Writer Spotlight - Holly Martin

On Coffee and Roses I like to bring you news of exciting authors who are either waiting to be published or published and worth checking out.

This week, I'm delighted to welcome the lovely HOLLY MARTIN into the Coffee and Roses Writer Spotlight...

When did you first decide that you wanted to write?

I've always written stories. Even when I was a child my first proper story was a piece of fan-fiction, my own version of The Animals of Farthing Wood, when I was about 9 years old. I asked for my own typewriter as a Christmas present one year when I was about 11. I started writing seriously about five years ago after reading gorgeous, rose-tinted stories by Jill Mansell and thinking I wanted to create something like that.

What interests you as a writer?

Being able to tell the kind of stories that I want to read with the wonderful characters that I want to read about. I can take my readers to different lands and immerse them in different experiences. Anything is possible when you open up a new story and start writing. The direction my books go will often surprise me.

Do you have a typical writing day? If not, when is the best time to write for you?

I work full time at the moment, very long hours. I'm up at 4.30am most mornings and won't get back till 7pm most nights. My writing time is then crammed into the few hours before I fall asleep over my laptop or weekends. My best writing time is in the school holidays when I have a week or even 6 weeks off to write all day. Then I normally stay up till 3am writing and sleep in late.

Which authors inspire you and why?

I just want to tell gorgeous stories, with great characters. The kind of stories that leave you with a big smile on your face. So I love to read stories like that too. I'm a big fan of Miranda Dickinson, Jill Mansell, Belinda Jones, Catherine Alliott, Aven Ellis, Lisa Dickenson and Sophie Kinsella. This is chick-lit to perfection – funny, heart-warming stories with characters you just fall in love with.

Tell me about your latest book.

The Guestbook is a romance told solely through the messages in the guestbook of a holiday cottage. It's a unique way of telling a story. Annie Butterworth owns Willow Cottage and lives next door and it's mainly her story that unravels through her interactions with her guests. But the guests have their own story to tell and we get a little glimpse of their lives as they come and go, too.

What are the best things about being a writer?

The feedback you get from people who have read your book. The way it touches people in ways you could never hope to achieve. When I put out my fantasy YA book, The Sentinel, I never expected the response I got. The reviews I received were outstanding and from people I had never even met or spoken to. Their reviews and messages brought me to tears. After years of rejections from agents and publishers, the people that loved it were the most important people – the readers. It made me realise that I might have created something special. The response to The Guestbook has been the same and I still can't get over how much love and support I've received.

And the worst?

I suppose that your work is out their for public review. People will either love it or hate it. I've been fortunate enough not to get many bad reviews – the majority of my reviews are 5 or 4 stars but the 1 star reviews do hurt. You spend months, sometimes years crafting what you hope is something worthwhile and then people destroy it with a few hateful words. You develop a thick skin very quickly in this industry. The poor reviews always make me laugh now. People will either get my work or they won't and it would be a dull world if everyone loved the same books. I read a brilliant quote somewhere once that said something like, to attack a book with anger and hate is like dressing up in a full suit or armour to attack an ice cream sundae!

What are you working on now?

My next book to be published with Carina is called One Hundred Proposals and will be out in the summer. It's about two friends, Harry and Suzie, who work for a proposal company, helping couples to create the perfect proposal. Harry wants to know what Suzie's perfect proposal would be and sets about creating one hundred different proposals for her to find her perfect one. I'm also working on my book 2 in The Sentinel series, The Prophecies, which I hope will be out in June.

Do you have a dream project you would love to write?

Bizarrely I have ideas for a zom-rom-com, with zombies and love and a lot of comedy, but I've never got round to putting pen to paper. Maybe one day.

What are your top three tips for aspiring writers?

1.Read lots, read the people you love in the genre that you're writing for, see what works well for them, how they create dialogue and characters. Try to use some of those skills in your own writing.

2. Write. I know that sounds silly but if you are always thinking up ideas in your head and never write them down they will never turn into anything. Write down ideas for a scene, a conversation. It might turn into something, it might not, but writing it down, even if its just a few sentences, will help you think more about your ideas and how you can add to it. Finding time to write, even it's only five minutes a day is important, too.

3. Don't give up, you will get rejections, but just remember that is the opinion of one person and somewhere out there is a perfect match for you and your book.

Anything else you’d like to say?

I love finding new authors, someone I've not read before. I don't get a lot of reading time lately because of any limited spare time goes on writing, but when I do I love to find a little gem. One of my favourite new authors is Aven Ellis and her newest book, Waiting For Prince Harry,is just a superb, heart-warming read.

Thanks so much to Holly for a great interview! To find out more about Holly and her books, you can visit Holly's blog and follow her @hollymartin00 on Twitter.

Jane Austen in the lunch queue

Today is Jane Austen's birthday and around the world Austen fans are celebrating (with a dainty dance and a spot of witty banter, perhaps?) So today's post is in honour of the great lady (with apologies for my 21st century impertinence...)

The thing I love most about Jane Austen's writing is her ability to observe people in everyday situations. She was the consummate people-watcher of her day, noting the social quirks of her peers both in public and in private. While the love stories of her books will always be irresistible, what I adore more than anything about her work are the sparkling nuggets of overheard conversations, subtle (and not-so-subtle) gestures and the preposterousness of social conventions of the day. These were, and still remain today, the essential tools of writers - collecting people and inviting readers to spy on them.

Over two hundred years after her birth, people-watching is very much alive, although the gathering places have changed from the society balls and grand social occasions of Jane Austen's time. So, I found myself wondering today what she would make of the lunch queue where I used to work. (Like you do!)


Of course, had Jane Austen been alive today she would have just turned 236, so the odds of her standing for long enough to observe are decidedly slim... But supposing some kind soul had found her a debatably comfortable seat on a mock-pine melamine chair in the small coffee shop in the atrium of the office complex in Wolverhampton. What would she make of the motley crew of gathered office workers standing in line to buy their lunches?

Take, for example, the young guy who lined up every lunchtime with his mother. Blessed with an impressive mop of red hair and a perennial blush, he waited solemnly, head bowed, as his fifty-something companion (all richly-lined mouth and jangling gold jewellery) proudly regaled the assembled queuers with embarrassing tales of his seventeen-year-old life. "He brought a girl home the other day. Drippier than a stream of tap water and not much brighter, but she'll do for now..."

I think Jane would have seen it all and logged it in her mind, as writers do. I wonder if she might then have one day written a scene where he finds the courage to stand up to the overbearing mother and make his own way in the world...

Why books are a cinema just for you...

Today, I sat in a cinema all by myself and watched a film.

This is not a statement that I have no friends or that I'm a rock-star author who can command private screenings. It was just a lovely, serendipitous happening. But it made me think about what writers do for our readers.

Image: TheNextWeb.com

I didn't have special permission from the director the view the film alone. I didn't have to pay a King's ransom for the opportunity. I didn't even have to book the experience in advance. I simply turned up at my local multiplex cinema on a Saturday morning and bought a regular ticket for the first show of the day. As it happened, nobody else had the same idea and so, with my £6.20 ticket, I watched the film as the only person in the cinema. Yes, I felt like a celebrity. And yes, I grinned like a complete loon all through the film. It was one of those moments that probably won't ever happen again, but I loved every second of it.

And then, it hit me: as an author every book I write offers each reader an experience like this.

Every author who writes a story for other people to read is inviting those readers into an amazing world which feels as if it was created just for them. The audience of one. It doesn't matter if a book is read by one person or several million, the experience is the same. We offer people the chance to step into their own private cinema of their imagination and project a story into it for them to enjoy. And as each reader's ideas and expectation of the story are different, each mind-movie is different, too. We give readers an indulgent, VIP experience by welcoming them into worlds of our creation, no matter who or where in the world they are.

That's why books are magical.

I mean, where else can you receive that kind of attention for less than a price of a cinema ticket?

Writer Spotlight - Tom Gillespie

On Coffee and Roses I like to bring you news of exciting authors who are either waiting to be published or published and worth checking out.

This week, I'm excited to welcome the very lovely TOM GILLESPIE into the Coffee and Roses Writer Spotlight.

When did you first decide that you wanted to write?
I've always been a bit odd and at odds with the world around me. When I was a child, my mother used to worry (I'm sure she still does) that I didn't socialise enough or engage more with my friends or life outside my head. I was always off on my inward travels, forever plotting out stories, inventing characters and hatching plans… Then, when I was around ten or eleven, I won a local writing competition and my story featured in the town's Civic Week programme. And from that point onwards, I have consciously followed creative pathways throughout my life. In some ways it's ironic that, alongside my writing career, I am also an English Lecturer, where communication and interaction are essential skills!

What interests you as a writer?
People are secretive and strange, and that really intrigues me. I'm interested in the weird obsessive behaviours and habits that have come to dominate and define our lives in the 21st Century. It's as though the more materialistic and comfortable the developed world becomes, the further we retreat into the dark concealed corners of ourselves. And as a result, we seem to be accumulating phobias, fears, ticks and compulsions as some kind of replacement for the absence of happiness, or a more fulfilling life that we once lived. So in my writing, I'm interested in exploring these outward manifestations as a means of revealing hidden and often painful truths buried deep within the psyche. I'm also into slapstick comedy.

Do you have a typical writing day? If not, when is the best time to write for you?
As I work full-time, and I'm a parent, husband, cat owner and principal cook and bottle washer, I have to fit my writing around the needs and demands of all my other loves. However, for me, having a writing routine is very important. So each day I set aside 1-2 hrs of dedicated writing or writing-related time. The slot might move around a little depending on what is going on, but I try to stick to the same pattern as best I can. My favourite time to write, however, is very early in the morning or very late at night… 5am or 1.am, when the house is quiet, all is still and I can let my characters run around without bumping into anyone from the other side.

What inspires you as a writer?
I love writers who surprise, shock, reveal and then change the way we look at the world. I love writing that conveys multiple layers of meaning through the use of elegant, terse and precise language. I'm drawn to stories that have sudden or unexpected shifts in reality. And above all, I love ambiguity. I want the reader to speculate, and draw their own conclusions about what might be going on.

What are the best things about being a writer?
The best thing for me is that I can filter and express my oddities through words on a page, and that I am free to travel wherever and (mostly) whenever I please without a passport or visa. (but with lots of baggage... ha ha!)

And the worst?
There's nothing bad about writing. It can drive you wild with rage and frustration at times but that's partly what's brilliant about it, when you emerge from the struggle feeling victorious. But all of the fluff and hot air that precedes and follows - promotion, networking, blogging and so on - can become a little stressful… (not this interview, I hasten to add!!), especially when my time is so precious to me and to the ones who have to put up with my obsession.

Tell me about Painting by Numbers.

Painting by Numbers began life as a one page flash fiction story. It was inspired by an incident I witnessed in El Prado museum, Madrid, involving a middle-aged man, a reel of thread and two over-assertive security guards. The story lay in a drawer for a couple of years, but there was something about it that kept telling me it needed to be longer.

It was a difficult book to write for a number of reasons. As I plotted it out, it began to develop into a complex psychological thriller that revolved around mathematics, art history, forgery and conspiracy. I soon realised that in order to make it work, I would have to do quite a bit of research. It was also challenging because Jacob, the central protagonist, is an anti-hero. On the surface, he's a difficult guy to like. He's selfish and egocentric. He's a heavy drinker, a misogynist and an obsessive. At times it was like putting up with a damaged and dysfunctional family member. You want to walk away but the bonds of love keep pulling you back for more. What I like about him though, is that somewhere beneath all the flaws and cracks in his character, he has a heart and a conscience. There's a vulnerability there that I hope will reach out to the reader.

The structure is a little unusual too in that, on the whole, the story revolves around one character rather than three or four, so it was fairly intense to write. In some ways, Jacob's painful odyssey of self discovery parallels my own journey to complete the book. As writers, we are all locked into our own set of dreams, desires and compulsions.

What would be your top three tips for aspiring writers?
Oh dear... that's an impossible question... I don't feel qualified to offer any tips... But if you insist, then, for what it's worth, here's what I would advise:
1. Consider the advice of others, then follow your own
2. Listen to your inner voice
3. Always aspire to be an aspiring writer

Do you have a dream project you'd love to write?
A strange and surreal fictionalised account of the life of Scottish literary genius Alasdair Gray (with the film directed by Terry Gilliam!)

Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Thank you for allowing me to ramble on... and if you happen to bump into my mother, please reassure her that I'm doing fine.

Thanks to Tom for his great answers! Painting by Numbers is published by Crooked Cat Publishing and I will be posting a review of the book next week (I'm in the middle of reading it now and I'm loving it!. You can follow Tom on Facebook, on Twitter @tom_gillespie and visit his website.

Would you like to take part in a forthcoming Writer Spotlight? Email me at: coffeeandroses@gmail.com for consideration.

Awesome writing advice - Maeve Binchy

I was really sad to learn of the passing of wonderful Irish author Maeve Binchy a few weeks ago. As many people paid tribute to this lovely lady on twitter and facebook, the following video interview with her was mentioned time and again...

Lots of people ask me how I write and want to know advice on novel writing: just watch this video! Maeve beautifully sums up really all you need to know. If you're a writer, watch this to not only give yourself confidence but also to receive pearls of wisdom from one of the world's best authors.

Enjoy!

Not just a one-trick pony...

There has been - unsurprisingly - a humungous amount of publicity in the past couple of days about the announcement of J.K. Rowling's new novel. Aimed at adults this time (although I know an awful lot of 'grown-up kids' who adore her previous work!), the novel will be very different from the books she has become famous worldwide for. So, is it a good move?

Photo © Wall to Wall Media Ltd. Photographer: Andrew Montgomery

All the blaze of publicity yesterday about the new novel - and the resulting response on twitter, news sites and blogs - was fascinating to watch. As ever, twitter served up the most witty responses, with most of the reaction good-natured and positive. People seem to be genuinely intrigued to see what a 'different book' by J.K. Rowling will look like. But some in the media seem to be quite miffed that she's writing 'out of her genre' (I apologise for the awful phrase) - and this made me think about the preconceptions and labels that a lot of authors deal with.

I read a fantastic interview of Stephen King by Neil Gaiman in The Sunday Times Magazine last week, where he was asked whether he saw himself as a horror writer - and whether he minded being labelled as such. He didn't mind at all, but said, 'I never thought of myself as a horror writer. That’s what other people think.' Of course, Stephen King has written a great deal of other stories and books that aren't horror at all (I know because I am a complete wuss and those are the only ones I've felt brave enough to read!), but he admitted that it took a long time for him to be recognised for this.

Being stereotyped is something that unfortunately all authors will face. Imagine the media furore if Hilary Mantel wrote an urban fantasy novel, or Jeffery Deaver published an emotional family saga (although personally I would love to read either of those!) While I love, love, love writing romantic comedy, I also have ideas for other stories that are different. My short stories, for example, are significantly darker in style than my novels. And I have a comedy urban fantasy novel currently being rejected a lot by major publishers (under my pen-name of Ellis Parker). I'm working on an idea for a story that combines a natural gift with a murder case. I have a children's story idea bubbling away in the background... Will any of them ever see the light of day? Maybe not, but I hope that one day I can share some of them with the lovely people who read my stories. In the meantime, it's perfectly OK to want to write different stuff and I think it's good for me as a writer to try out other styles of writing because of what it teaches me. A crucial part of being a writer is exploring new stories - whatever shape or flavour they might be.

While many of us writers can only marvel at the phenomenal success of J.K. Rowling, I do wonder if she ever felt hemmed in creatively by the novels she created. I know some people would argue that she didn't have anything to complain about, what with all the money she was making, but writers know that writing is about more than just making a living. Expression is something you can't put a price on - as is inspiration. I wonder if she had a million and one other ideas bubbling away as she worked on the behemoth of the Harry Potter series (a common ailment amongst writers) - was it ever a source of frustration to her that she couldn't explore these?

I don't know whether The Casual Vacancy will sell gazillions or be moderately successful. I suspect that her legion of fans will buy whatever she writes (because readers aren't as bound by labels as the media or publishing industry seem to be). And in a way, it doesn't matter. Practically speaking, she's more than proved herself and it's less of a risk because her mortgage doesn't depend on its success. But I applaud her for showing another side to her craft.

Writer Spotlight: Ali Harris

On Coffee and Roses I like to bring you news of exciting authors who are either waiting to be published or published and worth checking out.

This week, I'm thrilled to shine the Coffee and Roses Writer Spotlight on the very wonderful ALI HARRIS!


When did you first decide that you wanted to write? (Was it a Damscus-esque flash or a slow burn?)

It was completely a Damascus-style epiphany! That isn’t to say I didn’t dream of writing books as a child, but I didn’t believe I could actually do it for a living until my early 20s. As well as being a bookworm as a teenager, I was also obsessed with (double geek alert!) musicals and after my A levels, I was torn between doing an English degree and Performing Arts but in the end, the high kicks beat the classics but it soon became clear I wasn’t a natural born actress. I’d only do improvisation on pain of death and I always chose to write 5,000 word essays over doing performances! Despite these (pretty major) clues that I might have chosen the wrong career path, I was still convinced it was an actor’s life for me. So when I graduated, I took a job as a waitress at a theme restaurant, and then a steakhouse in London to try and earn enough money for drama school. I basically lived Emma Morley’s restaurant experience from One Day for four whole years! Anyway, starved of any creative outlet, I started writing during the day whilst serving tables at night. Bridget Jones had just been published and when I read it – and the wave of books that quickly followed it – it was literally like hearing a West End chorus singing! I remember feeling overwhelmed by how much I related to this exciting new genre, how much it spoke to me. And it was saying, ‘maybe you could do this too’. From that moment on I was determined to be a published author one day. And it only took me… 13 years!!! (via a career as a women’s magazine journalist – it was SO worth the wait – and I adored the diversion, too).

What interests you as a writer?

Primarily, it’s people over plot, every time. Perhaps it’s due to my ‘acting’ (ahem) and my journalism background, but my characters always come first and I definitely find that my books are driven by the need to tell a character – or a collective of characters’ stories. But I am also someone who believes 100% in escapism and I’m unashamedly romantic. I love books that make me feel that life can be richer, better, more magical and more romantic than it feels on a day-to-day basis. They’re the books I choose to read, and that’s the kind of books I aim to write, too.

Do you have a typical writing day? If not, when is the best time to write for you?

I’ve got two children under 3 so nothing can ever be typical! As soon as I think I’ve got a routine cracked my baby girl will refuse to nap or my three year-old son will be sick! On Mondays and Tuesdays my writing completely revolves around them – I squeeze it in by occasionally getting up before them (which as any parent knows is as close to madness as you can get when you spend so long trying to get them to sleep through the night!) but can I emphasise this is only occasionally! I then do another couple of hours at lunchtime when my baby sleeps. Wednesdays are 100% ‘mum days’ but on Thursdays and Fridays my son is at nursery and I have a nanny for my baby girl so for two days I can devote my attention solely to my other baby….my book! On those days I aim to be at my desk, or even better, cosily ensconced in a coffee shop with no internet and no distractions by 9.30am and I write until after lunch – or until I’ve hit 4,000 words. That way I don’t feel guilty for the days when I don’t write at all. Obviously as I get closer to my deadline, all of this will go out the window and I’ll be writing through the night and handing over the kids to their grandparents to get it done on time!

Which authors inspire you and why?

Oh my goodness, so many! I am an absolute stickler for the genre that I write in. I love Marian Keyes (but who doesn’t?!) She just has this incredible ability to write exceptionally prolific tragi-comic novels unlike anyone else in the genre. In my opinion she’s ‘Chick Lit’s’ very own Shakespeare! I also love Jennifer Weiner for writing about real women, being brilliantly funny and clever and also for being such a strong defender of women writers. Then there’s Adriana Trigiani for her wonderfully evocative descriptions and Jo Jo Moyes for her sweeping, thoroughly engaging love stories. Ooh and the next two aren’t fictional authors but they have written books so I can get away with mentioning them! For being a wonderful writer/director of rom-coms and her hilarious observational musings, I love Nora Ephron. And Tina Fey is a modern day writing GODDESS (and someone that I have a massive girl crush on!)

Tell me about Miracle On Regent Street.

With pleasure! It’s a classic Cinderella story, a real cuddle-up-with-a-cashmere-blanket-and-a-hot chocolate kind of a read. I like to think it’s the kind of book that will remind you of classic old movies and those bygone days when Christmas was about magic, not money. It’s a story about a sweet, unassuming stockroom girl called Evie Taylor who works in the basement of Hardy's; a faded, forgotten old department store that has seen better days. For the past two years she's lived an invisible life in London, sorting endless boxes of old-fashioned stock by day and looking after her sister’s two young children at night. Her neighbours think she's the hired help, her self-obsessed shop floor colleagues mistake her for her stockroom predecessor and even her manager doesn't know her actual name. But despite all this she loves working at the store. So when she overhears that Hardy's is at risk of being sold unless it seriously increases its profits by December 26th – just three weeks time - she hatches a secret plan to save it. Evie and Hardy's are both looking for a Christmas miracle to turn their fortunes around, but will it take the form of the handsome American who has swept in to town and shaken things up like a snow globe?


What are the best things about being a writer?

How long have you got? Ok, here goes...
1. Fulfilling my dreams
2. Being able to justifiably live in what my husband calls ‘Ali’s world’.
3. Getting PAID for it!
4. Knowing that people are READING what I write.
5. Hearing from people who have liked what I’ve written.
6.Working in my pajamas.
7. Not having to leave my house unless I want to (all writers are natural hermits, right? Or is that just me..?)
8. Getting to lust after (fictional) men without getting in trouble with my husband (not fictional = not ok!!)
9. Reading my favourite books and rom-coms and calling it ‘research’.
10. Being able to write from anywhere in the world… but mostly choosing to do it in my house.

And the worst?

Honestly? There are no downsides. I’m so lucky to so this for a living I can’t complain about anything… oh hang on, yes I can! Writer’s bottom - Doing this job is proving disastrous for my backside!

What are you working on now?

My second book!! Gosh it feels amazing to say that! It’s called The First Last Kiss and it’s an all-encompassing love story that focuses on Molly and Ryan, a young couple in their 20s who have always seemed destined to be together until something unexpected tears them apart. The story follows the ups and downs of their relationship and each chapter of the novel is a memory triggered by a kiss. The book examines if you can ever hold on to a love that you know is slipping away from you. It is a departure from Miracle on Regent Street in the sense that isn’t necessarily the classic happy-ever-after novel that people may expect, but I hope they will love it all the same!


Do you have a dream project you would love to write?

Well, mostly books 3, 4, 5, 6, 7… ad infinitum! It’s not so much about having a specific dream project, more a dream to keep writing novels as long as I possibly can. Although having said all that, if Andrew Lloyd Webber would let me write a novel that is set backstage on one of his musicals (and give me a starring role, obvs) then that would be AMAZING! I’d need singing lessons first. And some dancing ones. And my acting is a bit shaky, but seriously, Lord Webber, you know where I am if you want me!

What are your top three tips for aspiring writers?

1. Stop treating it as an indulgence. To finish your book you have to write every day. Even when you don’t feel like it or when The X Factor is on. At the very least, set yourself a word count each day. And that includes if you already have a full time job. Even you can only manage 500 words per day by the end of one month you’ll have written 10,000 words!
2. Write from your heart. Don’t try to second-guess ‘what’s selling’ or ‘what the publishing industry wants’. If you tell the story that has spoken to you, that stops you from sleeping, wakes you up in the morning, fires your creativity and that most importantly, that YOU want to read, then and only then will you have written something to be proud of and that other people will want to read too.
3. For my last tip I’m dusting off my jazz shoes and jazz hands to join the cast of Glee in singing…. ‘Don’t Stop Belieeeevin’! Because if you believe it can happen, everyone else will eventually follow! Even if, like me, it takes 13 years! Ooh and if you want any more tips (on writing, not singing obviously) – go to my facebook.com/aliharriswriter!


Anything else you’d like to say?

Just a massive thank you to everyone who’s bought Miracle on Regent Street, is thinking about buying it, has picked up a copy of it, has bought a copy for someone else, might buy my book after reading this interview… And to you Miranda, for thinking of asking me to take part in your Writer’s Spotlight, then asking me, then having me….

Miranda?! Miranda’s blog readers? Are you still there….? *beeeep*.

Thanks so much to Ali for such a fantastic interview!

Miracle on Regent Street is a fabulous read - really warm-hearted and old-fashioned in the best sense of the word. I adored it and would highly recommend it - you should definitely check it out!

You can visit Ali's website here, catch her on Facebook and follow her on twitter.

Writer Spotlight: Matt Dunn

On Coffee and Roses I like to bring you news of exciting authors who are either waiting to be published or published and worth checking out.

This week, I'm really excited to welcome the very lovely MATT DUNN into the Coffee and Roses Writer Spotlight...


When did you first decide that you wanted to write?
When I was 14, I wrote a report of a cricket match to be read out at school assembly. I thought I'd put some jokes into it, and I got a few laughs (though in retrospect, they may have been because my flies were undone), so there and then I knew I wanted to be a comedy writer. It took me another twenty-one years to actually sit down and have a go at it properly, though.

What interests you as a writer?
The complexity of relationships. The individuality of men and women. Maybe it's the other way round, but anyway, put those together and there's endless material.
 
Do you have a typical writing day?
I get up, have breakfast, then sit at my desk, look at my mortgage statement, and start typing! Seriously, like most writers on a book-a-year schedule, I treat it pretty much like a full-time Monday-to-Friday job (but with more tea-breaks), so I make sure I put a full working day in evey day. Worst case scenario, if it's not going well, I make sure I grind out a thousand words, even though they all might be rubbish. As deadline approaches, I'll work longer and later, and my final drafts are always given one last going-over in one twenty-four hour non-stop bout.

What made you decide to write The Accidental Proposal?
I'd loved writing about Ed and Dan, the two characters from The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook and Ex-Girlfriends United, and people kept asking me whether I was going to re-visit them with a third in the series. I'd originally come up with the concept for The Accidental Proposal as a standalone novel, and then it occurred to me it'd work perfectly for the two of them.

What are the best things about being a writer? 
There are loads: You get to make up stories for a living. The feeling when someone emails you to tell you they've enjoyed something you wrote. The great writers I've met who you'd expect to be secretive and competitive, but are (mostly) the complete opposite. The thrill of seeing your book on the shelves. Being able to work from anywhere (I'm in Barcelona as I write this). Being launched in a new country (The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook and Ex-Girlfriends United have just come out in the US, so I'm going through the thrill of that again). Oh, and the royalties.

And the worst?
Some days, it's the writing...

  
Tell me about what you're working on now.
Apart from my backhand and my tan? Quite a few projects, actually. I'm writing my first stage play, completing another draft of book 7 (which is a bit of a departure from my normal stuff), and I'm about a third of the way in to another romantic comedy.
 
You've written six brilliant novels so far. What would be your top three tips for aspiring writers?
You're making me blush! Well, read, read, read, then write the kind of book you want to read. I had an epiphany when I first read Nick Hornby's High Fidelity and realised there might be an audience for the kind of thing I wanted to write about, so I sat down and tried to write something like that. Six novels later, I'm still trying. Also persevere - loads of people start writing a novel, very few actually finish it. And set yourself a word target per day - if you can do a thousand words, then in three months, you'll have completed a first draft. Oh, and don't worry if you think it's rubbish - it all comes together in the editing. Eventually.
 
Do you have a dream project you'd love to write?
I've missed it - I would have liked to be one of the writing team on Frasier. I'd like to write a film one day, but not obviously One Day, as David Nicholls has already done that.
 
Anything else you'd like to say?
Thank you for having me!

Thanks so much to Matt for a fab interview!

I'm a massive fan of Matt's books and I can thoroughly recommend his novels. I read The Accidental Proposal in a weekend and loved every minute of it! To find out more about Matt, visit his website and follow him on twitter.

If you would like to be considered for a future Writer Spotlight, email me at coffeeandroses@gmail.com

Writer Spotlight: Lucy Diamond

On Coffee and Roses I like to bring you news of exciting authors who are either waiting to be published or published and worth checking out.

This week, I'm really excited to welcome the wonderful LUCY DIAMOND aka SUE MONGREDIEN into the Coffee and Roses Writer Spotlight.

Author Photo by Alexander James

Sue's new book as Lucy Diamond, The Beach Café is published today and I can't wait for my copy to arrive in the post (it's my post-editing reward!). So, without further ado, it's over to Sue!

When did you first decide that you wanted to write? (Was it a Damascus-esque flash or a slow-burn?)
It was a long, slow burn for me (ouch, that sounds painful – it wasn’t!). I have always written – lots of poems and stories as a child (including my prize-winning poem Aston Villa We Love You when I was six), diaries, letters etc. Then, after graduating, I managed to wangle my way into publishing, starting in the children’s editorial department in Random House. Part of my job was reading the slush pile which, depressingly, was largely atrocious. After rejecting the thousandth variation on Betty Bunny Has a Tedious Adventure I decided I could do better, and began writing my own teenage novel. (Plus, being rather shallow, I was lured by how attractive an author’s life appeared from the outside – we were always sending them flowers and new covers to approve and reprints etc. I thought, I’ll have a bit of that, please!)

What interests you as a writer?
Oh, all sorts of things. I am extremely nosy. Relationship dynamics, family dramas, falling in and out of love, betrayal, secrets – and I’m a sucker for heroics. I found the stories from the recent 7/7 inquest so moving, for example, the real-life heroism and humanity that was shown by so many people that day – awe-inspiring.

Do you have a typical writing day? If not, when is the best time to write for you?
I have to write within school hours, so between 9am and 3pm, usually. It’s a short day and can be frustrating if I have to stop work right in the middle of a juicy scene to hurry back to school, but I find that having such time constraints is a good motivator to actually get stuff done. I try to write about 2,500 words in that time but it depends enormously on what else is happening.

What made you decide to write The Beach Café?
I remember as a little girl being on a seaside holiday in Cornwall and deciding that when I was a grown-up I would definitely live there and run the café. (The thought of ice cream all day every day played a big part in this ambition, but still… ) Sadly I have failed on both these counts, but it was great fun to revisit that dream and have my main character inherit a beach café in a gorgeous Cornish setting. It was even more fun being forced to research all those Cornish pasties and cakes…

What are the best things about being a writer?
The satisfaction of writing ‘The End’ on a first draft is pretty hard to beat, as is holding finished copies of a new book for the first time. Lovely emails and letters from readers are brilliant too – they make all the torturous parts of the process worthwhile.

And the worst?
The self-doubt that creeps in now and then that the book I’m writing is rubbish and no-one will want to read it. One-star Amazon reviews make me want to cry. And I sometimes miss all the banter and camaraderie from working in an office. Thank goodness for Twitter!

Tell me about what you're working on now.
I’ve just finished my sixth novel, which will be out next year. It’s about two very different sisters being forced to live together again – lots of arguing, jealousy and bitching – those scenes were a joy to write! I also write children’s books too, under my real name, Sue Mongredien, so by complete contrast, I am also working on a new adventure story featuring an evil witch, smelly trolls and lots of magic.

You've written books for both children and adults and have been short-listed for this year's Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance for your book Sweet Temptation. What would be your top three tips for aspiring writers?

a) Read your work out loud – I always say this, but it’s the best advice I can give. By reading your story aloud, you get a much better feel for the rhythm of the prose, you can hear whether or not the dialogue works, and any mistakes, repetition or boring bits will leap out at you.
b) Raise the stakes. Make things really difficult for your characters – don’t give them an easy ride. Every time they think the worst is over, ratchet the angst up a notch. It’ll make the novel a much more interesting read.
c) Stick to the story. Keep asking yourself – is this scene relevant to the main plot? You may have written the most brilliant or hilarious dialogue exchange in the world but if it doesn’t move the plot along in any way then sometimes it’s best to cut it out. Harsh, but ultimately for the best…

Do you have a dream project you'd love to write?
I’d love to write for television – it must be so exciting seeing actors speak your lines on the screen. Sadly I think writing for film and TV is probably even more competitive than book publishing so right now, it will have to remain a dream. But maybe one day…

The Beach Café by Lucy Diamond is published by Pan Macmillan on June 3rd. For more information on Lucy Diamond’s books, visit her website. I can’t wait to read The Beach Café - it's going to be a perfect summer read and I can't wait to get started on it! Why not treat yourself, too?

It Started With a Kiss week 3: Questions and an exclusive extract

All this year, I'm keeping a video diary of everything that goes into writing my third novel, It Started With a Kiss, due to be published in November. This week, I'm answering your questions and reading a world exclusive extract...

HUGE apologies for the delay in posting this - I've been writing like a crazy nutter for the past week (and I'm still going!)

This week, I answer your questions on conquering writer's block, disagreeing with my editor (including what I would have changed about my first novel, Fairytale of New York), how I was discovered on Authonomy.com, how many scenes I use to make a chapter and how the finished story differs from the initial synopsis.

I also have a WORLD EXCLUSIVE especially for you - the very first reading of an extract from It Started With a Kiss! Hope you like it!

Oh yes, and a brand new(-ish) funky hat to boot!

Now do I know how to pack in the goodies or what?!

E-e-e-enjoy!

p.s. Please note YouTube's choice of opening frame - I like to call it my Tommy Cooper homage!

Blog Special: Help Talli Roland!

At Coffee and Roses I love to support other authors. So today, I'm throwing the floor open to the very lovely TALLI ROLAND, whose debut novel The Hating Game is published as an e-book today. It's a fabulous, sassy novel and well worth treating yourself to on this snowy Wednesday!

Help Talli Roland's debut novel The Hating Game hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk by spreading the word today. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.

About The Hating Game:
When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £2000,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

If you don't have Kindle, don't panic! You can download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more.

The Hating Game will also soon be available in paperback. To keep up with the latest news on Talli, visit her website.