Author Interviews

Author Interview...Emily Harper

Emily Harper is the author of White Lies. She kindly agreed to chat with HerBookList. 

Can you tell us a bit about White Lies and how it came about?

White Lies is about a woman who is unsure of herself and her abilities, but at the same time wants something more out of life.  I wanted Natalie Flemming (the main character) to be a reflection of a lot of women’s insecurities.  Her actions and thoughts are her own, but I think a lot of women can relate to her “waiting for her life to begin” and wondering where her happy ending is.

How did you get into writing?

I started noticing funny things but thought “I know what could make this a lot better…” so I started putting it down on paper.  There is a lot of things going on in my head on a daily basis- my writing is a reflection of that.

What is your average writing day like? 

I try and write every day, but I don’t put pressure on myself for length.  I think about what I want to happen in the story throughout the day and I think that really helps with writer’s block.

Who is your favourite character in White Lies and which character would you most like to bitch slap?

I love Natalie- it’s hard not to, but I also love Hank - because he is fabulous!  I think the character I would most like to slap is Claire- the nasty receptionist.  She isn’t overtly nasty like Angelica, but she just has those moments (that I think we have with everyone in life) that just grate on your nerves but not to the point you would actually say something and confront her.  It’s a subtle hatred lol.

Which character did was most difficult to write?

Oliver, hands down.  Because the novel is written in the first person, from Natalie’s perspective, it is difficult to write how Oliver is feeling/thinking because we only see him through Natalie’s eyes.  I had to write his feelings through his actions, and Natalie’s observations to his actions.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

My favourite quote in life is from Winston Churchill- it’s simple but it’s real.  “Never, ever, ever give up.”

White Lies

Synopsis

Imagine standing in line at Harvey Nichols waiting to buy the most gorgeous silk Gucci dress. The only minor problem? You can’t afford it, it's a size smaller than you are, and you have absolutely no place to wear it. 

Meet Natalie Flemming: a twenty-something woman working in London for a fabulous shoe-designing firm, but the only thing they let her touch is the company’s tax forms. She has decided to give fate a vacation and takes the task of finding the man of her dreams (or Johnny Depp if he would just return her calls...) into her own hands.

She craves adventure, spontaneity, passion- or will just settle for a decent date. 

White Lies can be purchased via (Amazon). You can find her on Twitter (@emilyswhitelies) or on her blog (http://emilyharper.wordpress.com/)

Author Interview...Jon Rance

I'm a huge fan of Jon Rance,  This Thirtysomething Life is a superb insight into the male brain.  His latest book Happy Endings is published on Paperback this Thursday and I'm delighted that he's answered a few questions for HerBooklist. 

What inspired you to write Happy Endings?

It might sound a bit cliché, but life. After university, I think a lot of us go through similar experiences. It can be tricky and some of us end up in the wrong career, the right relationship, the right career or the wrong relationship. Some of us go travelling, follow our dreams, find new ones and some of us lose things we might never get back. The only thing you can guarantee is that it’s going to be messy and it definitely is for the characters in the book. I’ve also always been interested in the theme of happiness. It’s something that’s universal to us all; the search for whatever it is in life that makes us happy. I also really wanted to write an ensemble piece and so when I started thinking about the two, it all came together.

How would you best describe Happy Ending?

Happy Endings is comedy drama about four people, two couples, searching for their own version of a happy ending in modern day London. It’s told uniquely from all of their perspectives in alternating chapters, so you get to hear the story from four different perspectives. Kate just wants to go travelling before she reaches the big three-O, while her long-term boyfriend Ed wants to settle down. Jack wants to be a published author for many reasons, but mainly to save his relationship with fiancée Emma. Emma wants to be an actress more than anything in the world, or at least that’s what she thinks. Its six months that’s going to change all their lives forever.

It’s also a story about our past and how a lot of our happiness comes from our parents and our childhood. All the characters have cathartic moments and have to come face to face with issues from their past before they can move on and I hope people will be able to relate to at least one of the characters in the book.

Happy Endings is a book for both sexes and I think I’ve created interesting and unique characters, all of whom are going through something big and emotional but in a very real and hopefully entertaining way. It’s been compared by a few people to old TV show Cold Feet. If you’re old enough to remember that, I think it’s a very flattering comparison.

How difficult is it to come up with the title of a book? Do you have the title of the book in mind before you start writing?

I usually do have the title before I start writing a book. I think it helps bring the whole thing together. To be honest, and I don’t want to sound at all conceited about it, but I’ve always found it quite easy coming up with titles. Whether they’re good or not I couldn’t say, but so far my agent and publisher haven’t tried to change any of them. Let’s hope it continues.

I do think that titles are incredibly important, especially nowadays, and so I do feel a pressure to get it right. A great title has to be true to the book and should give us the basic premise of the novel. Along with the cover, it’s the first advertising tool the book has and one of the most important. If you look at a book like One Day by David Nicholls for example, the title says everything about the book.

Who do you have in mind when writing? Did you have a specific age group in mind when writing this book?

Again, this might sound a tad cliché, but I don’t write for anyone except me. When I sit down to write or plan a book, the only thing I’m thinking about is creating a novel that I’d want to read. I think it’s so important as a writer to really tap into your own inner reviewer. I generally read my manuscript probably about twenty to thirty times after the first draft and so I have to love it. If other people do too, great, but mainly I’m writing for me. To answer the second part of the question, I’m thirty-eight years old. This is my age group, although hopefully my books can be enjoyed by any age from teenagers to people in their Seventies and beyond.

Are there any occupational hazards to being a novelist?

You get rejected a lot. I mean A LOT. I had years of rejection letters before my BIG break, but then guess what happens? After you get published and think of yourself as a big shot, who is destined for greatness, guess what happens? Yes, that’s right, you get reviews. You get a lot of reviews and some are lovely and some are not. Some are downright rude and offensive. If you want to be a writer, you’ll need a thick skin and a healthy enjoyment of hearing the word, ‘No.’ As soon as your work is out there you’re a target and so you have to get used to that. I also have a bad back.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

From reading. When I was a kid, I always had my head in a book. I’ve always loved reading and as I got older, I started writing and fell in love with that too. I think when you’re a writer you just have to do it. I write every single day and not because I need to or have to force myself, but because it’s just something I have to do. It’s a compulsion. I love it.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

1. Write something every single day. Writing is a skill and most authors have a certain amount of natural ability, but writing is still a skill that needs to be worked on and crafted over. Think of it as a muscle. The longer you go without working it out the weaker it gets.
2. Read every book you can in your genre and don’t just read them for fun, but analyse them. Look at the structure, the characters, the plot, the style, everything and learn as much as you can. There’s a reason why books get published. They have to have something a little bit different or special. Read those books and figure out what made them stand out.
3. If you’re going to self-publish, get it proofread by a professional. I didn’t and I really wish I had. When Hodder got This Thirtysomething Life proofread I was gobsmacked and embarrassed. I have a degree in English Literature, but the number of mistakes was appalling. Pay the money and get it proofread properly. Also get a decent cover. Covers sell books.
4. Less is always more. First time writers tend to go a bit crazy. They start typing away without really thinking about what is needed and what isn’t. A good rule of thumb is to finish the first draft and then cut 10% of the book. I always cut at least that and usually more. 
5.  Title. Main characters. Motivation. Ending. These are all things I know before I start a book. For some reason I need to have a title. It helps bring the idea together. I need to know the main characters and what their motivations are. What is going to make this book worth reading? I also need to know the ending. Not in great detail, but having an idea where the book is going is essential. Everything else I can work out during the writing process

Tracy Bloom

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jul/09/self-publishing-tracey-bloom

Why did you decide to self-publish your book?

I wrote my novel, No-one Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday, while living in Connecticut, US having moved there temporarily with my husband's job. I left behind a dream career developing rides for theme parks and found myself in a foreign country with a new baby and a desire to make the most of my dramatic change in circumstances. I joined an evening class in creative writing and about a year later I had completed my first romantic comedy, written mostly during my son's afternoon naps. To my utter shock an agent and foreign-rights deals came quickly afterwards, but although I had some very positive comments no UK publisher stepped forward. Having watched the self-publishing industry evolve to become a valid gateway to reach an audience I decided that the time was right to go it alone.

Tell us a bit about it.

No-one Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday is about a one-night stand that leads to utter chaos. Childhood sweethearts Matthew and Katy agree they must never see each other again after they end up in bed together following a school reunion. So all is forgotten … until eight months later when a shock meeting at an antenatal class forces them to confront the fact that Matthew could be the father of Katy's baby.

Oblivious to the mayhem unfolding, Matthew's highly strung wife frets over giving birth to twins and Katy's much younger boyfriend refuses to take fatherhood seriously. Deep emotions begin to resurface and hormones run riot. How will they navigate their way through this almighty cock-up?

My book is a romantic comedy for both sexes, given that is written from both a male and female point of view. I was hugely inspired by Gavin and Stacey when I was writing and aim to create big, bold characters who are genuinely funny doing their best to muddle through very real situations.

Have you worked with an editor or designer on the novel?

I have worked with an editor and believe it is essential as they help you to see your book as a reader, not as a writer. However, it is a skill in itself to decipher constructive advice that you feel contradicts what you are trying to communicate as a writer. Part of the joy of self-publishing is being in control of the design of your book jacket. I have a longstanding phobia of the pastel shades and cheesy illustrations that dominate the women's fiction market and was determined not to go down that route.

I chose to work with The One Off design agency based in Derbyshire deliberately because they had no experience in this field and therefore no preconceptions. I needed someone who would understand that given I was publishing through Amazon, they were not designing a book cover, they were actually designing a small thumbnail icon competing in an extremely busy market place. The result was a cover that really stood out while still communicating clearly the type of book it was. I think one of the opportunities in self-publishing is that you can take more risks and break moulds which perhaps constrain some established publishers.

Can you talk us through how you are publishing?

I did a lot of research and originally decided to use Amazon as well as Smashwords to cover other distributors. I then chose to go exclusively with Amazon, in order to have more access to their marketing and promotional tools.

Their offer of greater visibility and exposure I hoped would lead to better rankings and make my book more accessible to readers. Given what happened I feel this was definitely the right decision for me. No-one Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday got to No 1 on the Amazon Kindle chart within nine weeks of launch and stayed there for more than three weeks.

Has it been an eye-opener making all these decision by yourself?

Yes. The whole process has. I spent three months doing research and preparing my book before I published and I'm glad I did. I now understand the ins and outs of how it works and I have to say I have a much greater appreciation of what a publisher actually does.

Making decisions on title, book cover, book description, pricing, timing and marketing can feel overwhelming, especially if you decided to become a writer because you love to write, not because you wanted to be an expert on launching a brand new product into an enormous market place.

You feel as though you are in an episode of The Apprentice at times, but watching my novel zoom to No 1 on the Amazon Kindle chart and stay there knowing a lot of it was down to the key decisions I made is massively satisfying. I won't be firing myself just yet!

What are the positives of self-publishing?

I feel I learned a huge amount about the industry that has given me skills and knowledge that can only help strengthen my future career. I'm not sure this would have happened had I been traditionally published. I also believe that self-publishing gives debut authors opportunities that are increasingly scarce within mainstream publishing. Without it my career in the UK may never have got off the ground. Having a route to get new work out there without relying on a small number of gatekeepers has to be a good thing for everyone, including the large publishers.

And the negatives

It is hugely time-consuming. If you are going to do it properly you cannot rush it, and implementing an effective marketing plan just drains time away from the actual writing. A substantial support industry is now forming around self-publishing which will help anyone considering this route – but this costs money as well as time, as you research who can provide you with the best service. I personally felt that I wanted to be in control and understand for myself how to make it happen. I am, however, looking forward to devoting my time to writing now that I have set a foundation for future success.

Would you do it again?

Yes, and I am. Given the success of No-one Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday I have just released my second novel Single Woman Seeks Revenge. Another positive aspect of self-publishing is that it is as quick as you want it to be. Right now, with my debut riding high at the top of the charts, my name is in the forefront of readers' minds, making it an ideal time to follow up with another book.

Give us a taster …

There are those who get to choose the father of their child and those who don't. Those who spend years sifting through the giant haystack that is the male population and those who get unexpectedly ambushed.

Katy never thought that she would be one of those who got ambushed. She certainly never thought that at 36 she would be pregnant, unmarried and with a boyfriend eight years younger than herself.

A boyfriend who was now sitting beside her dressed in his football kit, as they drove off for their first antenatal class. She felt sick. She put this down to pre-class nerves and the fact that Ben had come straight from school, where he was a PE teacher, smelling unpleasantly of gym shoes, teenage-boy sweat and mashed potato.

As she stared across at him she comforted herself with the knowledge that at least she could rely on him to offer up some well-thought-out words of wisdom to help calm her fears. "So this guy at work says that all you do in these classes is talk about tits and fannies for two hours. How good is that?" Katy continued to stare at Ben for a moment then sighed and put the car into gear. 

Author Interview: Nicola Yeager

Nicola Yeager is steadily becoming one of my favourite authors. Her novellas are punchy and real with great characters. She is gradually redefining ChickLit. Her characters are not obsessed with make up or finding the right man, her characters are strong minded and intelligent and thankfully so different from other ChickLit characters. She gracefully accepted to answer a few questions for me. She’s inspired me to keep writing. Hopefully she inspires more writers to keep writing. Thank you Nicola for the wonderful words. 

Author Profile

Nicola Yeager is a writer and book reviewer. After several years working as a journalist for a variety of publications, she started writing novellas. Her first in the chick lit genre, The Spa Day (originally titled Christmas Without Holly), was a critical success and an Amazon best seller. She followed this up with Picture Imperfect, which continued the gritty, witty, first person style of her debut.

Although born in Lincoln, she has lived in London for almost ten years and lives with her husband and two small children. Her hobbies include swimming and slimming!

Interview

What inspired you to write Picture Imperfect and the Spa Day?

 Even though none of my work is autobiographical in any way, I know of lots of people, male and female, who seem to have been trapped in relationships with unsuitable people for years and years. I've always been interested in why this happens; why people are prepared to put up with all kinds of crap just for the sake of conformity, security or money. Holly, the character in The Spa Day, had a fiancée who worked in Hong Kong. I did actually meet a girl who was in this position and it had been going on for ages. I remember thinking: 'Are you insane?'

Are the names of the characters in your novels important?

When I was asked to write novellas in the chick lit genre, I read quite a few books to give me a flavour. I have to say I found a lot of them very hard to read; some used really weird phrases that you'd never hear a person say in real life and a lot of the characters seemed unreal, as if the authors had vaguely heard of 'people like that' and were just making it up the best they could.

I noticed that most of the forenames used for women were pretty much all 'little girl' names, like Sophie, Issy, Becky, Lucy and so on. I followed suit with this for The Spa Day and Picture Imperfect (though not so much in that one), but I've got fed up with it now and have moved away from those sort of names in the one I'm writing at the moment. Holly Nightingale in The Spa Day, was unintentionally clever! I wanted to use the name Holly as the story had a Christmas theme, but the fact that her surname was Nightingale and she was a nurse was coincidence. I was looking around for a surname and I thought of Mary Nightingale the news reader. Sometimes I just Google 'interesting names' or something and see what jumps out!

What about the titles of your novels? How important is it to choose the right title?

This is complicated. The Spa Day was originally called Christmas Without Holly, which I was quite pleased with. It had a couple of meanings, though the main one was the fate that would befall Holly's rat of a bf, i.e he'd be spending Christmas without her. The publisher rebooted it so it wouldn't only get seasonal sales and now it's called The Spa Day, which doesn't really make sense as Holly is there for more than one day! Picture Imperfect was the publisher's idea. We had a working title for this novella, but it had to be changed at the last moment, so Picture Imperfect it became! I've got a working title for my third one, but the story has changed since I thought it up, so I don't know what it'll be called yet. I'm sure something will pop into my head - or the publisher's!

Are there any occupational hazards to being a novelist?

You have to get used to continual rejection. Unfortunately, you just have to take it on the chin. Some people get very upset by it; they feel they've put their heart and soul into what they've written and take a rejection as something personal. It isn't. It's just bad luck. Or you're just not good enough yet. You have to send a publisher the right thing at the right time. I would say, though, that many of the people who read the submissions in a publishers are often just out of university. No one senior in a publishing company wants to spend all day reading manuscripts, so the job is invariably given to someone who's just started. They may not have the judgment to decide whether your work is good or bad and may not be very well read. Remember, any decision they make may decide whether they've still got their job in publishing next month. Just keep sending stuff out. If a publisher says they don't take unsolicited manuscripts, send them it anyway!

What are your current projects?

I'm currently working on my third chick lit novella, and I'm currently about two thirds of the way through the first draft. I think this 'first draft, second draft' idea came from the days when an author would type the whole thing out again, adjusting and making changes to the original. Nowadays, with a word processor, you can just go through the whole thing and make alterations. That's what I do, anyway. You sometimes have to go back and stick things in earlier bits to make later bits make sense. I can't imagine what a pain this would have been when you could only use a typewriter!

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

 As far as chick lit goes, I just felt, after reading some when I was on holiday, that you could make the problems the main characters had a little bit more realistic. Most of the ones I've read concern women who are really good at making cakes and stuff like that. It kind of reminds me of articles in papers like The Sunday Times, which say things like 'being a stay at home mum is cool again' or 'how to cook your way into a man's heart'. No matter how feisty and in-control these women seem to be, they're all waiting for Mr Right so they can bake cakes and biscuits for him. I think this pre-feminist attitude can be traced back to the authors. They strike me as rather inexperienced, anodyne women, to be honest, and it comes out in their writing, even if they try to hide it. If the characters in these books were truly submissive, i.e practiced bondage and consensual spanking while they were making cakes according their grandmother's old recipes, they'd be a lot more interesting!

Who is your favourite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

 I don't know that I have a favourite author, to be honest. Sometimes, I'll read a few books by the same person, but they usually let you down, sooner or later. I'll tell you what I've been reading in the last few weeks. 'A Parisian Affair & Other Stories' by Guy de Maupassant, 'Venus In Furs' by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch and 'Little Birds' by Anais Nin. Two of those are collections of short stories. That may give you an idea of my taste. I like sexual and sensual stories that are well written. I probably read more non fiction than fiction.
 

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

 Keep at it. Sacrifice everything for it. If you really feel you have something to say, there is nothing more important than what you're doing, not even your family.

Thank Nicola for the wonderful interview. 

Guardian Articles: 
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

'My new novel is about love, race... and hair'


What is Americanahabout?

It is about love. I wanted to write an unapologetically old-fashioned love story. But it is also about race and how we reinvent ourselves. It is about how, when we leave home, we become another version of ourselves. And it is also about hair…

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2013/apr/07/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-americanah-interview

Helen Scott Taylor

I was recently lucky enough to convince Helen Scott Taylor to do an interview for Herbooklist (thank you Helen). It was a great honor as I am a big fan of her books. She currently lives in England and has written over five novels. She's a great author who has the ability create incredible characters and great love stories. I feel in love with Oceans Between Us and would urge all romance lovers to read her books. 

What inspired you to write your first book?

I enjoyed writing stories when I was a child but gave up when I moved on to senior school and got more interested in science. I never lost my love of reading fiction, though. My interest in writing was reawakened when I went on a course that was supposed to be about dealing with issues, but the technique they used was to write about our past. I haven't stopped writing since!

For the Full Interview: http://herbooklist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/author-interview-helen-scott-taylor.html

Lily Zante

Author Lily Zante is back with her new An Unexpected Gift, a novella about two people who meet in horrific circumstances and learn to deal with the attraction between them. I loved her previous novella Love Inc and currently I'm indulging in The Proposal, her second novella. This interview gave me an opportunity to understand Lily Zante as an author, she’s very passionate about writing and her love of books and writing is clear from the onset. I look forward to reading more of her novellas. An Unexpected Gift will be available on Kindle very soon. Enjoy and thanks to Lily Zane for the wonderful insight into her world.

For the full interview: http://herbooklist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/lily-zante-author-lily-zante-is-back.html


Regina Duke

I recently interviewed the author of the “The Wedding Wager”, Regina Duke. Her books are simply beautiful. Her characters are compelling and believable. Everyone should get to experience the world she creates. I simply can’t stop reading her books. In this interview she talks about her love for writing, animals and romance. Her advice to aspiring authors is truthful and worth a read. 

"Write every day. Write the stories that you want to tell. Read books and take courses to improve your writing. Work at it like an art form. If you want to play piano, you know you have to practice a lot. Writing is the same way. You get better and better over time. When you let people read your stories, do not feel sad if they point out mistakes in spelling or if they tell you they don’t like it. You may be writing a romance and they may only enjoy horror stories! It doesn’t mean your book or story is no good. Find a writer’s group to join. If you don’t enjoy that group, look for another one. Just keep writing."

Click on the Link for the full interview
http://herbooklist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/author-interview.html