I'm reading Jen Lancaster's first book, Bitter Is the New Black, on Diane's recommendation and I'm loving it. Jen's latest book is Bright Lights, Big Ass.
As this is Cult Classics Week, Jen's choice of favourite chick lit book fits in perfectly. Over to Jen:
Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:
A humorous look at how NOT sexy-in-the-city urban life can be.
Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)?
I used to write in bookstores and coffee shops, but due to our home’s gravity problem, I keep dropping my laptop computers and now it’s easier (and less expensive) to use a desktop. It’s located in the alcove off my bedroom. It’s convenient for my dogs so they can comfortably lie on the bed and stare directly into my soul while I try to write. (Yeah, no pressure there.)
Your favourite chick-lit book?
Hands-down, it’s Bridget Jones’s Diary. I’ve read it no less than twenty times and it makes me laugh with each reading. Helen Fielding was the first author to so neatly capture and immortalize the real life of post-collegiate, but not-yet-suburban women. In one scene, Bridget works from home in order to be more productive and ends up taking a seven-hour nap, which made me wonder if Fielding had been spying on me.
Your favourite female heroine (if different from above!), and why?
I love Bridget and also Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series because they’re both so delightfully real with their foibles and imperfections. (However, when I finally grow up, I want to be Patsy and/or Edina.)
What tips would you give to any of our readers who want to become writers?
Write for yourself, not an audience. That way, you know at least one person will be happy and what ever you put down will sound so much more genuine. Also, writing is a muscle that gets stronger the more you exercise it – so do it as much as you can and I promise you’ll see results.
What are you reading at the moment?
I have three different books going at any one time. Right now I’m in the middle of Mary Janice Davidson’s Undead and Uneasy, Laurie Notaro’s There’s a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell, and Christopher Buckley’s Boomsday. Admittedly kind of a schizophrenic mix, but I’m enjoying all of them for their humor and distinctly different writer’s voices.
What are you working on now? (If you can give us a hint!)
My next book comes out in May
2008 and it’s called Pretty Fat. It’s a true story
about trying to lose 50 pounds by every means possible (and despite
rampant laziness and an inflated sense of self-worth.) I’ve
hated the process but am delighted with the results and hope readers
are, too!
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!)
The question is: “Would you like to meet Vince Vaughn?” And the answer is yes. Yes, I would.
Thanks, Jen.
