AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Lily Burana

Lily Burana has been a punk, a stripper and a non-fiction writer (not to mention a Trashionista Guest Blogger!), but now with her fictional debut Try, she's a novelist, too. Here's what she had to say in answer to our probing interview Qs...

Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer: Young Western artist returns home, meets a rodeo cowboy and discovers what "passion" really means.

Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)? I wrote most of Try propped up in bed, with my laptop. That is, when I wasn't scribbling notes in a speeding truck traveling between rodeos. I like music or television in the background when I'm working, but I can't stand hearing people talk.

Your favourite chick-lit book? I liked Emily Giffin's Baby Proof because it dealt with a pretty heavy issue--whether or not to have children. I thought that was very original and she kept the character sympathetic throughout.

Carry on over the cut for more!

Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)? I wrote most of Try propped up in bed, with my laptop. That is, when I wasn't scribbling notes in a speeding truck traveling between rodeos. I like music or television in the background when I'm working, but I can't stand hearing people talk.

Your favourite chick-lit book? I liked Emily Giffin's Baby Proof because it dealt with a pretty heavy issue--whether or not to have children. I thought that was very original and she kept the character sympathetic throughout.

Your favourite female heroine (if different from above!), and why? I liked Bone from Bastard Out of Carolina. She was tough and smart and looked unflinchingly at how the world worked, even though she was just a girl.

What tips would you give to any of our readers who want to become writers? Limit the amount of sharing you do with your work while it's in progress. Pick one or two people whose opinion whose feedback you really trust (probably not close friends or family members who won't want to hurt your feelings), and don't get discouraged when faced with rejection. It happens to everyone--truly.

What are you reading at the moment? I'm reading stacks of magazines for a change! It's so nice to come out of the writer's zombie state to read about current events and all the great shoes I've been missing by not reading anything but books and my own manuscripts for the past year or so.

What are you working on now? (If you can give us a hint!) I'm hoping to write something about being an Army wife, though I'm just kicking around ideas at the moment.

Thanks Lily!

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