She has been writing for years,
but has never before plucked up the courage to tell people. She is the author of chick-lit
romantic comedy Kismetology and YA Paranormal romantic comedy Afterlife Academy.
1. Why did you want to become a writer?
I’ve always loved writing. Ever since I was a little girl, if I wasn’t
making up stories of my own then I was reading books. It was inevitable that I
would become a writer. Looking back now, I don’t see how I could ever have done
anything else. I wasn’t very good at any subject in school, and careers advisors
washed their hands of me because I never knew what I wanted to do, other than
write!
2. What's the toughest part of the writing process for you?
2. What's the toughest part of the writing process for you?
Editing, definitely. I find it very hard to cut scenes and words and even
harder to know if it should be cut or if it should stay. It gets to the point
where I’ve read the book so many times that I hate every word in it and want to
trash the whole thing and never write a single word ever again! That’s usually
the time for an editor to step in and provide an outside opinion!
3. What's the most enjoyable part of writing?
3. What's the most enjoyable part of writing?
The messy first draft! I write awful first drafts, I just let myself write
anything and everything that comes to mind and don’t worry about it being right
or wrong. Everything can be fixed in the editing stage, but you only get to sit
down and freely write that first draft once. I also like the part where you put
away a manuscript for a few months to get some space from it, and when you go
back and read through it, you realise it’s not quite as bad as you thought it
was!
4. Out of all the amazing books out there, which book do you wish you had written and why?
4. Out of all the amazing books out there, which book do you wish you had written and why?
So many! It would be easy to say something like Harry Potter, obviously for
the success and the sheer amount of people who love it, but personally I would
rather have written books that have touched me in some way. Tiger Eyes by Judy
Blume and See Jane Date by Melissa Senate – neither are particularly well-known,
but both had a big impact on me when I first read them. I would love to have
written a book that really changes a readers life.
5. If you could only save one of your characters from fictional calamity, who would you pick and why?
5. If you could only save one of your characters from fictional calamity, who would you pick and why?
I have to say Chessie, who is the main character in Not Pretty Enough. It’s
not released yet, but I have to choose her because she goes through so many
fictional disasters in the book, she doesn’t deserve any more
calamity!
6. If you could spend the day with your favourite character (not from your books), who would you spend it with and what would you do?
6. If you could spend the day with your favourite character (not from your books), who would you spend it with and what would you do?
Ooh, that’s a really hard question! There are so many amazing characters
who I love! I think it would have to be Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic
series, and obviously we’d have to go shopping!
7. What can we expect next from you?
7. What can we expect next from you?
I have a young adult romantic comedy called Not Pretty Enough coming out on
August 1st, and after that I’ll be working on this year’s Christmas book, which
is another YA rom com set in the North Pole.
8. Is there any particular writing advice you wish you'd been given at the start of your writing career? If so, what is it? If not, what advice would you give to someone starting out?
8. Is there any particular writing advice you wish you'd been given at the start of your writing career? If so, what is it? If not, what advice would you give to someone starting out?
The advice I was given was to do quick and messy first drafts. Don’t worry
about technicalities, just sit down and write and keep writing until you hit the
end. Don’t stop to make sure every sentence is perfect, all that can be fixed
later, just keep at it until you have a first draft.
The advice I would give to anyone would be to unplug the internet! Seriously, I’m so bad for procrastinating, sometimes the only thing to do is switch the router off until I’ve hit my word count! Also, try NaNoWriMo. It might not be for everyone but it really helped me in the beginning and it’s always a lot of fun too!
The advice I would give to anyone would be to unplug the internet! Seriously, I’m so bad for procrastinating, sometimes the only thing to do is switch the router off until I’ve hit my word count! Also, try NaNoWriMo. It might not be for everyone but it really helped me in the beginning and it’s always a lot of fun too!
9. Tell us what a typical writing day involves for you.
I try to be on the computer by 9am so I have time to do a bit of fiddling
about on the internet and catching up on Twitter and email before I start my
writing for the day. I write until a mid-morning tea and biscuit break, then
again until lunchtime when I once again catch up on Twitter and emails! The
afternoon usually starts around 2pm, and I write from then until I’m finished; it
can be 5pm or it can be 2am, depending on how much I have to do and how close I
am to a deadline!
10. Finally, what are you reading at the moment?
10. Finally, what are you reading at the moment?
I’m reading the brilliant Sky Song by Sharon Sant. I’ve just finished one
of her other books (The Jackie Chan Fan Club which was hilarious!) so I couldn’t
wait to get into her trilogy too! I’m such a slow reader though, my TBR list
never seems to diminish!
Thanks, Jaimie!
Kismetology:
Mothers. Can't live with them, can't live without them, can't live three doors down the road without them interfering in every aspect of your life. Mackenzie Atkinson's mother has meddled in her love life once too often and something has to be done.
Mackenzie decides to turn the tables and find love for her lonely mother. Her lonely and very fussy mother. Surely finding an older gentleman looking for love won't be that hard, right? Wrong. If you've ever thought that boys grow up, here's the problem: They don't. Ever. And Mackenzie is about to learn that the hard way.
Faced with a useless boyfriend, dressed up dogs, men who wear welly boots on dates, men who shouldn't be allowed out in public, and men who make reptiles seem like attractive company - will she ever find the perfect man for her neurotic mother?
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