When is your next book coming out?
My next new novel will be
on sale in 2010. I'm writing it as fast as is humanly possible and
should be able to post an extract very soon. Do keep checking back on
here for more info. |
Where can I buy your books in the US?
At present only My Best
Friend's Girl and Marshmallows For Breakfast are available to buy in
the US. Goodnight, Beautiful should be released sometime in 2010. In
the meantime, the only way I can think of you to get my other books
over there is to order them from a UK website, or ask anyone who's
coming over here to get them for you. |
Are your first two novels on sale?
Both The Cupid Effect and
The Chocolate Run are on sale again, sporting new covers!! (Two
exclamation marks are definitely required.) It's so exciting seeing my
'first born' on the shelves again. Bless them both. |
Are you doing any signings in the UK?
At the moment, there are no plans to have any signings or readings – but if that changes I will post details on here. |
Has anything in your stories happened to you or anyone you know?
In
general, the answer is no. I draw on elements of other people's stories
and personalities to create my books, but my work is fiction. I am not
any of my main characters - they tend to have much more exciting lives
than me. |
Where do you get your ideas from?
My ideas come from life,
from talking to people, from overhearing conversations in public, from
wondering how I'd handle myself in certain situations. Like I say, I
write fiction so I make up plots and characters but the original
situations that I draw my 'what ifs' from are based on real life. |
Will you read my work/critique it?
Finding out what I think
is very unlikely to help you get published. Your best bet is to keep
going with your writing, get it into as excellent shape as you think
possible and send it off to agents and publishers. If you do get
rejection letters try not to let it dent your confidence too much, just
keep writing. Being published is fantastic - and it'll be all the more
amazing if you're published for doing something you love. |
Where do you get your knowledge of children from – the ones you write about are nothing like the ones I know?
I'm
very lucky because I know lots of different children – I have a very
big family and spend a lot of time with them. I also spend a lot of
time with my friends' children and if there's one thing I've learnt
over the last 14 years of watching them grow up is that their
personalities are formed at a very early age and they are often far
more clever and clued-up than people who don't know children give them
credit for. If you've ever tried to talk your way out of being punished
by a two-year-old, you'll know what I mean.
|
Can you help me get a book published?
Like the answer to me
reading stuff for you, what I like or think is fabulous won't make any
difference when it comes to getting a publishing deal. Despite what
many people say, it's virtually impossible to predict what publishers
will love and will reject so, it's always best to write what you love
and send it out there in the best possible shape. |
Do you think my idea will make a good book?
Probably, is the
short answer. As I've said before, what I think about your idea will
not help with getting a publishing deal. Or even in you writing it. The
best way to see if your idea or the story of your life would make a
good book or film is to try writing it and seeing where it takes you.
Books on writing, the writing tips on this website and magazines like
Writing magazine will all be helpful in developing your technique and
ways to express yourself. |
Can you endorse my idea/website/book/project?
One of the most
important things I learnt from being a journalist is to be honest about
the things you endorse or say. It makes whatever you do endorse all the
more credible because you do genuinely think it's amazing. Unless I've
tried something, read it or gained something from it, I'm not able to
say I love it. At the moment, I have so little time, it's very
difficult to read or try anything new. So, apologies, I can't at the
moment endorse anything. |
How do you find the time to write?
I make the time. I've had
two jobs (full-time journalist and novelist) for so long that I had to
find whatever little time I could to write. I used to write on the
train to work, in front of the television, in the middle of the night
when everyone on my side of the globe was asleep. It was what I had to
do to write my books and pay my bills. In my experience, you have to do
a lot of non-novel work to be able to write books. The idea that you
get a huge advance on the first go is wonderful. . . and mostly the
stuff of fiction. If it happens to you, then fabulous. If it doesn't
happen to you, then try not to feel discouraged, keep going. Also,
having another job is great for researching stories to write about. |
Do you know of any good creative writing courses?
I haven't
taken any creative writing courses and I wouldn't recommend any without
having tried them. A good place to start would be the Society of
Authors who might have a list or would be able to point you in the
right direction. You will have to be a member, though. Also try asking
at your local library or local adult educational institute. If I was
signing up for a course, I'd do a little research on the tutor to see
what qualifications and pieces of work they've had published. |
Can you send me pictures of Nate and Luke?
Erm, no. They're not real. |
Will you write a sequel to My Best Friend's Girl?
I'm not one
for writing sequels, so I doubt very much I'll write a sequel to My
Best Friend's Girl (I really think the story of Tegan and Kamryn has
been told) nor any of my other novels. I do sometimes speculate about
what happens to my various characters after the story has ended, but I
don't think my speculating would make good enough books. . . Having
said that, you never know what the future holds, but at the moment, I'm
not planning on writing any follow-ups. |
Some of the things you've said in your book aren't how they'd happen in 'real life'.
My
work is fiction meaning I do have creative license to work with
elements of a story. And, like I say, the original situations do come
from 'real life' that I then build on. |
Will you reply to my email?
Please don't take offence if I
don't reply to your emails, I love getting them but until I am given
access to a cloning machine where I can duplicate a Dorothy Koomson who
can answer emails, I am unable to reply to each one personally. |
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