Q&A WITH LYNDA RENHAM!
Hello! I'd love to welcome Lynda Renham back to my blog. Lynda is the Queen of the romantic comedy and she's back with her new book, Perfect Weddings. Welcome Lynda.
Thank you Jon, and thanks for featuring me on your blog. I always love to visit.
Tell us something about this book you've told no one else.
Ah, okay. One character in the book named Rosie was originally named Rube. In fact she was Rube right until the very end when my husband reminded me I had used that name in a previous novel (can I remember all their names?) Anyway I didn’t dare change the name until it was finished as I feared I would lose her character if I did. So she got changed right at the end. I still prefer Rube and still see her as a Rube.
The book is called, Perfect Weddings, did you have a perfect wedding and where did the idea come from?
My marriage to Andrew is my second and yes it was perfect as far as I was concerned. We held the ceremony in our garden under the canopy of our summer house. The garden was decorated with flowers as was the summer house. We had a hand fasting ceremony where you tie your hands together with different coloured ribbons. The reception was drinks on the village green where there was a string quartet and then food in our local. It was perfect.
OK, it's time to put on your sales hat, why should people buy this book?
Because it’s funny, it’s warm, it’s romantic and it makes you feel all happy inside at the end.
I love romantic comedies and I'm writing my own at the moment. What's the secret to a great rom-com?
I’m not sure I know. But I think a good balance of laughter and reality helps. People have to be able to relate to the characters so it can’t be silly. Good strong characters and of course a lovely leading man always works for the ladies.
As an author myself, I'm always interested to read about other writers and how they work. This was your tenth novel - congratulations! - is it getting any easier or more difficult?
It’s getting more difficult I think. Finding the humour, not repeating oneself, finding new situations, it all makes it more difficult I think.
I was offering some advice to a young writer the other day and I told them to pick a genre and stick to it. This has definitely been the case for you. You've really made a name for yourself as a romantic comedy author - and rightly so - but do you have any ambitions to write anything else?
Oh yes. I so want to write serious stuff. In fact I used to but nobody bought them. I’ve one book I want to work on that is finished but needs editing and another that is just begging to be written but it’s not what my reader wants. But I may well give it a go in the future.
As your book is called, Perfect Wedding, what would your perfect wedding be like?
Exactly as I had it above.
If you could go back and talk to yourself when you were writing your very first book, what would you say to yourself?
Don’t be so disheartened when you get rejected. It really isn’t the end of the world. Even agents and publishers make mistakes and turn down books that go on to be the most successful books ever.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today. One last question before I let you go. What are you working on next?
Right now, nothing. I’m just writing posts for reviewers but I think it may well be the second in my Little Perran series next which are written by Amy Perfect, of course.
PERFECT WEDDINGS IS OUT NOW!
Thank you Jon, and thanks for featuring me on your blog. I always love to visit.
Tell us something about this book you've told no one else.
Ah, okay. One character in the book named Rosie was originally named Rube. In fact she was Rube right until the very end when my husband reminded me I had used that name in a previous novel (can I remember all their names?) Anyway I didn’t dare change the name until it was finished as I feared I would lose her character if I did. So she got changed right at the end. I still prefer Rube and still see her as a Rube.
The book is called, Perfect Weddings, did you have a perfect wedding and where did the idea come from?
My marriage to Andrew is my second and yes it was perfect as far as I was concerned. We held the ceremony in our garden under the canopy of our summer house. The garden was decorated with flowers as was the summer house. We had a hand fasting ceremony where you tie your hands together with different coloured ribbons. The reception was drinks on the village green where there was a string quartet and then food in our local. It was perfect.
OK, it's time to put on your sales hat, why should people buy this book?
Because it’s funny, it’s warm, it’s romantic and it makes you feel all happy inside at the end.
I love romantic comedies and I'm writing my own at the moment. What's the secret to a great rom-com?
I’m not sure I know. But I think a good balance of laughter and reality helps. People have to be able to relate to the characters so it can’t be silly. Good strong characters and of course a lovely leading man always works for the ladies.
As an author myself, I'm always interested to read about other writers and how they work. This was your tenth novel - congratulations! - is it getting any easier or more difficult?
It’s getting more difficult I think. Finding the humour, not repeating oneself, finding new situations, it all makes it more difficult I think.
I was offering some advice to a young writer the other day and I told them to pick a genre and stick to it. This has definitely been the case for you. You've really made a name for yourself as a romantic comedy author - and rightly so - but do you have any ambitions to write anything else?
Oh yes. I so want to write serious stuff. In fact I used to but nobody bought them. I’ve one book I want to work on that is finished but needs editing and another that is just begging to be written but it’s not what my reader wants. But I may well give it a go in the future.
As your book is called, Perfect Wedding, what would your perfect wedding be like?
Exactly as I had it above.
If you could go back and talk to yourself when you were writing your very first book, what would you say to yourself?
Don’t be so disheartened when you get rejected. It really isn’t the end of the world. Even agents and publishers make mistakes and turn down books that go on to be the most successful books ever.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today. One last question before I let you go. What are you working on next?
Right now, nothing. I’m just writing posts for reviewers but I think it may well be the second in my Little Perran series next which are written by Amy Perfect, of course.
PERFECT WEDDINGS IS OUT NOW!
No comments have been added yet.
