Interview with Ruth Jacobs

Interview with Ruth Jacobs

Author of

Soul Destruction: Unforgivable

Questions: R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I’m a mother of twin sons; we have two rescue cats and a rescue Lurcher and live out in the countryside about an hour from London. My life is very different now to how it was until my mid-twenties and my past provides much material for my stories.   

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

No idea at all. But I do remember a story I wrote when I was sixteen. It was for my English GCSE exam and the title I had chosen (or perhaps there was only one) was something along the lines of “The Best Day of My Life”. I had taken some drugs before the exam - I am pretty sure it was either magic mushrooms or acid, though possibly I could have just been very stoned, but I think it was a trip that day. Anyway, my story about the best day of my life was a very long description of what happened when my protagonist got run over and he (or possibly she, I can’t recall) was up in the air. I remember the clouds looking like teddy bears. I expect the reason for remembering that story is because I was shocked, and delighted, to achieve a ‘B’ in English, as I was not that regular at attending school, and when I was, I wasn’t always present in mind.  

Were you inspired by someone or something?

My grandmother was a writer and I am sure she inspired me to start writing.

What do you like about writing a story?

I like being in the characters’ world. It’s a form of escapism for me. Though not as powerful as shooting heroin and crack (as I did in my younger years), it’s generally safer - you don’t often see a writer in the gutter with a story sticking out her arm.

Can you tell us about your book?

Soul Destruction: Unforgivable follows Shelley Hansard, a heroin addicted and crack psychotic London call girl who gets the opportunity to take revenge on a client who raped her and her friends.

What genre best fits for the book?

Crime.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I am going to be writing the second book in the Soul Destruction series very soon, but currently most of my time is taken up with activism in anti-sexual exploitation and anti-human trafficking.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Keep writing.

Where can people go to read your work?

There’s the Soul Destruction website at www.soul-destruction.com and my author website www.ruthjacobs.co.uk.

Do you have anything to add?

A short story of mine, Life, about a man facing a life sentence for a crime he can’t remember committing, is free right now along with other short stories from more Caffeine Nights writers here http://www.caffeine-nights.com/free-short-shots.html.