Today, my special guest is Alison May, whose delicious
romantic comedy Midsummer Dreams is
published this June, appropriately enough at midsummer!
Welcome, Alison – come in, sit down, have a glass of
something light and sparkly and some chocolate-coated strawberries?
Thank you kindly. *swigs enthusiastically*
These days, you’re making quite a name for yourself with
your brilliant adaptations of the storylines from some of Shakespeare’s plays.
What made you choose A Midsummer Night’s
Dream as the inspiration for your new book?
Well obviously A
Midsummer Night’s Dream was a serious and considered choice. What
definitely didn’t happen was that I went to my first meeting with my publisher
and panicked and said the first Shakespeare play that came to mind when she
asked what I’d be working on next. That absolutely and categorically didn’t
happen at all.
I think what did entice me about A Midsummer Night’s Dream was the way that it interleaves fairies
and magic with the ‘real world’ characters. I write what I tend to call
‘rationalist romance’ so I knew I didn’t want it to be a paranormal novel, so
the challenge was how to bring the magic in while staying in the ‘real’ world.
Tell us a little about the heroes and heroines of your
story?
There are four main characters and they’re all a little bit
broken at the start of the story, although I don’t think they necessarily know
that themselves. Dominic and Emily have got their lives all mapped out. Alex
has no plan at all, but thinks that suits him just fine. Maybe the fourth
character, Helen, is the only one who realises that she’s stuck in limbo.
Although I don’t think she has the smallest clue what to do to change her
situation.
I like writing about characters who are trapped in some way,
usually by their own flaws or failings, and all four main characters in Midsummer Dreams definitely fall into
that category.
Did you have any input when it came to designing the gorgeous
summery cover? What does it tell us about the novel?
The cover is all down to the genius of Berni Stevens. I
think what it tells you about the novel is summed up by both the images and the
tagline – Four people. Four messy lives. One night that changes everything.
I love the way the characters on the cover almost look like
they’re penned in by the foliage around them. It’s beautiful but at the same
time maybe a tiny bit claustrophobic? Mainly when I look at this cover though,
I just jump up and down shouting ‘So pretty! So pretty!’
I hope you’ll be happy to share a little background stuff
with me? Do you come from a family of writers or are you the family maverick?
When did you first decide you wanted to write fiction, and what drew you to
romantic fiction in particular?
I’m not from a family of writers, but I am from a family of
readers. I remember trips to the library with my mum from a very young age, and
I grew up in a house full of books and bookshelves.
I’m not entirely sure what drew me to romance. I do read a
lot of romantic comedy and contemporary women’s fiction. I love writers like
Marian Keyes, Mhairi McFarlane, Sarra Manning, Julie Cohen and Jane Lovering.
So probably it just comes down to writing what I love!
Do your heroines take after you in any way? Or are they the
kind of person you would like to be?
I seem to write two different ‘types’ of heroine. The ones
that are outwardly confident – like Trix in Sweet
Nothing or Helen in Midsummer Dreams,
and the type who wear their neuroses on their sleeves – most obviously
Henrietta in Sweet Nothing, but also
the heroine I’m writing at the moment, Jessica. I’m probably more the first
type myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any neuroses; I just do my best
to save them up and put them in a book!
Planner, vague outliner or planning phobic – when it comes
to working out the storyline in a novel, who are you?
It varies. I seem to be becoming more of a planner as I get
older and more haggard and world weary. For Sweet
Nothing and Holly’s Christmas Kiss I started with nothing but the vague plot idea,
and then I wrote into the ether and hoped for the best. Now I tend to have at
least a few notes and an idea of the shape of the book before I start. It
almost always changes massively as I write though.
Five quick questions:
What is your best time of day for writing?
Morning. Or very late at night.
Who are your favourite romantic hero and heroine?
Benedick and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing. Closely followed by the
Doctor and River Song from Doctor Who.
If you could interview any historical figure, real or
imaginary, who would it be and why?
The Doctor. Because he’s the Doctor and, well just because
he’s the Doctor. Failing that I would have loved to have met Terry Pratchett.
I’m genuinely gutted that I’ll never get the chance.
Do you have any special non-writing ambitions?
To fly away in the TARDIS. Are you sensing a theme here?
What’s next on the agenda for Alison May? I bet it’s not
updating Titus Andronicus…
Yeah – I’m going to do a rom com version of Titus
Andronicus. Why ever not? Seriously, I’m just getting my third Christmas Kisses
book ready to send off to my publisher. That story is all about Jessica, a
woman who had the perfect first kiss but followed it up with a disastrous
marriage.
After that, I’m not quite sure yet. There are certainly
Shakespeare comedies I’d still love to adapt, but I might do something a little
bit different first. Watch this space…
Four people. Four
messy lives. One party that changes everything …
Emily is obsessed with ending her father’s new relationship – but is blind
to the fact that her own is far from perfect.
Dominic has spent so long making other people happy that he’s hardly noticed
he’s not happy himself.
Helen has loved the same man, unrequitedly, for ten years. Now she may have to
face up to the fact that he will never be hers.
Alex has always played the field. But when he finally meets a girl he wants to
commit to, she is just out of his reach.
At a midsummer wedding party, the bonds that tie the four friends together
begin to unravel and show them that, sometimes, the sensible choice is not
always the right one.
About Alison
Alison was born and raised in North Yorkshire,
but now lives in Worcester with one
husband, no kids and no pets. There were goldfish once. That ended badly.
Alison has studied History and Creative Writing, and has worked as a waitress,
a shop assistant, a learning adviser, an advice centre manager, and a freelance
trainer, before settling on 'making up stories' as an entirely acceptable
grown-up career plan.
Alison is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, and won the
Elizabeth Goudge Trophy in 2012. She writes contemporary romantic comedies,
published by Choc Lit. In addition to Midsummer
Dreams, she is also the author of Sweet
Nothing and the Christmas Kisses series.
