Author Blog - Mo Foster

ON SMILING

I spent a lot of my life snarling in public. There are, or were, photographs of me at weddings, an angry little girl, tummy and bottom lip protruding into the world. Knees clamped together - all charkas closed down if you believe in such things - always with a bow in my hair and wearing some very feminine confection made by mum. To be fair there were also pictures of me in happy disarray on a donkey at the seaside or up a tree. At school I glared out of formal photos, yet I was a clown in the classroom, a smart arse sniggerer and disruptor of lessons that bored me - a swat at the ones I liked.

Really the seventies were a very good time for me, I became a feminist and it seemed quite acceptable to hit the world with a nice grim face, in public anyway, because we were aware of vast unfairnesses. In fact it was the time of the anti nazi league and blatant racism so a grim visage was appropriate. It was also a time of great liberation for me and I probably laughed more then than I ever had before. I enjoyed the company of women enormously.

I grew up wanting to be a boy - mainly for the clothes and for the sheer convenience of peeing upright - which I tried with messy results. My brother got a better deal in both liberty and pocket money, I felt cheated. But somehow it was a given that going out with a male was preferable to going out with your mates, so if your friend got a date with a boy and dumped you that was ok.

Things have changed in this department and I have taken up smiling big time. Partly I think because I live in an area where few women speak English and smiling is my main communication, I limit my smiling, mainly to the female population and I hardly snarl at all. I enjoy being smiled at and partly because I have a dog. In an area where the only other dogs are large grim creatures so people cower at my small terrier- and she reciprocates by running in terror from squealing kids - so a reassuring smile is part of my equipment.

Anyway I take my smile everywhere with me. In Moscow it was received with stony lack of comprehension, in Berlin I got unwarranted smiles from most people and in London a mixed reaction. It pleases me to smile and though it could be seen as sign of weakness, I don't care. I shall smile with vigour but if you don't reciprocate I shan't mind, and don't be fooled, the snarl is still intact and fully operational!

Ps. This week I have much to smile about because my 1st novel 'a blues for shindig' has been chosen as part of the new Exclusively Independent list. I am delighted and look forward to blagging and putting myself about to promote my book - along with the other writers I hope!