I had to wait a little longer to surprise you guys with this, but here it is: Miranda Dickinson agreed on a Q&A for the blog and I couldn't be happier. I read It Started With a Kiss in December and I really enjoyed it. Miranda is a great writer and so I asked her for an interview, thank you so much for answering all the question Miranda, you're a star. Well, since I sent prepared the questions before Christmas I also included some christmassy questions, I know they don't fit anymore, but I still left them in there ;).
Bio
Miranda Dickinson
is the Sunday Times Bestselling Author of five novels: Fairytale of New York,
Welcome to My World, It Started With a Kiss, When I Fall in Love and Take A
Look At Me Now. You can follow her on Twitter @wurdsmyth, on facebook at @MirandaDickinsonAuthor and follow her video blogs at: www.miranda-dickinson.com
Interview
1. Did you always want
to be a writer?
I’ve always had stories in my
head and when I was five I remember asking my mum if she thought one day I
would write a story that would make it to the shelves of my local library. It started
there and has really always been with me. I think writers are born, not made,
and it’s all about when you discover a love of creating stories – for some it’s
early in life, for others not until they are adults.
2. Love your idea of
It Started with a Kiss. What was the inspiration for it?
I’m fascinated by ‘what-if’
moments: what twists and turns your life might have taken had you reacted to a
situation in a different way. For Romily she doesn’t just wonder what would
have happened if she pursued the stranger who kissed her at Christmas – she
actually spends a year searching for him! Many of my books are about
possibilities and what happens when we are brave enough to pursue the
opportunities life throws at us. What would happen? What would change? That was
the start of the idea for It Started With
a Kiss.
3. The covers of your
novels are amazing. How do they get developed?
The designers are commissioned
by my publisher and they work with the details given in the story to create the
covers. Sometimes I have a say in how the finished cover will look and I
generally see it before it goes to print.
4. Where do you write
your books?
I moved two years ago to a
house with a spare bedroom that I’ve made into a small office, but before that
I wrote on a two-seater sofa bed in a one-bedroom apartment I rented. It Started With a Kiss was a sofa book!
5. Who’s your favourite
author and why?
There are a lot of authors I
admire, but my all-time favourite author of romantic fiction is Sarah Addison
Allen because she captures a sense of magic and other-worldliness in every
story she writes. For comedy writing I love anything by Sir Terry Pratchett –
he’s a genius.
6. How do you develop
the personalities of your main characters?
They arrive in different ways.
I usually begin with a character I would like to get to know – I think it’s
important that as a reader you have a main character you can identify with.
More often than not, it’s then a case of feeling your way with the character:
thinking about how they would react to different challenges and situations and
finding out what makes them tick. It becomes something you feel as you write,
so certain things will feel right to have your characters do.
7. In It Started with
a Kiss you wrote a name of a song under each chapter (I think that’s great).
How did you come up with it?
It’s actually a bit of a joke
because my publisher loves song titles for my books. As a tongue-in-cheek nod
to this, I decided to make Romily the singer in a wedding band and every
chapter was therefore a song in the band’s set-list. That’s why there is a
‘set-list’ page instead of a contents page in the book!
8. What’s the best
book you read this year?
I adored The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, which made me laugh, cry and
completely fall in love with the characters. I also adored The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom, which was
stunningly written.
9. What’s the best
experience you’ve had as a writer/in your writing career?
There are so many! I’ve been
very lucky as a writer. I think my proudest moment was receiving letters from
readers who have been inspired by my books. For years I didn’t think anyone
would ever read my stories, so it is the ultimate privilege to meet people
around the world who feel a connection to my characters. Also, in a weird way,
2013 was a year when my writing career was put to the ultimate test and I
almost quit. I’m so grateful that happened because it made me realise why I
love writing – without that I’m not sure there would have been any more books.
10. Any word of advice
for aspiring writers?
WRITE! Don’t worry about
anything but creating the stories that thrill you the most. Write for you;
write what’s burning on your heart; write even if you’re the only person who
ever gets to read it. Challenge yourself and always remember to have fun. If
you don’t love what you do, you won’t survive as a writer. Publishing contracts
and market demands and agents etc are all someone else’s concern. Do what you
were born to do: write stories and love what you write.
11. Coffee or tea? I love both, but coffee when
I’m writing is best.
12. Paperback or
e-reader? E-readers are cool but
paperbacks will always be magical!
Some Christmassy questions as
well:
*
What’s your
favourite Christmas memory?
Lying
under the Christmas tree as a little girl, staring up at the lights.
*
Do you have a
special Christmas tradition?
I go to
Shakespeare’s Stratford-Upon-Avon every year with my best friend Helen to do my
Christmas shopping. It’s a magical place!
*
What’s your
favourite Christmas song?
White
Christmas by Bing Crosby.
*
What’s your
favourite Christmas movie?
The Muppets Christmas Carol – it’s a must
every Christmas Eve.
*
Who would you want
to meet under mistletoe?
My husband, Bob.
Thank you Miranda :) xxx
Can't wait to read your other books, now that they are finally in my book shelf.
No comments:
Post a Comment