Time for another interview, this time with Carol Cooper, author of One Night at the Jacaranda. Thank Carol for answering my questions. xx
Bio
As a child I lived out of a suitcase while my mother & I travelled. Although I've been writing for as long as I can remember, nobody paid to read it till I got columns in the likes of Punch magazine & The Sun newspaper. In my other life I'm a doctor in London & I write what I know, like books on health. My new novel One Night at the Jacaranda is about dating but it also has a heart-rending medical strand. And that's about as much as I'll give away.
Interview
1. Did you always
dream of being a writer?
As a child I was torn between becoming an author,
being an astronaut, and owning a button shop. By the time I went to
university I really wanted to write, but realised it would need to be
alongside a regular career. Luckily I'd forgotten about outer space and
buttons by then.
2. What does your
family think about you being a writer?
My family
have always been proud of my writing, and they've read and recommended my
health and childcare books. But some of them are a bit shocked by the
content of One Night at the Jacaranda!
3. What are you
working on right now?
Many readers have told me the characters in One Night at the
Jacaranda cry out to have their stories continue into another novel.
I'm therefore working on a sequel, but there's also a prequel simmering away in
my head. That story will go back to when some of them were at university.
4. You’re a doctor,
broadcaster, mother and a teacher as well. How do you manage to do all this and
write books?
My sons are grown up now! But believe
me, it was very full on when my eldest was two years old and the twins were
born. The other thing that helps is that
I’m part-time as a doctor, broadcaster and teacher to medical students. I also
write for The Sun, Britain’s most popular newspaper. A busy working life is an inspiration. Not surprisingly, my novel has a medical
strand. It also has a journalist, a
disillusioned doctor, and a young man whose cancer has spread. That said, the characters are completely
fictional. It would be very wrong to put
patients or colleagues in a novel.
5. Where and when do
you write your stories?
Anytime I can. I usually start with
pencil and paper, which means I can write anywhere. It's great to write when I'm happy, but creating fiction is also the perfect
escape when life isn’t going so well.
6. How did the story
for One Night at the Jacaranda come
up and then develop?
They say the death of a parent is a turning point,
and perhaps that's what happened with me. My father and his family lived
in the USA. A few years ago, I was on the plane, heading for
his funeral. As I sipped a gin and tonic, an idea for a plot based
around dating popped into my head and I jotted it down on a paper
napkin. I've had ideas for novels before, but this one took hold and
I persevered. Before long, the characters
took over the action and began doing things I hadn't planned for
them.
7. What do you do and
enjoy when you’re not writing?
I enjoy reading, being out of doors, and spending
time with my new husband.
8. Who is your
favourite author and why?
Since I love books, it’s tough to pick just one
name, but it’s probably Kate Atkinson. Her characters are wonderful
and deftly drawn, the dialogue is perfect, and the plot is always
engaging. To me that’s the ideal
mix.
9. If you were shipwrecked on a desert island what 3 books
would you want with you?
I'd like to survive, so my first pick would be
Lofty Wiseman’s SAS Survival Handbook. Then I’d need a long
book to stave off boredom, so I’d want the complete works of Shakespeare.
And I'd want to laugh, which is why I’d also take Cocktails and Camels,
my mother’s autobiography of growing up in Egypt. It’s both witty and nostalgic.
10. If you could plan the perfect holiday, what would it be?
It would be
a relaxing two weeks by the seaside with my husband Jeremy, ideally in a
big house where all the family could stay. I love North Carolina but
the water is warmer in the Caribbean or the Med. And I'd need wifi.
I dislike the feeling of being cut off.
11. Coffee or tea? Coffee
12. Paperback or e-reader? Can I have both if I ask nicely?
13. Mountains or the sea? Sea
14. Summer or winter? Summer
15. Sweet or salty? Salty
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