meadows in Dorset.

What do you write, in general?

My main focus is novel writing and I’ve had two coming-of-age novels published. Recently, I’ve moved into the genre of psychological suspense. I also enjoy writing short fiction and poetry.

What are you working on right now?

Let me give you the elevator pitch for my work in progress, currently titled Slingback Resort:

When Ashley’s controlling husband books a holiday, she finds the tropical island empowering. Tensions exist between the African population and rich tourists but Ashley is determined to build friendships with locals, unaware that her husband stokes the conflict.

Where and when do you write?

Writers’ Hour starts my day and once I’m launched into writing mode, I continue to work on a project for three to four hours. I work at a tiny desk and I’m usually so focused on the screen, I entirely blot out my surroundings. This is quite useful when the room is in a mess that needs clearing up.

How do you write?

I learnt to touch type many years ago and have always written straight onto the computer. When I get an idea, I can usually see how it can be developed. If it’s a fleeting moment, that might work well for poetry. When there is a story arc, this could develop into short fiction. The ideas that keep returning to me eventually become a novel.

Why do you write?

I believe all people are innately creative. Some develop their talents through cooking, gardening, painting or, in my husband’s case, wine making. When I was teaching in schools, I invested much of my creativity into curriculum development and resource making. Following redundancy in 2013, I decided to devote my creative energy to writing for pleasure and publication.

What inspires your creativity?

In terms of novel writing, one book often leads to another. In my debut, The String Games, a little boy going missing is the catalyst. I so enjoyed writing his cameo role that I decided to write an entire novel from the viewpoint of a young boy in This Much Huxley Knows. After writing a linear text, I wanted to explore dual timelines in my latest novel, The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell.