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March 26, 2008 12:30 PM

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Elise Chidley

Elise Chidley's debut The Wrong Sort of Wife? is getting rave reviews, so we were delighted to have her answer our questions:

Describe your book in 15 words or fewer?

Fairy-tale ending goes pear-shaped when motherhood wreaks havoc on Lizzie Buckley’s joie de vivre.

OR

Lizzie marries her prince, has twins—then wants to sleep for a hundred years!

Where do you like to write your books?

I used to write in a dismal attic surrounded by junk, so that the children wouldn’t bother me. They much preferred the sunny playroom complete with TV downstairs. We’ve moved house and there’s no attic, so now I write on my laptop, mostly lying on my bed, but sometimes sitting cross-legged watching my son at soccer practice, or even at the car wash. My dream is to write in Starbucks, but I never seem to manage to get there before the school bus brings the children home.

Your favourite chick-lit book?

Catherine Alliott’s latest (A Crowded Marriage) made me laugh out loud. There’s an absolutely hysterical  scene where the heroine raises a false alarm about foot-and-mouth disease. Her portrayal of motherhood in the book is both touching and hilarious.

Your favourite female heroine and why?

I love Bridget Jones for charming us with her imperfections.

Tips for readers who may want to become writers?

Be prepared to work hard when you don’t feel inspired. Inspiration often comes after you’ve picked up your pen and paper, or opened your Word file. Try to make constructive use of any rejections you receive; the comments of a rejecting agent are often priceless in helping you edit your work. If you don’t get any useful feedback, send your manuscript to an objective third party such as The Literary Consultancy. Above all, if you think you have talent, don’t give up.

What are you reading at the moment?

At the moment I’m reading Josie Smith in Spring by Madgalen Nabb with my eight-year-old daughter. When I’m in the middle of writing something, I find that reading anything in the same genre is too distracting. 

What are you working on now?

I’ve nearly completed my second novel, which is about a woman who has to morph from busy publisher into stay-at-home mum when she marries a widower with a young daughter. A bit like I Don’t Know How She Does It in reverse.

Do you have a theme song?

My husband says it’s Irving Berlin’s “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.”

Thanks, Elise!

Came straight to this page? Visit www.trashionista.com for more female fiction news, reviews and interviews.

Posted by Keris on March 26, 2008 in Interviews | Permalink

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