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Interview: Allison Winn Scotch, Author of The Theory of Opposites
Tell us about your new novel, The Theory of Opposites.
Like my earlier books, Theory is about a woman who isn't living her best life and has to dig deep to figure out how she can get there…and what's going to be required of her to find happiness. Ultimately, it's also a story about the role that fate plays in our lives and how much of that we can change, how much control we have over our own destinies.
What inspired you to write this story?
I started this book a long time before I ever completed it, so…I can't remember the exact inspiration. :) However, I set it aside when I was debating whether or not I wanted to continue writing fiction. I'd had a terribly discouraging experience with my last book, and I just wasn't sure if I wanted to continue on this path. Eventually, I sort of got the itch to write again, and I remembered that I'd started this funny, irreverent book. I opened it up and loved it. And from there, the story just poured out of me: I wrote the first draft very quickly. In, maybe, two months. I just wrote it for me – to have fun, to remember why I loved writing. And I think that actually became the inspiration. I had more fun with this book and these characters than I'd had in my work in a long time, which I think is reflected in the writing. And since the book explores the notion of, "does everything happen for a reason," I guess part of me likes to think that I opened up that abandoned partial-manuscript for a reason too: it helped me find my way back to my love of craft.
How would your novel’s best friends, Willa and Vanessa, describe each other?
Willa: loyal, complacent, dependable, not someone who wants to challenge authority, a diamond in the rough
Vanessa: loyal, daring, unpredictable, someone who challenges authority, the person you want in your foxhole
On your blog, you shared your struggle to write this book after losing interest in writing. What kept you motivated enough to get to the finish line?
To be honest, as I mentioned above, I fell in love with these characters. That sounds super-hokey and very "writerly," but I truly adored spending time with them every day. I thought about them endlessly, I looked forward to seeing what antics they'd get into…I just…I just let myself have an utterly ridiculous time with them. They are funny, albeit, flawed people. Bawdy, slightly insane, but never mean-spirited. What's not to love about that? So honestly, it was just them – creating these characters and writing the book for ME – not a publisher, not an editor, no one but me – that kept me going. One of the best writing experiences of my life.
The publisher of The Theory of Opposites is Camellia Press. Is this your own publishing company? Why did you decide to publish independently after all your success with traditional publishers?
Yup, this is me. My son's name is Cam and my daughter's name is Amelia, so together, they are Camelia, but I allowed for proper spelling. :) There were a lot of long and complicated reasons for why I branched out on my own, but the short version is that I had grown very dissatisfied with what traditional publishing was offering its authors. Too many of my friends are disappointed, let-down, over-promised/under-delivered, and frankly, I shared their feelings in my experience with my last book, The Song Remains the Same, and it reflected in the book's sales. With Theory, we had some very early conversations with editors and publishing houses (my editor had left my imprint, so I was orphaned at my publisher, which was the third time in four books that has happened), and my agent and I came away from these conversations feeling like either the enthusiasm wasn't there because of what happened with Song and I was going to be stuck feeling disappointed again, or if the enthusiasm was there, I didn't trust that I couldn't do it better on my own regardless. What's remarkable about the publishing world today is that if you have come up in the system and you know the ins and outs of how to put out a really spectacular book, there is zero reason why you can't do it yourself. I hired an entire army of people – the same people my publisher would have hired – a top editor, the jacket designer who did my other covers, an amazing publicist, the same printing firm many of the publishers use – and then I went to work. I wasn't relying on anyone else…frankly, the experience has been transformative. Too many authors have been relegated to work-for-hire these days, and they're treated as such. No longer. Authors have power too, and it's been thrilling to rediscover mine.
As a freelance writer, you’ve interviewed celebrities. So far, who was your favorite star to interview and why?
I've interviewed so many great people, to be honest. I'm lucky in that my editor tends to let me strictly interview celebs who I am predisposed to liking, and almost inevitably, they don't let me down. That said, I have to say that the interview I did with Steve Carell for a cover story several years back was truly memorable – he is everything you'd expect him to be: kind, funny, warm, self-deprecating. We went on way longer than the allotted time slot, and I felt like we were old friends. Also, for the fan girl in me, I had the best time chatting with Michael Vartan a few years back, shortly after Alias went off the air. I think we talked for over an hour, just shooting the breeze and exchanging some fun Hollywood horror stores, as well as gushing over our dogs. If I hadn't been married with kids (well, still married with kids), I might have hopped the first flight to LA and tracked him down. :)
Who are your favorite authors?
Too many! Unfair question!! I refuse to answer on grounds that it may incriminate me. :) Honestly and more seriously, I admire so many of my friends for how and what they write – Laura Dave is my first reader and critique partner, so it goes without saying that she tops my list. Of the writers I've never met, Nick Hornby might top my list.
What was the last book you read that you loved?
I just finished Unbroken and thought it was mesmerizing, just…insanely good. From there, I immediately started Jojo Moyes's Me Before You, and I can already tell I love it. I know, both of these books came out a while ago, so I am slightly behind the curve, but it's never too late to pick up a great book! When I'm in the thick of writing a novel, I tend to lag behind in my reading because I'm so caught up in my own characters' voices. So now I'm reading like a fiend.
The Weinstein Company optioned film rights to your novel, Time of My Life, several years ago. When can we see this story come to life on the big screen?
That's a great question! :) And I don't really have a good answer. Hollywood is fickle and takes foreeeeeeeeever to get anything done, so I really can't say. But the good news is that I've moved onto the adaptation of The Theory of Opposites, so I'm focusing on that and am super-excited. I think some really exciting things will come of it.
Do you have any plans to get back into blogging to help aspiring writers?
I toy with the idea off and on. I blogged for six years, usually three times a week, answering as many questions as came my way, and I found it truly gratifying to pay it forward to up and coming writers. But after six years, it started to feel – as many jobs do after six years! - more like a habit than a passion. So I stepped back and reassessed. Now that I've self-published and am getting a bit of notice for it, I may want to jump back in and offer some dos and don'ts of my experience. We'll see. :)
What are you working on now?
Because I published this book myself, most of my energy has gone toward that, to be honest. I've learned in the past that there's no point in forcing a new book until I am really consumed with the idea, and that idea has to hit me like an enormous bolt of lightning. So…I'm sort of waiting to be hit with that bolt right now. But that's okay. I have a lot on my plate, and as much as I love the writing process, I also think there's tremendous value in letting your brain breathe, you know? Just giving it some time to relax and contemplate all of the ideas and notions that filter through. Eventually, one of them will stick, and then I'll be off to the writing races all over again.
Thank you, Allison!
Allison Winn Scotch is the bestselling author of four novels, including Time of My Life, The Song Remains the Same, The One That I Want, and The Department of Lost and Found. Her fifth novel, The Theory of Opposites, was just released. In addition to fiction, she pens celebrity profiles for a variety of magazines, which justifies her pop culture obsession and occasionally lends to awesome Facebook status updates. She lives in Los Angeles with her family. For more about Allison and her books, visit allisonwinn.com or follow her on Twitter at @aswinn.
Interview: Mary Kay Andrews, Author of Christmas Bliss
Tell us about your new novel, Christmas Bliss.
Christmas Bliss is the fourth in my Savannah series, following antique dealer Weezie Foley and inn-keeper BeBe Loudermilk. The story is set the week before Christmas, with Weezie’s upcoming wedding, and the impending birth of BeBe’s first child.
What inspired you to write this story?
My readers kept begging for another book with these characters, who seem to be the most beloved of the many I’ve created over the course of 21 novels.
How would your novel’s main characters, Weezie and BeBe, describe each other?
BeBe would say Weezie is her best friend, a die-hard junker with a crazy family and a pesky pooch. Weezie would say that BeBe has a heart of gold—although she’s just a little on the cynical side.
You began your career as a reporter. How have those skills helped you write fiction?
Being a journalist teaches you to work on deadline and that there’s no such thing as writer’s block. It’s also a great skill-builder because it teaches you tenacity—and to listen carefully.
Before switching genres, you wrote ten mysteries. Do you want to write another mystery someday?
Actually, I almost always include a mysterious element in my stories, so I really haven’t left my detective days far behind.
Who are your favorite authors?
I was always a huge Elmore Leonard fan, and I totally admire Michael Connelly, along with Laura Lippman and Margaret Maron. For women’s fiction, I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Patti Callahan Henry.
What was the last book you read that you loved?
Easy! Lee Smith’s fabulous new novel Guests on Earth.
What are your favorite holiday traditions?
Decorating my house to the nines in time to host my book club’s Christmas get-together, the night-before night-before Christmas wrapping marathon with my daughter and our neighbors, baking cookies with my four-year-old granddaughter, Molly, and Christmas Eve children’s mass with the whole family.
You have been married to your high school sweetheart for nearly forty years. What is the secret to a long-lasting relationship?
A great sense of humor, plenty of time apart, and the overriding belief in our marriage and family as a team unit. It also doesn’t hurt to have a hot hubby like mine!
As a lifelong “junker,” what has been your most cherished find so far?
Maybe a bunch of vintage glass Christmas ornaments I bought at an estate sale years ago--each box was carefully labelled "bird," "stars," and "blue and silver balls." I keep them in the same boxes they came in and enjoy them all over again when it comes time to bring up the Christmas bins from the basement.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Don't go overboard revising on your first draft. Go all the way to the end of your story and then go back and revise. If you keep revising and rewriting and trying for that first "perfect" chapter, you might never get to the end of your book. Write hard and fast until you finish the story--then go back and polish and hone.
What are you working on now?
Next summer's book--set in Savannah with a wedding florist as a protagonist.
Thank you!
***Giveaway!!! Please leave a comment sharing your favorite holiday traditions, and you will be entered to win a copy of Christmas Bliss, along with a bookmark, ornament, set of recipe cards, and signed bookplate! Remember to include your email address or social media link, so we can contact you if you win. US residents only. The winner will be chosen at random on Thursday, November 21st. Good luck!***
Mary Kay Andrews is the author of the New York Times bestselling The Fixer Upper, Savannah Breeze and Blue Christmas, as well as Deep Dish, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, Savannah Blues, and Christmas Bliss. She also wrote ten critically acclaimed mysteries, including the Callahan Garrity mystery series, under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck. She claims to know the location of every promising thrift store, flea market, and junkpile in the southeastern United States, plus many parts of Ohio. Trocheck is the mother of two grown children and a proud grandmother. After a brief hiatus in Raleigh, NC, she and her husband moved back to their old neighborhood in Atlanta, where they live in a restored 1926 Craftsman bungalow. They divide their time between Atlanta and a restored beach cottage on Tybee Island, GA. For more information, please visit marykayandrews.com.
Interview: Yona Zeldis McDonough, Author of Two of a Kind
Tell us about your new novel, Two of a Kind.
It's about a widow and widower who meet and take an instant dislike to each other. But she takes a job decorating his apartment--he needs the work done, she needs the money--and they find themselves falling in love. That, it turns out, is the easy part. It's staying in love that's hard. Her daughter despises him; his mother frets because she's not Jewish. Their natures are very different. Complications ensue. It is this process of laying aside the past to embrace the future that interested me in this story; how do these two manage to reconcile their pasts and blend their lives so that they can move forward?
What inspired you to write this novel?
I had never written a love story before and I was interested in writing one in which the protagonists were not young, but middle aged, with a lot of baggage. I wanted to see if they could get and stay together; it was their journey that I wanted to explore in this novel.
Which of your characters do you relate to the most and why?
Strangely enough, I am closest to Andy Stern, who is a widowed, Jewish doctor--a guy! But somehow I relate to his nature, which is quick to anger but quick to forgive too. And he has a certain scrappy energy that I find both familiar and even admirable.
Describe your experience writing Two of a Kind.
It required many drafts because of the subplots and the different voices. But as much as I planned, I found I simply had to write from a more intuitive place and then go back and revise again--and again!
Have you always wanted to write women’s fiction? When did your passion for it develop?
I never thought I was writing women's fiction. I was writing fiction I cared about, stories I wanted to tell and to read. I think that those categories are often imposed from without, and do not originate organically from within. Also, there is a bit of a double standard at work here: when men write about domestic issues, they are hailed as brave and honest; when women do it, we get marginalized.
What are your top five favorite books?
Lolita, The Velveteen Rabbit, Anne of Green Gables, Goodbye Columbus , and The Dwarf. But that is just this month. My favorites shift around.
Which authors do you admire and why?
Do poets count? In that case, I would cite three Williams: Shakespeare, Blake and Yeats because of what they knew and how they were able to express that knowledge in language that sings. And haunts.
When you’re not writing, what do you like to do for fun?
Like my character Christina Connelly, I love thrift stores, yard/estate sales, and flea markets. I love pawing through other people's stuff and bringing it back to life, restoring its meaning and purpose. I love the thrill of the hunt and the serendipity of the find.
What are you working on now?
A new novel for NAL called You Were Meant for Me. It's about a single woman who finds a newborn infant on a subway platform, and plans to adopt her--until the baby's biological father shows up.
Thank you, Yona!
Yona Zeldis McDonough is the author of five novels for adults, The Four Temperaments, In Dahlia's Wake, Breaking the Bank (which has been optioned for a film), A Wedding in Great Neck, and Two of a Kind. She is also an award-winning children's book author with twenty two children's books to her credit. Her latest book, Little Author in the Big Woods, a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, will be published by Holt. For over a dozen years, Yona has been the Fiction Editor at Lilith Magazine. She also works independently to help aspiring writers polish their manuscripts. To arrange a book club visit, inquire about editorial services, or just say hi, please contact Yona via her website: www.yonazeldismcdonough.com.
Interview: Sarah England, author of Expected
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes, pretty much. My mother was an English teacher and an avid reader. I can remember reading her old Victoria Holt's at a very young age, and imagining myself as the heroine. We'd discuss the books very seriously, even though I must have only been around 8 or 9 years old. And then I went on to love creative writing, and made up stories in my head all the time. It was to be another 30 years before I started writing, though. I guess real life gets in the way! Pesky bills and things like that...
Tell us about your novel, Expected.
Expected is for ordinary girls. What I mean by that is, well, take a look at Bridget Jones or Becky in Shopaholic (both similar in style). They have either parents in the country and/or wealthy men and kind friends to help them out of their ditsy messes. But Sam Sweet, my heroine, is from a rough council estate, and her single mother is a tad bonkers to say the least. Sam chooses the wrong man, and her job is perilous. She cannot simply slap her disastrous fiancé's face and move out. She's in debt. She has desperately low self-esteem and the worst luck imaginable. Fortunately, she has a wicked sense of humour, and that is probably what gets her through. So yes, her choices are lessened by circumstance. Here is a brief synopsis of the story: Sam Sweet is terrified of giving birth. Only, she doesn’t dare tell anyone. Especially her grandchild-obsessed mother, or her fiancé, Simon, top surgeon by day, mind-game expert by night. Repressed by the expectations of others, Sam feels trapped. All she ever wanted was a career and a crack at independence, but as a catastrophically failed psychiatric nurse who now injects fillers into the crinkled faces of unhappy women, a career is proving tricky. There’s something wrong with the product, and now clients are suing. Nasty work colleagues stir up scandalous gossip, and soon Sam hits rock bottom, consoling herself with button-popping chocolate binges and terrifying spending sprees. Sam is going to have to find her voice if she ever wants to be herself, fall in love, and follow her dreams. Alas, the wedding date is set...
What inspired you to write this novel?
Oh dear, I'm afraid it's experience! Also, humour is a big part of my psyche. I am the kind of person who gets stuck in revolving doors, flies out of the car door with my foot wrapped round the seat belt (yes, it is possible!), and will be the one saying something loud and possibly incriminating at just the point when the room goes quiet. 'Sorry' is my middle name. I was the butt of amusement for my parents from a young age. So there is quite a bit of tragic experience in this book!
Describe your heroine, Sam Sweet. Why is she controversial?
Well, Sam is terrified of childbirth. She doesn't really want children at this stage in her life - she is 24 - and feels sick at the thought. This is actually more common than we might think. It is called tocophobia and affects around 20% of women. But we do come to see why she feels like this, and there are 2 main reasons, the most obvious one right from the start being that she is with the wrong man and feels trapped. The other is almost at the end and it would spoil it if I said. So, that is one reason for the controversy. The other is that Sam stays with horrid Slimy Simon for quite a while after she has twigged just what a peevish psychopath he is. So why stay? Many readers have said she should have left him sooner. Yes. She would have loved to. Especially when she meets Joel and falls in love with him. But she has to have a plan. First of all, Simon loves to hurt her and play one-upmanship games, so she has to outwit him, or he is going to make her life very difficult at a time when her job is in meltdown. Next, she has very low self-esteem and keeps thinking she should do what everyone wants, and everything is her fault anyway. Thirdly, there is the unstable force that is her mother. Oh, and the small matter of her huge credit card debt. Sam really has nowhere to go, and is terrified of ending up destitute and alone in what she already knows is a very rough world for a girl with no friends, no money, and no family to speak of. Even her work colleagues seem to have it in for her. But there is always Plan B...and it is Sam's journey, her ugly duckling to swan metamorphosis, with lots of self-deprecatory laughs along the way, that is what the book is all about.
You also write thrillers. Is it difficult to switch gears from women’s fiction to your detective serial?
I veer from humour to horror, and it's quite bizarre. I guess humour is a big part of my personality, but horror is my fascination! I put together 3am and Wide Awake as a collection of short stories from the darker side, earlier this year, with Alfie Dog Fiction. I've done 2 murder mystery serials now - am awaiting a decision on the second one as we speak! In answer to your question - no, it's not difficult. It all depends which part of me I tap into - now I'm going to sound completely bonkers!! Ha ha
Describe your experience writing for women’s magazines. Is it much different from writing novels?
Well, I started out writing novels, but they were truly cringe-worthy! I even had the brass neck to send them off to agents and publishers. I could weep with the shame. That was around 9 years ago when I left my job as a medical rep, which I'd done for 20 years or so since leaving nursing. So then I tried my hand at what I thought would be easier - writing short stories for women's magazines. Well, I got that one wrong! In the end, I did a correspondence course (if at first you don't succeed, try reading the instructions! LOL) and about a year later, I had my first story accepted with My Weekly. I've now had around 150 published, but although I intend to never stop, I have to for the moment while I write my next book. Is it much different? Well, the same rules apply to writing prose, but yes, so much more work goes into a novel.
What was the last book you read that you loved?
Loved! Hmm... I've enjoyed quite a few but really loved...probably East of the Sun by Julia Gregson. Brilliant observation.
When you’re not writing, what is your favorite activity?
Reading and shopping!
What are you working on now?
I'm just starting a supernatural thriller. After that, I will be completing the sequel to Expected. Sam was left far too content, and I've got a lot more to put her through yet! However, this supernatural idea keeps coming to me, and I've been wanting to get it down for a while now. I think it's my life's mission. The urge to write it up is that strong! Thank you very much for inviting me onto Fictionella. I'm honoured!
Thank you, Sarah!
Sarah England was originally trained as a nurse in Sheffield (UK) and then went on to work as a medical representative for nearly 20 years, specialising in mental health. She had always wanted to write fiction, but did not begin until around 8 years ago, prompted by a house move and relocation to the South coast. Since then she has had around 140 short stories published, mostly in national magazines and various anthologies; most recently a 3 part detective serial in Woman’s Weekly. 3am and Wide Awake was released in May 2013 by Alfie Dog Fiction, a collection of 25 thrillers, many supernatural or medically based - two of her predominant themes. Expected is Sarah’s first novel, a comedy launched by Crooked Cat Publishing in June 2013. She lives in Dorset with her husband, Don, and spaniel, Harry.
