1. What do you find yourself rambling about?
I'm laughing at this because the answer is everything and I don't restrict myself to spoken word rambling. I'm equal opportunity - I type, sing and occasionally rhyme ramble as well.
2. When becoming an author, did you have any speedbumps along the way? If so, how did you overcome them?
Yes, for sure - perhaps the biggest speed bump to becoming an author was those thirteen years I focused solely on getting a law degree and being a lawyer. (What was a I thinking?) I'm kidding, of course (a little bit). I still enjoy lawyering, but there's something very satisfying about the creative outlet of writing.
Even after clearing away the space and time to write, there have been bumps along the way - rejections and self-doubt and frustrations with everything from the writing process to some industry practices. Overcoming them, thus far, has been pretty simple. I just listen to that little voice that wants to keep writing and continue, however slowly, over the speed bumps.
3. What are you reading right now?
Argh! For the first time in a very long time, at this particular moment, I'm not reading anything because of the time demands of juggling revisions on my second novel with doing publicity for The Love Wars. My to-read list continues to grow though - first up I will probably pounce on the gorgeous copy of Adrianna Trigiani's The Shoemaker's Wife that's sitting on my bedside table and - speaking of gorgeous covers - I can't wait to read Sarah Jio's The Last Camellia.
4. When looking at your female lead, do you put a piece of your own personality into the character?
This is a great question and one I'm still trying to figure out. I've been switching some chapters of a draft from first person to third and it's interesting to see the changes. I now see the character in it as opposed to through her field of vision. That has to matter somehow, right?
I suppose regardless of whether I'm writing in first or third person, I can't help putting a piece of myself in there. Writing Molly Grant, for example, I channeled her as I'd constructed her in my mind - and where/how do I begin to separate out what's Molly's perspective from mine? That said, she's not me - I was conscious writing her that she does most things entirely different than how I would do them.
5. What is next on your plate?
I have a book coming out through Penguine/NAL next year and I'm really excited about it. And I've started drafting the next one after that.
Thank you so much to Alison for answering my questions, I completely understand the lack of time for reading - and I never thought I would say that!
Thank you to Erin at Booksparks PR for setting up the interview.
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