Questions, questions, questions…
I’m always very happy to answer questions about my writing
(and to talk about myself, ahem), so when fellow novelist Gilli Allan sent me
some questions for my blog I was more than willing to have a little think!
What is the title of
your next book?
The Wedding Diary.
Where did the idea for
the book come from?
I wondered what would happen to a girl who won a fabulous
dream wedding in a country house hotel a couple of weeks after her fiancé had
walked out. She’s got the wedding
sorted, but what about the bridegroom?
What genre does your
book fall under?
Romantic comedy.
Which actors would you
choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Tom Hiddleston (aka Henry V) would be perfect for my hero
Adam Lawley.
What is the
one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Where’s a fairy godmother when you need one?
Will your book be
self-published or represented by an agency?
It’s to be published in May 2013 by the multi-award-winning independent
publisher Choc Lit. So no pressure
there, then.
How long did it take
you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
That’s a difficult question because stories tend to slosh
around in my head for a long time before I write them down, but I suppose about
six months.
What other books would
you compare this story to within your genre?
There are too many to list, but The Wedding Diary is a story
about losing Mr Wrong and finding Mr Right with – I hope – a few new twists and
a terrifying secondary character who the focus-group-readers liked a lot.
Who or what inspired
you to write this book?
Last year – 2011 – was a difficult one for me for all sorts
of reasons and I wanted to write a story which was fun, light-hearted and
happy.
What else about your
book might pique the reader’s interest?
It’s a modern-day take on the Cinderella story, so it
features lots of recognisable but hopefully newly-minted characters – a lovely
heroine with whom the reader can identify, a handsome prince with whom the
reader can fall in love, a fairy godmother and two not-so-ugly sisters. There’s
also a fairytale ending.
The novel is now up on Amazon for pre-ordering - click on the book cover image on the right for more information and see if it takes your fancy?
Thank you, Gilli Allan, for inviting me to answer these
questions. You can pop over to Gilli’s
own blog at http://gilliallan.blogspot.co.uk/.
If you’re a fan of women’s interest fiction, some other
blogs you will enjoy reading include http://lizbaileywritingtips.blogspot.co.uk
Thanks for crediting me with the idea, Margaret, but I was just passing the questions on. Love your answers. Cinderella is the seminal fantasy for all little girls (and some grown ups too). Triumph out of adversity! Despite your humble beginnings you can get the frock, the coach, the man, and in the process, become envied by everyone who 'dissed' you. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the plus of being a writer - as you say, Margaret, we can write our way out of the blues... or put them aside for while. The huge plus side of being a reader is that I'll get to see what's behind the gorgeous cover of 'The Wedding Diary'. I'm really looking forwards to it.
ReplyDeleteThanks you for the mention - off to visit Gilli now!
How very true, Margaret, that when times are bad we need to write happier things - a writer's bonus to be able to escape to somewhere more pleasant. But in the best case scenarios we don't need to do that all the time..:)
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