Lisa Jewell Book Giveaway!!

Apologies for not getting this posted yesterday but real life got in the way and I just ran out of time!!  I've been looking back over the notes I made from Wednesday to try and type up the interview with Lisa but some of my words don't make sense.....obviously I blame the copious amounts of vino consumed (courtesy of Gallo Wines!!) so any mistakes or omissions are completely mine!!!

Lisa started her writing career over a decade ago with a six month creative writing class.  It was around the time that High Fidelity had just come out and the TV was buzzing to the sound of Friends and This Life (Ohhhhh.....Andrew Lincoln....yum!!) Lisa felt that the world was talking her lanuguage. Also at this time she was made redundant and had a little bit of money and her and a friend were on holiday and came up with a drunken scheme that Lisa should write a book!  So she wrote the first three chapters of 'Ralph's Party' and sent them out to ten agents.  Nine rejections were sent back but the 10th letter was from an agent saying that she wanted to read the whole book!!! So Lisa worked part time and in her spare time completed the book and the rest as they say is history!!!

I cannot take any credit for the following questions, as I believe only one of them was mine!!

Lisa, when you are writing, who are you writing for?

Well I have a little man on my shoulder who talks to me and tells me what works.  I don’t like glib, lazy or saccharine writing.

You are famous for your believable characters.  Do you draw heavily on Friends and Family or are they purely fictional?

It changes with every book.  Sometimes I use people in the locale but the current book I’m writing is completely fictional.

Do you have any conflict with the Readers?

I’m much more aware of the reader now and they have so much emotional investment with the books that I feel really guilty if I’m doing something I don’t think they’ll like!

Has your writing changed over the last 10 years?

It has. I moved on and developed, there has been lots of honing of skills with each book and I want each one to be better than the last.  I’m trying to avoid clichés but am also inching towards writing darker stuff incrementally!

Do you have a plan when you are writing the book – a plotline?

Normally I get the idea for the next book in the middle of the book I’m already writing.  I start with the characters and then the premise but don’t really know where it’s going to go. It’s like life in the act that you don’t know what the next phone call will be about or who you will meet!  The next book is going to be a nice romantic comedy!

How long does it take from starting a book through to it being on the shelves?

It takes about two years! Firstly the writing of the book and then it goes to the Publisher.  There are art meetings and then a brief about the book.  We are marketing next month for books that will be on the shelf in January!!  (You can expect to see mine in about 10 years then!!!)

How much input do you have on the book jacket?

The Publisher normally has it ready and I trust them.  Sometimes we have completely different ideas like for Ralph’s Party but I love what they did.  European covers are usually the best.

How do you stop from getting distracted?

Well it’s very much on the PC and being distracted by the internet so I have to just shut it down!

Do you work a normal working day?

Yes I totally do. I have children so I sort them out in the morning, go to the gym, then work a day, have lunch and tea and then pick my daughter up from school. I think back to when I was writing before I had children and I wonder what on earth I was doing with my time before I had my children! I could have written 6 books a year!

With the book I’m writing now - now that I’m 8 weeks away from deadline I’m eating into my evenings, losing my telly time. I never watch TV for the last 6 weeks of writing a book. 

You can buy a copy of After the Party here or enter my competition to win a copy.  To enter you can do any of the following:


1. Become a follower of mine.


2. Grab my Adventures of an English Mum button and display on your blog.


3. Follow me on Twitter @emmylouvic and leave me your Twitter name here.


4. Tweet this giveaway. Just copy and paste: Awesome @lisajewelluk 'After the Party' book giveaway @emmylouvic http://bit.ly/bwoQ2P Please RT


5. Become a fan of Lisa’s Facebook Page


6. Sign up to the official ‘After the Party’ website


Be sure to leave me a comment telling me that you’ve done, or already do, any of the above as this will count as your entry.  The competition will close at 5pm (GMT) on Wednesday 12^th May.  Good Luck!