What should audiences expect from your event at Faclan: the Hebridean Book Festival?
I hope they’ll get a little giggle here and there and a relaxing night. Lots of stories, some rudeness and hopefully a great night out!
This year’s festival theme is Fear. How do you think your event will fit in with that theme?
I guess a lot of my poetry relates to parenthood, which is fuelled by the fear of not being ‘good enough’ whatever that should mean. Also some adolescent sexual encounters, which again, might be pretty on topic I think!
What are you most afraid of and why?
Death. That’s it really. Mine, but also friends’ and family’s. Apart from that, I think that’s all really. I’m trying not to be but it’s hard to shake the worry.
What was the last book you read?
Well I’m in the midst of The Gormenghast Trilogy. It’s taking a while!
Who is your favourite writer and why?
I have loved Irvine Welsh’s writing for a while. He’s one of my favourites to read. Margaret Atwood I’ve started listening to on audio with all the driving to gigs and I’m really loving her style of writing too. I like the fact there’s a lot of interested sex in her stories. I love Charles Dickens as well, though I haven’t read as many of his books as I should have.
What do you find is the easiest and/or the most difficult part of writing?
Being alone all the time and being in your head too much. I like socialising and I like company and I love learning new things. Sometimes when I’m writing it’s a bit isolating, physically and mentally.
What are you working on at the moment that you are most excited about?
I’m constantly writing poems and ditties and stories and at the moment I guess I’m working on trying to put them all together, to make them much better and to choose what and which ones to do something with.
I’m also working on learning one of my books in French and Spanish, as it’s just been translated. So that’s probably what I’m most excited by right now.
Hollie McNish will perform at Faclan: the Hebridean Book Festival on Saturday 3 November at 8.30pm. Book tickets here.