Fabulous Female Musicians is a collection of twenty-one stories from top female musicians and the remarkable journey they have had in a male-dominated industry. Why was this an important book for you to write?

When I wrote my first book All That’s Jazz, commissioned by Tomahawk Press, I interviewed many musicians and people involved in the music industry. I found few women in top positions at record labels, music publishing, and other important roles. I was then commissioned to write ‘Women In Jazz’ by 8th House Publishing in America and Canada, and I found writing about the female musicians of the past and present inspirational. I also realized how hard they found it, not only because of their gender but sometimes due to racism, and many of them were supported by – and some fought against – dominant male characters. I interviewed many women for the book and realized there were many things in the music world that weren’t right in terms of equality. With an American editor, I wrote about gender in the UK jazz industry and found, even though it was a few years after the first book, that things had not moved very much. So I decided to write a book with female musicians having their say, giving their voice and relating their experiences. I found it uplifting because while a few of the female musicians featured in the book experienced misogyny, many did not and it feels like this is a reflection of how things are changing in the music world for females. Music education, young people and their values and campaigns like Me Too and the creation of the F-list and other initiatives have helped. People can now find female musicians for any event – so no excuses! While we are not quite at equality yet, we are certainly further along even since I first wrote a book just a few years back. The important things, however, is telling the personal stories of these incredibly talented musicians, the love of music and how music unites us all on many levels.

How much research did you undertake for this book, and how much time did it take to put it all together?

It took a long time because, firstly, I asked musicians who they felt were the most important and influential female musicians today. As you can imagine, I got a lot of names and finally I had a list of 58 female musicians, all important, all influential and whose stories I felt were diverse, might be different due to the different cultural backgrounds and who readers would like to get to know more about.

I eventually got to my final list of 25 musicians and asked each of them about being in the book. Twenty one agreed and these were my final list. Luckily, I managed to include the rest in articles for Readers Digest and The Jazz Report, so each of the musicians named as important today got a mention somewhere, if not a full interview in the book. Then I researched again, finding areas that I could use to scaffold similar questions to all of the musicians so readers could see a true comparison with each journey. Then I asked the questions and waited for the responses. The feedback was incredible and all of the women were really cooperative and helpful in their responses, so I felt a real insight into each journey was being created. I was lucky to find my editor for previous work, Richard Sheehan, was available, so I booked him and he started to edit interviews as they came in. Vick Bain wrote the foreword and I was so pleased, as she is prominent in music and gender studies.

Then came the cover choice. My cover artist came up with several ideas, I put these to the women in the book and it seemed there was something not quite right with every idea – either the depiction of the female frame, the colour of the women used, the way they held their instruments (being models, they did not get it right always) and eventually, I went back to the drawing board and someone created a short tune, we put that on the cover and we were there. Then the edits, the checks, the double checks, proof reading, typesetting, formatting and finally, finally, the book was ready.

What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?

Firstly, I wanted true accounts of the journeys women make in the music world. Speaking to women over the years, I have heard many accounts, all different, all worthy and some are positive, some negative. There are many wonderful initiatives supporting female musicians, yet when you look at festival line ups (which I did, literally counting up artists) and venue line-ups, there are still way more men than women. Venue managers told me they are now using the F-list and finding great female musicians, which is a huge leap forward. I also did not want the book to feel like a bewailing of the fact women are on the rise rather than, as of yet, at the top of the music industry (with some exceptions of course). I wanted first hand, open accounts of female musicians’ journeys. I did not want to sway readers’ opinions but rather present them with different stories and they can make their own minds up as to whether things are good or need a bit of work still. Not only that, I wanted the musicians in the book to be from different countries and backgrounds. Luckily, I got that in the 21 incredibly talented women who agreed, much to my delight, to be in the book.

Secondly, I wanted readers to immerse themselves in the stories, the journeys of these women and understand how the passion for music unites us all and these women bring that passion to life with their diverse styles and genres. I wanted readers to enjoy the journeys, to share the funny asides, the disappointments, the rejoicing, the triumphs, peace and dilemmas the women have experienced. Again, I was lucky because the musicians in the book tell brilliant stories and truths.

Thirdly, I wanted to celebrate their art, creativity and talent and I think we managed that too.

Even in the few months since I wrote the book, the women have journeyed on, some of them winning Grammy nominations, awards, releasing new albums and singles, selling out top venues and much, much more.

What is one thing that you hope readers take away from Fabulous Female Musicians?

That music, and musicians, offer a way to unite people. They are musicians, just that. I want readers to take away the joy of journeying in music, an understanding of possible pitfalls but also a sense that with passion, business sense and determination, so long as you have talent there is a place for you in music. I want them to want to know more about these and other musicians. About music and the power it has.

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