I loved Ellen Meister's debut, Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA, so I'm happy to welcome her as the latest Trashionista author interviewee! (I really need to find a new way to introduce these interviews ...)
Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:
My title alone practically goes over the limit, so we won't count that, right? Here goes. In Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA, three women conspire to get a George Clooney movie filmed in their children's schoolyard.
Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)?
I used to sit at my kitchen table with my laptop, but now I have a tiny home office upstairs. It's almost always a mess, but it has a door, which comes in handy when you have three kids.
Your favourite chick-lit book?
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson is as good as they get. It's poignant and smart and hilarious. A treasure.
Your favourite female heroine (if different from above!), and why?
I have so many it's hard to answer. I can tell you that the one who's stayed with me the longest is Isadora Wing from Erica Jong's Fear of Flying.
What tips would you give to any of our readers who want to become writers?
Tell the emotional truth. Always.
What are you reading at the moment?
A wonderful short story collection called Things Kept, Things Left Behind by Jim Tomlinson.
What are you working on now? (If you can give us a hint!)
Sure! I just turned in the revised manuscript for my second novel, The Smart One. Here's the story: After she and her sisters discover that the man next door was a murderer, Bev Bloomrosen tries to reconcile her passion for his comedy writer son ... while struggling with being the family loser.
What question have you never been asked in an interview, but think you should have been? (Tell us the question and answer it too, if you like!)
George Clooney is waiting backstage; shall I bring him out?
Thanks, Ellen!
