Clare Dudman and Keeper of the Snails

My name is Clare Dudman and I am Keeper of the Snails (http://keeperofthesnails.blogspot.com) The name ‘Dudman’ comes from the word Hodmandod which is an old English word for snails, and the most favourable interpretation of that name (which is one I married into) was the man who keeps snails (the other was ‘the cuckolded one’-— so we ignore that!). Also, my family do not tend to move very quickly.

My main occupation in life is writing and editing I have written four novels: one for children, and three for adults — and several short stories. Details of these are on my website (www.claredudman.com) and include One Day The Ice Will Reveal All Its Dead (a novel based on the life of Alfred Wegener, discoverer of Continental Drift), 98 Reasons For Being (a novel based on the life of the psychiatrist who wrote ShockHeaded Peter), and, forthcoming, A Place Of Meadows And Tall Trees (a novel based on the Welsh colonisation of Patagonia).

Like Tania, I am also interested in writing about science (which sometimes features in my fiction-writing) and I used to be research scientist and teacher. On my blog I write about anything to do with my literary life including my many research trips, my talks, ideas I have from my research, short reviews of books that I have enjoyed, and interviews with authors and other people from the book industry. Through my blog I have made many friends, and, by linking to other blogs, have discovered many things. I like the way a blog helps you to connect with people, and the highlights of my blogging career have been when one post I wrote attracted a comment from a Nobel Laureate, and another which led to a child thanking me for helping him with his homework.