An Interview with Teresa Bassett
- Untold Stories Academy
- Apr 29
- 4 min read
This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing fabulous YA author Teresa Bassett about her writing (and non-writing) life.
Please could you start by telling me a little bit about yourself and your books.
I’m an author from Cornwall, and I’ve published four novels and a collection of stories.
The Time Crystals and Flight of the Bluebird are time-travelling adventures for 9-12 year
olds, while The Mystery of Acorn Academy and Tell and You Die are contemporary
mysteries for older children and young adults. With all my YA books, my aim was to write
the kind of exciting adventures I loved reading as a child. My books are available via Amazon or bookshops.
You are currently writing your first novel for adults, Her Brother’s Bride. What inspired
you to switch from YA to an adult audience?
That’s a tough question. I love writing for a younger audience – there’s something innocent
and exciting about it, even when tackling deeper subjects. But over the past few years I have
felt that the climate in children’s literature has become quite restrictive and sanitised, with
every word agonised over in case of possible offense. (Personally, I think kids are much
more resilient and capable of thinking for themselves than they’re given credit for). But the
main reason is that, the older I get, the more I’m drawn to writing darker, more adult stories,
in particular the mysteries and psychological thrillers I love to read now.
Image from Unplash
If you could reveal three secrets about this new book to entice readers, what would
they be?
Her Brother’s Bride is set in an imposing Cornish manor house named Molennys Hall.
The main character, Flora, is a professional violinist who returns home after a traumatising
attack, only to have her life turned upside-down for a second time when her best friend is
murdered. It’s a psychological thriller centring on family secrets, manipulation and betrayal.
Will you continue to write YA?
I certainly never rule anything out, and am currently editing a YA sci-fi novel with the working
title Sylvie’s Return. I’d always hoped to write a sequel for The Mystery of Acorn Academy,
and also a third book in The Time Crystals series to make it a trilogy. I have lots of notes for
these projects, but that’s as far as I’ve got.
What makes a good opening line in your eyes?
We all strive for the perfect opening line, and I wish I could reveal some amazing secret
wisdom! But I do think it needs to be something that sets the tone of the story and gives
some sense of the main character. Also, I like there to be movement, or a sense of mystery,
tension or change.
To give some of my own examples:
‘Clara Callenick clipped her bike to the stand and dashed across the hot schoolyard towards the assembly hall.’ (Flight of the Bluebird).
‘Clara Callenick’s day began badly when Jess, her greyhound, was sick all over her history homework.’ (The Time Crystals).
‘Calling a quick goodbye to my friends, I bolted out of the park and cut through the industrial estate.’ (The Mystery of Acorn Academy).
With each book, I try to draw the reader straight into the protagonist’s world and hint at their dilemma.
Do you have a favourite character in your books? If so, what makes them your favourite?
I’m very fond of twelve-year-old Clara Callenick, from The Time Crystals, as she reminds me of myself at that age – a tomboy wanting to save the world. However, she’s a lot braver than I was, and more fun!
Do you have any unusual/specific writing habits?
I didn’t think so, but I work on my laptop, seated low to the ground on my futon, and my
husband reckons I adopt a very odd lounging posture. Perhaps this explains why he’s not
always convinced I’m working!
What is your Desert Island book pick?
Tricky! Well, the sensible choice would be something I could get my teeth into and mull over, such as Colin Wilson’s Mysteries, a fascinating exploration of all kinds of supernatural and magical phenomena throughout the ages. However, if I were allowed a box set, it would have to be Harry Potter.
Which book by another author has changed your life?
As a teenager I loved Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. Coming from a less
affluent, rural area myself, I loved the fact that Thomas Hardy wrote so compassionately
about characters and problems with which I could identify, and I shared his love of the
countryside. I wanted happier endings for some of his characters, though.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I have lots of interests, many of them revolving around the natural world: walking, herbalism,
gardening, foraging. I also love to cook. Languages have always fascinated me, too – I
studied German and Italian at university, and have had various jobs involving them, including
conducting foreign tours around the Eden Project. In a former life, I loved to sing, and gigged with bands – something I’d find much too daunting nowadays!
What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt as an author to date?
That your sense of worth and self-belief needs to come from inside, and not be tied too
closely to your success as an author. Publishing today is a fickle industry involving lots of
luck and setbacks, and – for all the utterances to the contrary – I think it’s still quite exclusive. There isn’t much money in it, either, for the majority of authors. You need to really want to write, come what may.
Could you name your ‘dinner party guest’ author.
I’d love to have met Daphne du Maurier – such an amazing storyteller, with a great love for
Cornwall. She loved the outdoors and enjoyed solitude, as I do, but she was also apparently
a very kind and witty host.
What hopes/plans do you have for your writing?
I’d like to see if I can make a success of writing for adults in the thriller genre I love to read.
By ‘success’, I suppose I mean creating page-turning, absorbing stories people want to read,
and reaching as many of those readers as I can. It’s an amazing feeling when someone has
enjoyed your book, and I’ll keep creating stories for as long as I can.
Thank you for talking to me, Francesca!
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