NK Chats To….
Our Author Interviews and Guest Posts.
Jaishree Misra
Jaishree Misra is the author of Ancient Promises, Secrets and Lies, Secrets and Sins and her most recent novel, A Scandalous Secret. Novel Kicks had a chat with Jaishree and asked her about her route to publication and who’d she’d have to dinner…
What was your route to publication?
I’d had to give up my radio journalist’s job at the BBC because of childcare commitments (my daughter has special needs) and I found myself sitting at home at a loose end, feeling terribly downcast. We’d bought a new computer at the time and I’d promised my husband I’d write four pages of text so he could teach me Word functions. It sounds a bit crazy but, once I started writing, I couldn’t stop and, very soon, my planned four pages had grown into a 300 page memoir! That went on to become my first novel, ‘Ancient Promises’ (and, yes, by then I had learnt to use Word to do all that nifty spell-check stuff). I was one of those lucky few who didn’t have to search too hard for an agent, even though I did get my share of rejections at first. It seemed to make sense to look for an agent who had already had success with a book set in India so I located David Godwin, Arundhati Roy’s agent, and sent three sample chapters to him. You can imagine how chuffed I was to get a call from him a few weeks later asking to see the rest.
Where do you find inspiration for your novels?
From all over the place – chance conversations, overheard remarks, a story in the newspaper. The latter was the genesis of my most recent book, actually – ‘A Scandalous Secret’ – which sort of emerged from a picture I once saw in the newspapers of Claire Short with the long-lost son she’d given away at birth. Sometimes ideas implant themselves and quietly germinate away and then quite suddenly spring to life when you’re least expecting it. Essentially a novelist has to be deeply interested in life and in people and enjoy a bit of amateur psychology to figure out what makes them do the things they do.
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Chris Wade
Chris Wade is the author of the surreal love story ‘Cutey and The Sofaguard.’ He also runs Wisdom Twins Books (his publishing house based in Leeds.) Novel Kicks were very excited to be having a chat with Chris about his typical writing day and who’d he’d invite to dinner…
What was your route to publication?
I never even considered sending my book to a “proper” publishing house. My instinct was to release it myself via the net. My first one published was a book on the actor Malcolm McDowell.
You’re also head of Wisdom Twins Books, which is based in Leeds. Can you briefly explain the history of Wisdom Twins Books?
I started it in about October 2009. Just before that I had the Malcolm McDowell book out via a publishing service which was instantly, as I learned, a mistake. But after that I had the permission to write this book about the ex Stranglers’ singer Hugh Cornwell and his latest album. It was really exciting putting it together, interviewing the band and producer and getting exclusive unseen pictures for it. I was a big fan at the time. But I couldn’t even think which publisher could get it out and printed in a month, because his tour was coming up in November and they wanted to sell it at his concerts. So when I had finished it in late October I started up the site “Wisdom Twins Books.” I got the name from two characters in a book of mine called Cutey and the Sofaguard. From then, it just made sense to release things via that site. At first it was the free magazine Hound Dawg, then the audiobook read by Rik Mayall of Cutey and the Sofaguard. So for me starting it was a great thing and it all was really exciting and satisfying from the beginning.
by Isabel Ashdown
Isabel’s debut novel, Glasshopper (Myriad Editions 2009) helped win her the Mail on Sunday Novel Competition and was then published to critical acclaim. Her second novel, Hurry Up and Wait (Myriad Editions, 2011) has just been published and is available to buy now. Novel Kicks was very happy to have a chat with Isabel about all things writing…
What was your route to publication?
In my mid thirties I gave up my career to study English & Creative Writing at university. In the five years that followed, I worked on my first novel, and at the advice of my tutors, entered lots of writing competitions in the hope of publication. My first prize was for a shortlisted poem in the Bridport Prize, and after a couple more small awards, my big break came when an extract from Glasshopper won the Mail on Sunday Novel Competition in 2008. My novel was quickly picked up by an agent, Adrian Weston, and went on to be published by Myriad Editions in September 2009.
Where do you find inspiration for your novels?
So far, the stories have always started with a clear character and the idea of one specific drama. For example, in Glasshopper, Jake came along pretty fully formed, and the initial drama was the idea of ambiguous parentage, sparked by watching some terrible reality show on TV. This didn’t remain the vital point of drama in the story, but it was the seed that grew. In Hurry Up and Wait, the starting point was the idea of vulnerability, and it developed into a story about the treachery of friends and inappropriate relationships.
For someone new to your novels, can you briefly describe your writing style.
That’s a hard one! I like to write in real, accessible language – but about the complex emotions in everyday situations. I’m fascinated by family and by the cultural world around us, which is probably why my first two novels are set in the 1980s. It was a decade of enormous social change, impacting on the family and the individual – which makes it ripe for storytelling. I love Maggie O’Farrell’s writing for that reason – she writes about the extraordinary within the ordinary.
by Pauline Barclay talks about self publishing.
Laura has asked me to write a few words about Indie publishing as my latest book, Sometimes It Happens… is published on Amazon Kindle. The ease in which you can publish your own book has changed dramatically over the last year. E-book publishing is now extremely fashionable with sales souring and in some cases outselling conventional paperback / hardback books. Adding to this, the launch of the Kindle and iPad has created a whole new experience in reading.
I choose the route to Indie publish for several reasons, but one main reason is that I don’t live in the UK. I live on the beautiful island of Lanzarote in the Canary isles. There are many good reasons to live here, but it does distance me from agents and publishers who like their clients to be closer at hand. So in light of my location, I decided to publish my books independently.
Independent publishing does mean you do everything; from publishing to marketing, and you can do much of the necessary steps yourself, but there are stages in your writing when you do need to use a professional. For my third book, Sometimes It Happens… I was fortunate enough to work with the brilliant author, Helen Hollick. www.helenhollick.net
Helen has been my writing guide and editor and saw me through the entire manuscript of Sometimes It Happens… Her expert eye checked for continuity, believability, repetition and so much more. These are areas that as a writer you cannot always see yourself and a fresh, experienced set of eyes can. My published book as to compete with all the other well written books in this highly competitive market, therefore it not only must be a good read, but a professionally polished publication. I cannot stress enough the importance of having an editor to check your writing. Helen’s help has been invaluable and her knowledge and experience has taught me so much more. Continue reading
by Ghosting Austen
This is a post from Lynn Shepherd (taken from her blog) about how she went about ‘Ghosting Austen’
I was writing Murder at Mansfield Park when The Duchess came out on film, and I heard it being reviewed on BBC Radio 4. The critic said she loved the authentic settings and costumes, but felt it was let down by the script – especially the reference to Georgiana offering to ‘make a deal’ with her husband, when what she would actually have said was ‘make a bargain’.
It was a salutary reminder of what I already knew – even relatively small things like this will cumulatively detract from the authenticity of your prose. Right from the start, I’d always been determined to get this aspect of the book right – perhaps it’s the academic in me – but I knew my novel would never pass muster with the true Austen fan if it didn’t pass the accuracy test.
In practice this meant downloading all the novels, and checking pretty much every word as I went along. It sounds time-consuming – and it was – but imagine trying to do that before computers and wordsearch! The other key aspect of this process was to check not just if a word was used, but the context in which it appears. For example, my copy-editor came back to me after her first reading, and asked if we could change ‘the mood in the room’ to ‘the atmosphere in the room’ in one scene. I said I wished I could, but Austen never used the word ‘atmosphere’ except in the context of the weather. Again, it’s the little things. Continue reading
by Trisha Ashley
Trisha has written eleven romantic comedies. Her latest, ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ was a Sunday Times Bestseller. Her upcoming novel, ‘The Magic of Christmas’ is to be published by Avon HarperCollins in October 2011. We were very happy to get a chance to chat with Trisha, to ask her about her typical writing day. how she approaches editing and the fictional character she’d like to meet….
What was your route to publication?
That’s a long story! I wrote satirical novels for years without getting published, then wrote two light Regency Romances which were published by Hale and large print editions. But after that I went back to the satire and remained unpublished again until I was taken on by top London agent Judith Murdoch. She called me down to London and during three hours tore my current novel to shreds, then told me how to put it back together again.
Almost the first thing she said to me was: ‘Trisha, this romantic comedy hasn’t got any romance in it!’ Which of course it hadn’t, because it was satire. But once I realised that simply adding a romantic element to what I was already writing would enable my books to fit into the romantic comedy genre (which is a very wide one), I went straight back home and did just that. Good Husband Material was published by Piatkus, the first of my romantic comedies.
My fourteenth novel, Twelve Days of Christmas, came out at the end of last year and my next, The Magic of Christmas, will be out this October. I’ve been shortlisted for the Melissa Nathan Award for romantic comedy two years running, and Every Woman for Herself was recently voted one of the three best romantic novels of the last fifty years: both were great honours.
by Julie Cohen
Julie has written six novels for Harlequin Mills & Boon, another five single-title romantic novels for Headline’s Little Black Dress. Her latest novel ‘Getting Away With It,’ published through Headline Review, was released in paperback this month.
What was your route to publication?
I started writing with the goal of publication in 2000, and as soon as I’d finished my first manuscript (which was aimed at Harlequin Mills & Boon), I joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) in the UK and Romance Writers of America (RWA). I submitted my first ms to Harlequin and it was quickly rejected. I then submitted it to the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme, which gives unpublished members a critique of their full manuscript by a published author. The critique told me I was pretty much doing everything wrong—but that I did have an engaging writing voice, and, occasionally, a way with words.
I was encouraged enough by that to keep on writing and submitting (and being rejected). In March 2004 I was thrilled when my fourth manuscript, Featured Attraction, finalled in the RWA Golden Heart contest, which is the biggest contest for unpublished romance writers in the world. Three months later, I got a phone call from an agent telling me she was interested in representing my fifth manuscript, a stand-alone romance novel called Spirit Willing, Flesh Weak. And a month after that, in July 2004, I got a call from the senior editor at Harlequin saying they wanted to publish Featured Attraction.
So after years of hard work, the getting-accepted bit happened very quickly. Publication of my first book was delayed, but I kept on writing and selling, with the result that in 2006 I had five books released by two different publishers. Since then I’ve moved on to writing commercial women’s fiction for Headline Review, which is a dream come true.
by Mike Gayle
Mike is the author of ten novels which include, Mr Commitment, My Legendary Girlfriend and the To-Do List. The latest, The Importance of Being a Bachelor has just been released in paperback…
What was your route to publication? 
I started my career as a journalist working for the teen magazine Just Seventeen. After going freelance I decided to have a go at finishing the novel that I’d begun when I first moved to London and a year and several million rewrites later it was done.
Had you always wanted to be a writer?
Absolutely. I started out wanting to be a music journalist because I was a huge music fan and then moved into the teen stuff because growing up I’d been a huge fan of mags like Smash Hits. I think the truth of the matter was that I wanted to write stuff that made people laugh but also told the truth in some small way.
Where do you find inspiration for your novels?
The basis of all my novels are relationships between men and women mainly because I find them so fascinating. No one relationship is the same and so it feels like there are as many stories to tell about relationships as there are relationships. Also, they’re funny. Few things in life beat the joy of watching a couple arguing in IKEA.
by Ali McNamara
Ali McNamara is the author of ‘From Notting Hill with Love…Actually, released in 2010. We were excited to be having a chat with Ali. We asked her who she’d have over for dinner and about her route to publication.
What was your route to publication & did you always wanted to be a writer?
I first began writing when myself and a fellow fan began writing a story on singer, Ronan Keating’s message board, the story became so popular the website would sometimes crash because there were so many people trying to log on to read it. Such was its popularity we eventually sold the story for charity, and I went on to write a further two more stories to raise money for Ronan’s cancer awareness charity -The Marie Keating Foundation. It was after that I thought I should have a go at writing a ‘proper’ novel!
From Notting Hill with Love…Actually was the third full length novel I wrote after the stories on Ronan’s website. So I’ve had my fair share of rejections like most other authors, but for some reason I just kept going with this book even though like the other two the pile of rejection letters was starting to get higher and higher, but I just had faith in my story and knew that one day someone would love it just as much as me and want to publish it, and luckily I was right!
Where do you find inspiration for your novels?
‘From Notting Hill with Love…Actually’ came to me when I was watching one of those countdowns on the music channels – ‘100 greatest Movie theme tunes.’
As each of the songs came on to the screen I realised the movies were so well known I knew exactly what was happening even without dialogue, and I thought wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could get all those great movies into one story, and that’s how the idea began to take shape. And I got the idea for my next novel ‘Breakfast at Darcy’s’ from a conversation I had with my husband when we were on holiday in Ireland about the difficulties in living on a remote island if you were to buy one, or in my main character Darcy’s case, inherit one!
by Adele Parks
Adele’s first novel ‘Playing Away,’ was published in 2000. The Evening Standard placed her as one of London’s ‘Twenty faces to watch’ the same year. Since then, she’s constantly been on the Times Top Ten bestseller lists. Her latest, ‘Men I’ve Loved Before,’ was released in July 2010. We were very excited to catch up with Adele to ask her how she came to be published and who she’d have to dinner….
Describe your route to publication? 
I’ve always dreamed of being a writer but I bided my time. I wrote one novel and didn’t even submit it, it wasn’t up to it. I waited until I was at a stage of my life where I knew I had something compelling and different to write. I worked on my novel three times a week for three hours and for five hours at a weekend, while holding down an extremely busy day job. I was very disciplined and determined. I then did lots of research on which agent might be interested in my kind of work and yet more research on how to present my work to best advantage. It paid off because the agent I approached did like my pitch and encouraged me. It took just 3 months from my initial approach to my agent until he secured me a deal for my first novel, Playing Away.
How do you approach a typical writing day?
I tend to write in term times to coincide with my son’s school schedule. So I’m normally at my desk at 8.30am ish and I work through until 3.30pm, stopping for a quick lunch. I do my best work in the mornings, so after lunch I often re-read, self edit or research. Obviously kids hols are longer than the normal hols or a working parent so sometimes I am writing when my son is not at school, it requires a lot of discipline (from both of us!) especially on sunny days. I think ‘waiting for the muse’ is an indulgence. I sometimes don’t feel like writing, but I just force myself to get on with it and I’ve found that it’s often when it’s hardest that the work is best.
by Riva Shaw
Riva Shaw is the author of the ‘Circle of Fire’ trilogy, the first in the series is available now. Novel Kicks was excited to have a chat with Riva. We asked her who she’d have round to dinner and what tips she had for new writers.
Describe your route to publication?
My novel is published through YouWriteOn.com which is effectively self-publishing. I decided to go it alone because Circle of Fire is not easy to categorise and agents and publishers are not happy to take on something that falls between two genres. I know that I risk being told that I am not a proper writer, but hopefully readers will just judge the books on their own merits.
How do you approach a typical writing day?
I don’t really have a typical writing day. I write wherever and whenever I can, either straight on to the computer or in notebooks to be typed up later. Sometimes I will write more if I snatch a few moments here and there than if I have a whole day to play with.
by Lucy Dillon
Lucy Dillon is a successful author. Her latest book ‘Walking Back to Happiness’ has just been released. Lucy kindly had a chat with us here at Novel Kicks. We asked her where she finds her inspiration and which character from fiction she’d like to meet.
Where do you find inspiration?
All over the place. I read a lot of newspapers – you find the most fascinating ideas and stories in the corners, and in the announcements sections. Small ads. Births and deaths. Court reports. It’s all a real story that’s happened to someone, and affected their lives in extraordinary ways. I browse the internet constantly (far too much, actually), especially American eBay, and wonder about how things got there and why. I also gossip, and eavesdrop. A LOT.
Briefly describe what your latest novel ‘Walking back to Happiness’ is about.
When Ben Falconer dies unexpectedly at the age of 32, Juliet loses her childhood sweetheart, and their terrier Minton loses the master he worships. Juliet’s mother Diane feels terrible about interfering with Juliet’s self-imposed isolation in her unfinished ‘forever house’, but she needs someone to petsit the family Labrador while she, in turn, babysits her other daughter, Louise’s, toddler during the week. Since dogs are the only company Juliet can face, she agrees, and soon she’s walking all over Longhampton with her growing team of silent but friendly companions. But the dogs are easier to manage than their owners, and when Juliet starts to petsit a beautiful spaniel, all sorts of secrets are unleashed…
(I’m not very good at synopses – they tend to go on for pages, which is why I hand all cover copy duties to my excellent editor, Isobel!)
by Rosy Thornton
Rosy Thornton is the author of four novels. Her latest, The Tapestry of Love was released in October. When Rosy isn’t writing, she teaches at Cambridge University. Novel Kicks was very excited to be chatting to Rosy. We asked her where she finds her inspiration and which character from fiction she’d like to meet.
What was your route to publication like?
My first attempt at writing fiction was internet fanfic: a pastiche sequel to Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘North and South’. I had a go at getting it published, without success – mainly because it was embarrassing tosh! But straight after that novel I began another – contemporary, humorous – and that was what became my first published novel, ‘More Than Love Letters’.
Publication wasn’t a smooth ride. I must have tried every literary agent in the known universe – and in the end found my own lovely agent by pure fluke. He was listed at the time as handling non-fiction only, and I approached him by mistake, but he just happened to be looking to get into fiction, liked the book and took me on.
Where do you find inspiration?
‘Inspiration’ always seems the wrong word to me – like something external and sudden and mysterious. The reality is far more mundane: I just write what I see about me. I tend to choose settings I know, and I draw upon observation of the people and relationships that surround me.
by Joanna Lambert
Joanna Lambert (the pen name of Audrey Hawkins) is the writer of the ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ trilogy; When Tomorrow Comes, Love, Lies and Promises and most recently, The Ghost of You and Me. She’s about to embark on her fourth novel.
We were very pleased to be able to chat with Joanna about her writing life…
What was your route to publication like?
I completed In Sunshine and in Shadow, as the manuscript was originally called, began submitting, failed to interest any agents and then decided to shelve for a while and get on with some short story writing. Then a conversation at work about hobbies resulted in the manuscript being circulated for a few book lovers to read. Up until that time my work had been for my eyes only so I had no idea how it would be received. I asked for honest, constructive feedback and what came back was so positive that I knew I had to finish the journey and get it published.
Describe your typical writing day?
As I work full time I have to squeeze my writing into evenings and weekends; it’s whenever I can tuck time in. I do, however, make sure I have protected periods to actually put my thoughts onto the PC. I usually manage a couple of hours each evening and, social life permitting, at least five hours at the weekend. Also a notebook and pen in my bag are a must so I can scribble ideas down as soon as they come into my head.
by Kathryn Stockett
‘The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett was our book club title for September. Here’s the complete Q&As that Kathryn and her publisher (Penguin) contributed to our book club discussion.
Are you Skeeter?
No, I am definitely not Skeeter. I was never that brave. Growing up, I don’t recall giving a second thought about the situation between blacks and whites. Honestly, it wasn’t until twenty years later, after Demetrie’s death, that I started to think about how complex, and imbalanced, our relationship was. Not to mention, I am five foot two. My hair tends to frizz year round, but I have yet to find a Shinalator that works.
Is there going to be a movie?
The option for film rights have been sold to Tate Taylor and Brunson Green, both filmmakers living in Los Angeles, originally from Jackson. I am so proud and so excited that the film is in the hands of Mississippians. They saw and lived it right along with me.
by Sophie Kinsella
Sophie Kinsella is the author of eight number one bestselling novels including the fabulously popular Shopaholic series as well as the number one bestsellers Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, and Twenties Girl.
Where do you find your inspiration?
I find inspiration from all around me. I love to sit in coffee shops and just take in the chatter.
Describe a typical writing day?
When I’m planning a book, I head to a coffee shop with a notebook, where I sketch out the plot, bits of dialogue and scenes. When I’m actually writing, I start first thing and aim to write a thousand words. I then take a break, but might return to edit what I’ve done in the evening.
Mini Shopaholic has finally arrived in shops. Was it nice to return to Becky Bloomwood?
It was an absolute joy! I love Becky so much, not to mention all her family and friends, so to return to her is like catching up with a world which has been continuing on all this while.
by Rowan Coleman
Rowan’s first novel ‘Growing Up Twice’ was published in 2002. Since then, she’s written another eight novels, her latest ‘The Happy Home for Broken Hearts’ (published by UK Arrow) was released in August 2010. Novel Kicks was excited to have a chat with Rowan about how she approached the writing process…
Describe your typical writing day? 
My typical writing is day starts after I’ve dropped my little girl off at school, on the days when I have someone to look after my baby. If things are going well I work in my office, looking out over a stream. But if I’m stuck I go to a cafe and work there – I don’t know why noise and people seem to help me think.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find my inspiration everywhere. From my own life certainly, my own experiences and how I would feel in some of the situations I put my characters in. Also conversations I over hear, people I meet, or see in the street. Sometimes even from virtual friends I have never met in real life!
What was your route to publication like?
My route to publication was actually quite smooth. I won Company Magazine Young Writer of the Year in 2001 and that opened a lot of doors for me, got me an agent and my first book deal. But even once you are published life as a writer is a rocky one, full of ups and downs. I don’t think the struggle to keep going ever stops!
by Ilana Fox
Ilana Fox is the author of two books, ‘The Making of Mia’ (2008) and ‘Spotlight,’ (2010), both published by Orion Books. She’s currently working on her third novel ‘No Prince Charming.’ Novel Kicks was very excited to be having a chat with Ilana. We asked her where her inspiration comes from, which author she admire’s and who she’d have to a fantasy dinner.
Describe your typical writing day.
I get up quite early considering I don’t need to commute, and then I give my kittens breakfast and wait for them to come and cuddle me in bed. Then I eventually get up and do a few bits and pieces and settle into writing. I’ll either start writing as soon as I hit my laptop, or I’ll spend an hour or so responding to emails and messages. When I start writing I tend not to stop, so I can be on my computer for up to ten hours without a break. If I’m in the zone I don’t want to be out of it.
Do you plan before starting a book?
I plan an awful lot, only to disregard most of it when I’m writing the manuscript! I know what’s meant to happen in each chapter, and in each scene in a chapter, but often my characters end up saying things or doing things differently to how I imagined, so I have to go back and change the plan. I revise the plan about four times while I’m writing a novel.
by Lindsey Kelk
Lindsey Kelk is the author of the popular I Heart Series, the most recent, I Heart Paris, has just been released in the UK. Novel Kicks had a chat with Lindsey to ask her what her route to publication was, her top five tips for writers and who her ideal dinner guests would be….
What was your route to publication?
I wrote I Heart New York about three years ago, sent it out to every agent under the sun and then sat twiddling my thumbs while the rejections came in. Eventually, a super awesome amazing agent agreed to meet with me and discuss how we might work together. But when we met, it transpired that she hates I Heart New York and wanted me to work on something else. Since I was a) stubborn and b) a little bit in love with the book, I walked away from the agent (shatting myself that I would never find another) and asked a friend at HarperCollins if she knew any agents I could talk to. Amazingly, she passed the manuscript on to the publisher of the commercial women’s fiction team who read it, loved it and offered me a three book deal. It goes without saying that I was incredibly, incredibly lucky and am super grateful every day for that agent telling me I Heart New York was shit. And that I would have to use a pseudonym because my name sounded like a cat being sick. She was a delight.
Describe your typical writing day:
Sadly, there’s no such thing! I’m currently still working full time as an editor in children’s books so all of my writing happens at night. That suits me anyway because, for some reason, I just can’t seem to be personally creative in the day. It’s weird. I can work wonders on the books I’m editing but as for writing my own stuff, it just won’t come out. I’m a night owl, so it suits.
by Alison Baverstock
Alison Baverstock is an experienced Writer, Publisher and Trainer. She’s the author of ‘Is There A Book In You’ and ‘Marketing Your Book – An Author’s Guide.’ Novel Kicks had a chat with Alison to ask her how she approached a typical writing day and which authors she admired the most….
Describe your typical writing day?
I love writing early in the morning, and even more so going to bed thinking that I shall get up early tomorrow to write. There is both a peace and energy about the house first thing in the day – I am aware that my family are asleep beneath me (my writing room is at the top of the house) and that they may wake up soon (although this got less likely as they all became teenagers) so there is a limit on how much time I have. It’s a bit like driving sleeping children in the car at night – you feel responsible, alive and excited.
Once I have written for a couple of hours I stop and then find myself sneaking up to edit or add bits throughout the day – but the main sweep is always done in the morning.
You’re a publisher as well as a writer; what advice do you have for writers submitting work?
Don’t submit until you are ready to be judged by your work. It doesn’t matter how good the marketing package is, or how enticing your cleverly drafted introductory email, if the work is not as good as it could be, it will show. Given that my particular expertise has been marketing it may be ironic for me to say this, but there’s a growing strand to some writing about writing that puts forward the thesis that all that matters is the marketing. It doesn’t, the writing has to be the most important thing.
by Jonathan Lee
Jonathan Lee is an English author. Who is Mr Satoshi? is his debut novel. We had a chat with Jonathan to find out a little about him and his novel, as well as his writing habits…..
Have you always wanted to write?
I spent quite a long time wanting to be a writer. The only thing I wasn’t so keen on was the actual writing. It’s a bit like that Mark Twain quote about a ‘classic’ book being something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read. I wanted to skip the pencil buying, back ache and paper cuts and have the finished novel in my hands. When I got to university I started penning terrible autobiographical bits and pieces, but I was too preoccupied with other things to have a serious stab at developing any kind of craft. I did a lot of reading, though. With hindsight, that helped me learn some of the tricks a novelist needs.
What was your route to publication?
I’m 29 now. When I was around 25 I had a kind of quarter-life crisis. It wasn’t anything particularly dramatic. I didn’t buy a Porche or run off with anyone inappropriate. But I was sitting in an office in the City all day, wolfing down soggy sandwiches at my desk, and I realised that I hadn’t made any inroads into this niggling ambition of mine, this desire to be a writer. So I started to write more seriously. And then a twenty-something friend of mine published a novel and it did well. The sense of envy probably gave me the final push I needed. I ended up taking six months off work to write full-time. At the end of that period I sent the first three chapters off to a few literary agents, and I was fortunate that Clare Alexander liked what I had sent. We worked together on getting the full manuscript into shape and, a few months later, Jason Arthur called and offered me a two book deal with Random House. I’m skipping over the rejections and the days when things seemed genuinely bleak, but the truth is it all happened very quickly and I was lucky in all sorts of ways.
by Lynn Shepherd
Lynn Shepherd is the author of Murder at Mansfield Park. Novel Kicks had a chat with Lynn to ask her, amongst other things, what her route to publication was and what advice she has for new writers.
What was your route to publication?
I already had an agent (Ben Mason, now at FoxMason), so I did get a lot of support through the writing process, but we were really unlucky to end up pitching the book to publishers in January 2009, at just about the worst point in the recession, when no-one wanted to take a chance on any author without a cast-iron track record. But my agent was incredibly persistent and determined, and we eventually got an offer from a lovely indie publisher in London, Beautiful Books. And that seemed to open the floodgates. First we got the US and Canada with St Martin’s Press, and then Allen & Unwin in Australia and New Zealand, and there’s a Spanish version in the works now too.
Have you always wanted to write?
Absolutely – having Murder at Mansfield Park published is a 24-carat lifetime dream-come-true. Writing is something I always wanted to do, but I only sat down and started to work on it properly 10 years ago. That first attempt was a modern mystery story based round the discovery of a long-lost manuscript of Mansfield Park, and included my first attempts at Austen pastiche (in fact I re-hashed quite a lot of it for the latest one). That one didn’t quite make it, but it was an invaluable apprenticeship in the craft of putting a novel together. Like a lot of would-be writers, I studied English at university, but it’s a long way from there to writing something decent of your own!
by Katie Fforde
Katie Fforde is the author of sixteenth published novels. Her latest ‘A Perfect Proposal’ is due for release on 10th June 2010. We had a chat with Katie and asked her questions including what her route to publication was and her top five tips for writers….
What was your route to publication?
My route to publication was through the Romantic Novelists Association. They have a New Writer’s scheme whereby unpublished writers can submit their novel to the association where it will be read by a published novelist and a report written on it. The organiser of the scheme that year was a scout for a new literary agent. The organiser was Dr. Hilary Johnson, who is now a book doctor, and the agent was Sarah Molloy of A. M. Heath. Sarah found me a publisher before the book I wrote after meeting her was finished.
Have you always wanted to write?
I wasn’t aware I always wanted to write until I was in my twenties but I realise I lived so much of my life in my imagination and so was a bit slow on the uptake.
Do you have a planning process before sitting down to write a book?
I do plan my books a bit, but I often start before I’ve finished planning properly because I just can’t wait to get on with the story.
by Jenny Colgan
Jenny Colgan is the author of 10 novels such as ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,’ ‘Operation Sunshine,’ and ‘West End Girls.’ Her latest release ‘The Good The Bad and the Dumped’ is due for release on 13th May 2010.
Describe your typical writing day?
Woken by 2 year old hurling himself on bed, feed, bath and dress baby, 2 year old and 4 year old, take 4 year old to school, prevent 2 year old from sneaking into school again, hand over two littlies to my fantastic housekeeper Geri, go for a jog or a walk down the beach depending on how energetic I’m feeling; have a bath, spend one hour on one project; take laptop down to local bakery, have a coffee and a pain au chocolat, write 2000 words, rescue littlies at 1.30, play with them all afternoon, pick up 4 year old from school, usually with a couple of his wee friends in tow, cook supper, throw them all into bed, collapse on sofa with knitting and chocolate, fall into bed. That’s whilst my husband’s away working; when he’s home he picks up a lot of the slack!
What was your route to publication? Had you always wanted to write?
I did want to write but I viewed it in the same way as I viewed becoming a popstar or an olympic gymnast; nice idea in theory, unlikely in practice. I was working in a hospital and tried out a little bit of stand up- I was absolutely terrible, but I found I could write things that were funny, even though I wasn’t very funny as a performer. It was the biggest confidence boost of my life. After that I tried everything- cartooning, sketch writing, performance poetry; children’s stories, and the one that worked for me was a novel I wrote in my lunch hour. Nobody was more surprised that me when it finally happened; it was like ‘no, no, no, no, no, YES.’. You can have a million ‘nos’; all you need is one yes.
by Pauline Barclay – her thoughts on ideas.
Write to Enjoy and Enjoy Writing.
By Pauline Barclay – author of two published novels, Magnolia House and Satchfield Hall.
By Pauline Barclay – author of two published novels, Magnolia House and Satchfield Hall.
So you’ve decided that you want to write. Then start straight away. Start by jotting down all your thoughts related to what you might want to write about. I find that words grow words and the more you write, the more your word power will grow. Don’t worry if your words are not coming fast enough, they will. But most importantly don’t be put off by what is deemed as correct at this stage. Just go with the flow of your thoughts and imagination. Think of your writing as if it was a piece of music that makes you stand up and dance even if you don’t know the right steps or movement, it doesn’t matter because you just want to dance until the music stops. Approach your writing in the same way. Relax, enjoy and write. There will be plenty of time for tidying things up later. Just don’t be afraid.
Once I start writing, ideas, words, phrases begin to rattle around in my head, even characters can turn up unexpectedly. A character in one of my short stories was written from a conversation that I had with my neighbour. She suddenly started talking about a friend who had used a private detective to find her estranged husband. I knew this would make a good short story and as soon as I got back home, I wrote down all my thoughts. From this an outline of a story emerged. After much editing and rewriting, my short story was finished and I titled it, Without a Shadow of Doubt. It is one of the sixteen short stories I have written and will appear over the coming months on my web site.
For me, writing is not a switch that I turn on and off, the writing process is there all the time. I am listening and watching everything around me because something that I see or hear just might form part of one of my stories. So if you want to write, don’t be afraid to do have a go. Write with passion and energy and remember; write to enjoy and enjoy your writing!
For more information about Pauline Barclay and her writing, visit her web site: www.paulinebarclay.co.uk
by Pauline Barclay
Pauline Barclay is the author of ‘Magnolia House’ and her latest book ‘Satchfield Hall’ has just been released.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Anywhere and everywhere! I find inspiration and ideas from sometimes just a word or a phrase, listening to music, reading, watching people, talking to people, out walking the dog. Just being aware of others. Life is so interesting and fascinating.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I have always enjoyed writing, when I was at junior school, I wrote a song and it was sung at one of the school’s parent days. Just before we all started to sing, the teacher announced who had written the song and to my horror she gave the credit to the wrong Pauline! I eventually got over it and since then I’ve left song writing to others. My real passion is writing and during the last fifteen years I have written over sixteen short stories, as well as my two published novels, Magnolia House and Satchfield Hall, I have also written two other full length stories. These still sit in the archives of my computer! Away from my passion of fiction writing, I spent many years as a communications manager. This work entailed writing in-house magazines, press releases for the specialist international press, pages for web sites etc. So much of my life, one way or another, has been very much involved in writing.
by Karen Joy Fowler
Karen Joy Fowler is the author of The Jane Austen Book Club which spent thirteen weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list and was a New York Times Notable Book. Fowler’s previous novel, Sister Noon, was a finalist for the 2001 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. Novel Kicks caught up with Karen Joy Fowler……
Describe your typical writing day?
Author Photo: Beth Gwinn
On my typical writing day I don’t write. Sad, but true. I answer my email, I check out various blogs I like, I answer more of my email. Then it’s lunchtime. I believe I’m going to start to write at any moment, but after lunch I have more email and all the blogs have updated. The dog needs to be walked and it’s time to start dinner. Besides, by late afternoon I’m too tired for the sustained concentration of writing a book. I’m disappointed, but strangely optimistic about tomorrow. Which may or may not be a rinse and repeat sort of day.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Anywhere and everywhere. I eavesdrop when strangers talk – very easy in this day of the cell phone. I misunderstand the lyrics to rock songs in a fruitful way. I get ideas from reading other people’s fabulous stories and poems. And history books, of course. Especially inaccurate history books – history books with attitude and agenda. Scientific studies, especially if I only know about them because of eavesdropping (see above.) I find that a little bit of information about something is much more inspiring than a lot of information about it. Though if the story I want to write needs a lot of information, I’m happy to go and get it.
What’s your editing process like?
I love rewriting – much more pleasurable than the first draft – so I do a ton of it and I do it everyday. I’m always polishing the language, moving the scenes about, changing the location, changing the time period. Tinker, tinker, tinker. It’s the best part.
by Realise your literary dreams..
I Changed My Career – So Can You! A former teacher who became a professional writer is hoping to inspire others to pursue their literary dreams. Deany Judd spent ten years teaching teens at a Glasgow comprehensive before changing careers and becoming a freelance features writer for the national press. Now, together with a team of published authors, she has launched Literary Chicks – offering online writing courses for wannabe writers. The web based company will offer a variety of topical online writing courses for today’s newspaper, magazine and book publishing markets.
by Jasper Fforde
Jasper Fforde is the author of ‘First Among Sequels,’ ‘The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next),’ and the latest release, ‘Shades of Grey.’
Describe your typical writing day?
Author Photo: Mari Fforde.
I try to get a head start by kicking off the day at 7:30, in order to get a good head of steam to tackle the book. I find that if you concentrate fully and for long periods of time, then it all comes a lot easier – a bit like getting ‘on the step’ while jet-skiing. Once you get that speed up, then ideas and situations come a lot easier – full concentration and absorption. But like most humans I am easily distracted, so if something happens to kick me off the step, then I might not get back into it that morning, and if shopping, eBay, daytime TV or baby daughter require attention in the afternoon, the day can dwindle rapidly into non-productivity. We’re currently building an extension to the house, and my new office – cell, actually- will be empty except a word-processor, and no phone, no internet, no books, no nothing – not even a view. I may even insist on being bricked up for six months and fed food through a slot – now that would make me write books faster!
When starting a novel, what planning do you do in advance?
I don’t structure novels in advance. I wish that I could; it would make writing them a lot more efficient. I tend to just pick five or six different strands that I want to include, and then write them in parallel before figuring out a way of intertwining them at the end. There’s a lot of rewriting. And a lot of wastage. I usually write 300,000 words and eventually get down to a 100,000.
by Lola Jaye
Lola Jaye is the author of ‘By The Time You Read This,’ and ‘While You Were Dreaming.’ Lola shared her pre-publishing journey via her blog before finding success as a published writer. Here Lola share’s with Novel Kicks; where she finds her inspiration, her typical writing day and who she’d have over for dinner…
Where do you find your inspiration?
It varies. I can be on a tube or watching TV and an idea can pop into my head! For my first book By the Time You Read this… I was slap bang in the middle of a real writing slump – not feeling very inspired and basically in ‘writers block zone’ – as I sat in my PJ’s watching The Oprah Show about a dying mother who left a collection of keepsakes for her daughter. The story was very, very moving and afterwards I began to think;
What if there were no computers, DVD’s, MP3’s, computers, or video cameras on phones?
What if this was a father?
What if he simply wrote a letter to his daughter?
What if I switch on my computer and see what happens…?
I did and By The Time You Read This… was born!
by Phamie MacDonald
Phamie Macdonald is the author of the children’s series ‘The Planets.’ The first in the series; ‘Sam Sun,’ is already growing in popularity amongst children. Novel Kicks caught up with Phamie to talk about her inspiration behind the series and what tips she had for authors wanting to write for children.
What was the inspiration behind your planets series?
I was inspired to create the series when I was making a documentary about solar eclipses. My business partner at the time was doing some research and was shouting out really interesting facts and figures about the solar system across the office (like for example – why do the moon and sun appear to be the same size in the sky when the sun is 400 times bigger than the moon? Because the sun is 400 times further away from us!) That day I went back to my office with my head full of beautiful images of space and the planets and just thinking how stunning and exciting space really is and I wondered how I could get children excited about space. I decided the best way would be to make the Planets themselves tell their own story and allow the readers to connect with the Planet characters in a really exciting way. The idea was born very quickly after that.
by Matt Dunn
Matt Dunn is the author of five romantic comedy novels: Best Man, The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook, From Here to Paternity, Ex-Girlfriends United and The Good Bride Guide. Novel Kicks caught up with Matt to see what inspired him and what advice he had for new writers….
What’s your inspiration?
Life, really – I just tend to write about the kind of issues that I or my friends have had. Let’s face it, ‘relationships’ is a pretty big subject, and it’s the one thing in common that we all pursue – with varying degrees of success – for most of our lives. Which gives me a lot of material.
What was your route to publication?
I wrote my first novel, Best Man, while taking a break from my job as an IT Recruitment Consultant, then went through the usual depressing cycle of rejections from agents and publishers, but for every nine ‘thanks, but no thanks’ replies, there was one that gave me a hint or tip about how I might improve the book. I tried to incorporate their advice, re-wrote, kept on submitting, and eventually found an agent prepared to take me on. He in turn found a great editor who liked it, and offered me a two-book deal. Which rather shocked me, because I didn’t realise I’d have to write another one.
by Lisa Jewell
Lisa Jewell is the author of seven novels; ‘Ralph’s Party,’ ‘Thirtynothing,’ ‘One – Hit Wonder,’ ‘A Friend of the Family,’ ‘Vince and Joy,’ ’31 Dream Street’ and ‘The Truth About Melody Browne.’ She used to be a Secretary until redundancy, a bet and a book deal.
Describe your typical writing day?
I take my eldest daughter to school, go to the gym, go to Waitrose, come home, leave my youngest daughter downstairs with her babysitter and then head up to my study at the top of the house where I then spend somewhere between one hour, and occasionally four hours, faffing about on the internet, replying to e-mails, ordering clothes and posting in chat rooms. I have an early lunch at my desk and then at some point I will pull myself together and write some words. In the early months of writing a book this can be anywhere between one and five hundred words a day. In the last few weeks of writing a book I have been known to write as many as eight thousand. At 3.15 I turn off my computer and head off to school again to collect my eldest then spend the rest of the day being a mother.
by Christina Jones
Christina Jones is the award winning writer of many novels, the latest, ‘Moonshine,’ is due for release in January 2010. She’s the winner of ‘The Pure Passion Award’ for her novel ‘Love Potions,’ as well as a recipient of a ‘Melissa Nathan Comedy Romance Award’ for ‘Heaven Sent.’
What is your inspiration?
Life! Listening-in on other people’s conversations and people-watching and making things up about them! People are funny – and I write romantic comedy – so it’s wonderful just to listen-in. Being plain nosey I suppose…
Describe your typical writing day?
Muddled and chaotic! I start writing at 6 a.m. and write until mid-day when I go to work in the local pub as a barmaid (great for inspiration!). I’ve always got something on the go – either a book or a short story or both – and I just pick up on where I was the day before. I only ever do one draft of anything, re-writing as I go along. I’m not some one who can set myself a certain number of words a day. I just do what I’m capable of doing. Sometimes it’s loads – sometimes I just put a comma in and take it out again….
by Cecelia Ahern
Cecelia Ahern is the best selling author of seven novels, the latest ‘The Book of Tomorrow’ released next month. She has also become the youngest recipient of a ‘Nielsen Book Platinum Award’ for achieving over a million sales in the UK for her first novel ‘P.S I love you.’ She has written various short stories and co-created the TV series ‘Samantha Who.’ Novel Kicks caught up with Cecelia to chat about what inspires her and what her tips are for aspiring Writers.
Describe your typical writing day?
I don’t really have a typical writing day, as every day is different. I’m an all-or-nothing writer so if I wake up and feel like I don’t have anything to say, well then I don’t sit down to write. I can spend up to a few days just allowing the story to bubble away in my head and then when it’s ready, I sit down and I write day and night, night and day and I don’t stop until it’s time to mull it all over again. I think my most natural writing time is the evening and night. I prefer to write when time feels slower. At night, the pace of life is different, the world is quieter and I can think a lot better. I also enjoy writing on Sundays when I feel time is less manic. When I wrote PS I Love You I wrote from 10pm till 6am every night but of course I can’t work like that anymore as life has a tendency to get in the way. I work until about 3 am now. My only routine is that I like to light a candle, feel completely settled and peaceful, and write longhand. I write a chapter and then usually type it up the next day, editing and rewriting as I go along.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by life. I feel like I’m like a great big sponge that absorbs the world and then when I sit down to write, all of these things that I didn’t notice noticing all come seeping out onto the page.
by Diana Gabaldon
Describe your writing style in one sentence?
I write like a jellyfish hunts: drifting through the water at the beck of wind and current (this is not the same thing as randomness, btw), my tentacles trailing an invisible cloud of sensitivity until they encounter some entertainingly edible fragment—at which point, I glom onto it and sting it to death.
by Kate Harrison
Kate Harrison is the author of five books, her latest The Secret Shopper’s Revenge was recently nominated for a ‘Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance.’ We caught up with Kate to find out about her life as a writer and what advice she had for anyone who was thinking of becoming one…As an author, what’s your inspiration?
I’m inspired by the things that make me laugh or make me stop and think – conversations with friends, encounters or people I see on the street, the questions that keep me awake sometimes – but mainly by the privilege of being able to imagine other people’s lives and loves and thoughts.
Continue reading
by Fiona Walker.
How did you get into writing? What inspired you to write your first book and why did you pick that particular genre?
I wrote French Relations initially as an exercise in occupational therapy – and then because it became an obsession, only finally suggesting itself as a potential career path.
I was laid low with a kidney infection, and signed off work for six weeks – longing for something entertaining to read. In the end, despairing of finding quite the right escapist fix, I started to write it myself. This was 1990, before ‘Chick Lit’ ever existed, more an era of bonk-busters and Aga Sagas. I adored anything funny – Jilly Cooper being a huge favourite – but also really wanted something that related to my own life, with a heroine that wasn’t a high-flyer, and a hero who laughed and talked her into love rather than throwing her on a silk-sheeted four-poster in a series of acrobatic sexual maneuvers. Hence Tash French was born – the idea of the family gathering inspired by one of my own Rabelaisian kin’s summer parties.
by Robyn Young
Robyn Young, author of Brethren and Crusade
Interview by Roland Hulme, August 21st 2006
How long goes past between coming up with the idea for a story and actually sitting down and putting pen to paper?
It’s fairly hard to answer the first question, what length of time passes between the idea and the first moment of writing, as it varies from project to project. My first two novels, unpublished, were to be part of a fantasy series and I think I simply sat down to write them when I was inspired. Brethren was a much slower process, because of the fact that I had to do so much research before I could even think about facing the blank page. I also spent a few months playing around with different perspectives and characters before I began writing seriously.
by Book Club
