The Next Big Thing

I’m on an annual writing holiday in the Lake District with some fellow writers , where I’m hoping to get to grips with my novel in progress, Katy Sullivan – and it seems – a mini collection of short stories (I’ve been writing one a day – three down, three to go).
It's taken me a little longer to get my book finished over the last few years because my son is now a teenager and I wanted to spend some time with him. I also got a job as a magazine editor which pretty much EATS my time.

Last week, the very impressive Michele Gorman tagged me to answer these questions about my book. 

In turn, I'll tag five more writers who will tell you about their 'next big thing' next Wednesday. 

I have to apologise for mine being a day late – the cottage I'm staying in is at the foot of a mountain - internet is miles away – there was a hell of a rainpour – and there was no chance of taking a walk that day.

I’m going to tell you about my UK published book Single Mother on the Verge, as I’ll be releasing it as an eBook called Life on the Verge in Canada and the US this December. 


Where did the idea come from for the book? 

There was a spate a few years ago when the supermarket shelves were filled with books about married women with four children, summer houses in the Home Counties, husbands with great salaries, and problems like whether to put diesel in the four-wheel drive – or petrol – matched with grand debate about whether Hermione van Winkle bought her dresses from Whistles or Reiss. 

I didn’t feel any of this represented my life – or actually the life of other women I knew, who were educated, intelligent and fabulous, but actually getting by on a very average – or even below average – incomes. And so I started this blog, it won an award a few month later, and then about six weeks after that sold to Penguin as a book.

What genre does your book fall under? 

Narrative non-fiction: it has a lot in common with popular fiction but is actually a memoir. That means what you read is true, according to my perspective of course.


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

As a Hollywood comedy 

Rhys Ifans would have to be my Welsh boyfriend at the time, Rhodri, who I write about in the book and is an eco-warrior. 

My London love interest, Toga: Christian Bale.  

Morton – a ‘mature’ love interest (actually, now he’s probably ancient! I haven’t seem him for a while) – Rowan Atkinson 

Maria  – me of course, so I could snog all of the above. Or Anna Friel, she’d be better. 

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? 

Twenty-something mother is almost strangled to death, meets unlikely hero, finds love, makes love, finds another unlikely hero, struggles to handle an eco warrior, needs big solutions to pay small bills, finds love, makes love, finds love, makes love, makes life-changing decision. 

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

Single Mother on the Verge was published by Penguin in the UK. I’m going to self-publish the eBook in the US and Canada as Life on the Verge because I'm excited by the potential of new-fangled forms – though publishers interested in taking on the paperback are very welcome to get in touch with my agent Jon Elek. 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? 
The book sold on proposal – I had about 10 months to write the whole thing, (80,000 words) and the a few months to edit it. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? It’s a family story similar to Nick Hornby’s About a Boy, How to be Good, or Tony Parsons' Man and Boy. There’s romance and tragedy and sex. The UK cover looks like chick-lit, but I think that’s a little deceiving because it’s an observational book about society, politics, family and the environment. 

Who or what inspired you to write this book? 
I felt I could write a book for women not from 'middle England' that might reflect their experience of life. I wanted to write about serious issues such as domestic violence, abuse, poverty, the environment and relationships – but with humour, a gentle touch, and an easy approach. 

When I was writing the book, I imagined the reader was sitting next to me, and that I had her hand in mine as I was telling this story and saying to her – or him, probably her – You know, I fucked up too. Life is hard. Bad things happen. But it’s not the end of the world, and actually you’re going to be OK. You’re also going to have a lot of fun on the way to being OK. 

A few things were happening in my life at that time: I was living on a social housing estate, I was dating an eco-warrior, we were having an open relationship, and I’d fallen for a number of men with fancy-pants jobs in London. It was a wacky, fun and hilarious time. But also excruciatingly sad: my son was being raised by just me – and that was because one night his father had strangled me. 

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? 
Viagra. 

My five writers for next Wednesday are: 

To be revealed on Saturday when I'm back home...