I told you I had a few author interviews up my sleeve didn't I? Well today I'm delighted to say Julie Cohen, fab author of Little Black Dress books One Night Stand and Honey Trap (I adored both of them), is our interviewee. Her latest release, Girl From Mars, is out in June.
Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:
A female comic book artist takes a vow (in Klingon) not to get a boyfriend.
Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)?
My lovely iMac is set up on the dining room table of our tiny two-up, two-down Victorian terraced house. I write most of my books right there, in the scant hours when my toddler isn’t racing his cars around me. If I get stuck, I move to writing in a notebook, and I try to go somewhere else in the house. When I’m very lucky, I get to go to a coffee shop to write for an hour or two. I have a great Brazilian café near me which is lovely and airy to work in.
Your favourite chick-lit book?
I’m a huge fan of everything Marian Keyes has written, but my absolute favourite has to be Rachel's Holiday. I can read that book over and over. I think it’s so brilliant that though Rachel the heroine is seriously flawed, Keyes totally makes us care and shows us her heroine’s journey from self-deceiving addict to honest, loving woman. Reading that book years ago really opened my eyes to intelligent, emotional chick-lit.
Your favourite female heroine (if different from above!), and why?
I really do love flawed heroines, so my favourite all-time heroine is probably Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse. She’s insufferably smug, spoilt and naïve and yet you like her so much, even as you’re laughing at her. And when she does realise her faults, it’s genuine and touching.
What tips would you give to any of our readers who want to become writers?
The most important thing is to read a lot and to write a lot. Don’t wait for inspiration; use the time you’ve got and write your heart out. Then write some more. You don’t have to get it right the first time, because you can revise and edit later. The more you write, the more you learn.
What are you reading at the moment?
Getting Rid Of Matthew by Jane Fallon. I started it yesterday and I’m about halfway through. The heroine, Helen, is another flawed woman who’s made a lot of bad choices and I’m looking forward to seeing how she gets out of the mess she’s made.
What are you working on now? (If you can give us a hint!)
I’ve got two more Little Black Dress novels to come (Girl From Mars, and Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom) and after that, I’ve got a mainstream commercial women’s fiction novel coming out with Headline Review, in 2010. I’m working on that now. It doesn’t have a title yet, but it’s about a failed actress who takes over her identical twin sister’s life when her sister disappears. It involves ice cream, soap operas and a transvestite sheep.
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!)
Q: Superman or Batman?
A: Totally Batman. Okay, Superman has amazing alien powers and you have to admit that Clark Kent is really, really hot, especially with those glasses, but Batman rids Gotham of evil with nothing more than a skin-tight costume, a kick-ass car and a near-pathological obsession with avenging his parents’ deaths. Plus midnight blue is way sexier than bright blue.
Thanks, Julie!
For more check out her website.
