Take Mum Out Blog Tour: We chat to Fiona Gibson.

We’re delighted to be part of Fiona’s blog tour for her new book, Take Mum Out which is published by Avon today. 

Fiona Gibson is also the author of other titles including The Great Escape and Mum on the Run. We will be reviewing Take Mum Out later today but first, we chat to Fiona about her new book, her favourite night out and her advice for writers. 

Can you tell us about your book, Take Mum Out? 

Alice is a single mum to two teenage boys. Although she’s not desperate to meet a man, her three best friends have other ideas. They hatch a plan where they’ll each present her with an eligible, hand-picked man – all Alice has to do is choose her favourite. This book was huge fun to write, as there are first date horrors galore – plus, Alice has to deal with her sons’ scathing remarks, who can’t understand why she wants a boyfriend at all.  ‘Presumably,’ she says, ‘I should interact only with tradespeople and the staff at Tesco Metro.’

What would be your idea of a perfect night out? 

A few G&Ts in the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh – they have a mind-boggling selection of gins! Then dinner at somewhere like The Dogs, which is lively, fun and delicious. And my best friends from London would have come up for the occasion.

Is there a fictional character you’d like to meet? 

Holly Golightly.

Do you have any writing rituals? 

Yes – I see my three teens off to school, then meet friends for a dog-walk and try to be at my laptop by 10. I work right through till 4, then sometimes do an extra splurge in the evening. I write straight onto my laptop (I can barely write with a pen anymore!), and to break up my week, I sometimes nip in to Edinburgh to write in cafes.

Do you plan and edit as you go? 

Sometimes – I might hammer out a chapter very quickly, just to mark out the plot, or I might hone it carefully – it depends on my mood. Whatever I do, though, I always have to go back and edit the whole book really thoroughly, then I give it another final light edit when (hopefully) it’s almost ready to go.

(Out of the ones you’ve read,) which novel has had the most impact? 

I love The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – the main character, Christopher, jumped off the page for me. My kids and I all loved it.

When writing, do you cast your characters? Who would you like to see play Alice? 

She’s a brunette, but if we could have Cate Blanchett, I’d turn her blonde! I loved her in Blue Jasmine.

Ideal guests for a fantasy dinner party? 

The cast of The Breakfast Club. I had teen crushes on all the boys, and Molly Ringwald was my girl crush.

Favourite word? 

Pipette

Five tips for new writers? 

Write the sort of stories you love to read.

Be yourself – don’t try to copy someone else’s style.

Don’t talk about it or share it too much at the beginning – let the story simmer in your own mind.

Don’t listen to the niggling voice that tells you it’s rubbish, or that you’re wasting your time. Any shabby bits can be fixed later. EVERYTHING can be fixed.

Do whatever you can to make writing process fun, and not angsty. Entertain yourself. If you’re writing comedy, try to relax and be silly and push scenes as far as you can. If it sounds daft, so what? You can always rein it in later. Have fun with it!

Congratulations on publication day, Fiona. Her blog tour continues tomorrow where she will be over at Reading in The Sunshine. 

Visit Fiona’s Website.

Follow Fiona on Twitter.

Buy the book. 

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Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.