Novelist rediscovers mojo with Ramblers
A Canadian novelist has credited Bristol Ramblers for her latest novel, after joining the group helped her overcome writer’s block. Earlier this year, English-born Alice Kuipers – who is married to Life of Pi author Yann Martell – was laying low in Bristol with a half-finished story, a mountain of edits and a vague plan to hike on the Downs. After a month, she says: “I couldn’t remember what my novel was about, couldn’t even remember what it felt like to be a writer – and a deadline loomed. ”
Enter Bristol Ramblers. Alice spotted a small ad for the group and joined them one sunny Saturday morning for a hike. “They laughed at me arriving in a cab, ” says Alice. “They were interesting and friendly with big smiles and small backpacks. And the walk was glorious. ” On the second trip, Alice said she began to remember what her book was about and, by the third, she’d made good friends and heard some great tales. “I realised there are stories everywhere and, for the first time in ages, I felt like writing. ”
The Worst Thing She Ever Did will be published in the United States this spring, with Alice promising to raise a glass to those Ramblers friends thousands of miles away in the West Country – and the positive effects of a good walk.
