The Next Big Thing

I have been tagged for this Q and A by the lovely Sarah Dunnakey, who I envy desperately for having had a story broadcast on Radio 4 recently.  She's also had success in several high-profile writing competitions, and I can't wait to read her novel.  You can read her answers here.  

Meanwhile here are mine:

What is the working title of your next book?

Put a Spell on You

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? 

Josie inherits a book of spells and tries to change her life. 

Where did the idea come from for the book? 

I was thinking one day (as you do) how brilliant it would be if you could wave a magic wand to change things.  Then I thought, what if you did but something went horribly wrong ...?

What genre does your book fall under? 

Adult rom-com with magic (is that a genre?)

Which actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I find it really hard to picture actual people playing the parts while I'm writing - as soon as I do they're not my characters any more. Boring, but true I'm afraid!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I'm inspired mostly by my own desire to write - preferably something silly that will make people smile.  I've always read avidly, but the Adrian Mole books by Sue Townsend, and The Old Girl Network by Catherine Alliott - which I read nearly twenty years ago - made me laugh out loud and I knew that was the kind of fiction I wanted to write.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 

I’m represented by Lisa Eveleigh of the Richford Becklow agency.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About nine months.  It was part of a 2-book deal for Random House in Germany so there was no slacking, I had to get on with it. There were several more months of rewriting and editing though.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? 

There's quite a bit about spells and witchcraft in there. I read a lot on the subject to get a feel for it, and even tried out one or two (though I didn't have the proper ingredients, so maybe that's why they didn't work).  It brought back memories of doing a project about witchcraft at school once, so maybe I'm harbouring a secret desire to become one!

Thanks for that Sarah, I rather like answering questions. I'm going to pass on the baton to the talented Deborah Carr, who I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more of in the future.