The dog in Jim Crace's home in Moseley gets plenty of walks. The Guardian newspaper is read from front to back each day and there are few jobs outstanding in the house. In fact the writer admits there have been times when he would rather be anywhere than sitting in front of a keyboard writing his latest novel, Pesthouse.
 "It is going unbelievably slowly. It is turning out to be a real bugger," admits Jim, who has seen his other novels win awards and translated into 14 languages. Jim's challenge has its roots in the death of his mother, who in her 90s was coping with dementia and cancer. At the time he was completing Six, which follows the life of Felix Dem who discovers each woman he sleeps with gets pregnant. It is a tale of sex, love, family and the power of women. "My mum was dying and it was terrible time. I knew I really had to write this book in the corners when I was not having to care for my poor old mum." He adds: "I wrote Six in spite of what was going on. It had to be written. There was a deadline and I had to meet it. "Since she died and the book was published what I like to describe as writer's block was in fact deferred grief. It was overwhelming. Really I have lost a year through that, it was just so exhausting." Not that Jim wants others to feel sorry for his situation. The former journalist, who once wrote for national newspapers including The Sunday Times magazine, enjoys the chance to live his life the way he wants to live it. In between walking the dog, playing tennis and the demands of home and holidays he knows he has to find time to write the latest novel. The plot explores life in America in the 25th century with people facing a medieval future through the loss of technology. His new deadline for his American and British publishers is December 31 and currently he is forcing himself to write 1,000 words a day. "My books are always about the subject I am interested in and there is a question I want to ask. This time the question I want to ask myself is what extent is our Western society reliant on technology." The sight of a blank page can deter many writers but Jim believes it is important to get your head down and get on with writing. "Really you have got to make a mess of it but force yourself to write, it is the only way to progress the book," says Jim. "Young writers often don't just want to put anything down on the page but it is the only way. Don't be afraid to make a mess." He feels this method has enabled him to be about halfway through the process but he admits: "A lot of the time is wasted so it is important to get on with it and write something." Talent is always important but so, Jim feels, is the ability to commit words to paper. "I will do anything I can to get away from the getting on with it."
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And, even with a December deadline, Jim does not see himself under pressure until early Autumn. "I am excellent at prevaricating and I am not one of those people who goes on about how much pressure they are under. My life is a doddle and I love it. There will come a time when I have to spend my time in an absolutely frenzy but that will not be until about September." Until then the summer beckons and Jim concedes: "I may be a successful author but the difference between me and others who have talent is that I have got on with it - eventually. "Certainly there needs to be a certain level of skill but people with a natural confidence and narrative should put it down on paper and get on with writing their book." * Jim Crace was talking to Annie Roberts, who made two cups of tea, took the dogs for a walk, emptied the washing machine and confirmed a holiday booking before she began writing this feature. Six is published by Penguin. Other books by Jim Crace include Continent,The Gift of Stones, Arcadia, Signals of Distress, Quarantine and Being Dead. Read an extract of Six here. Tell us what you think about books by Jim Crace or other books which has captured your imagination. At the Editor's discretion we will be publishing a selection of comments about our chosen titles on the end of the features in this section. So tell the world what you think about Six (or any other books) - and if you disagree with what anyone else has said send us a response! Just use the box on this page. | 
