Quick Fire Questions with.... ME!

Which 3 writers, living or dead, would you invite to dinner?

Enid Blyton (I’d love to know if she were really THAT bad)
Stephen Fry (well… he writes, doesn’t he?)
Keris Stainton (‘cos we’d have such a laugh with Stephen – and he might even bring David Mitchell if we asked nicely. No, not the writer, the comedian. So? Who’s question is this anyway?)

Favourite writing snack?

None. Bits get in between the keys and then it irritates me when I can’t get them out and I end up getting a row of uuuuuuuuuuuuu’s across the screen and…well, it’s just too messy.

Background music?

Tried it a few times. I’m sure I SHOULD have some Mantovani or Vivaldi (or even Paulo Nutini) weaving its way through my creative core but it’s just another distraction. Oh, the ice cream van playing ‘Captain Pugwash’ just went past – does that count?

Longhand or computer?

D-er!

The best thing about being published is...
D-er!

And the worst thing…

D-er!

Win the Booker prize or land a Hollywood film deal?

Oh god, I should be so lucky!

A writer should never...

Slag off Agents on-line. Of this I’m sure. And they should write. Loads – apparently. At least that’s what they all say when they’re asked this question. The proper ones, I mean.

X Factor, Strictly CD or I’m a Celebrity?

Strictly, but only by a whisker and more because it’s on the Beeb and hasn’t got annoying adverts every seven minutes. I know, I get irritated very easily, don’t I?

My best ideas come…

When I’m in the shower. I don’t know what it is… think it’s the boredom and the half-asleep-having just woken up thing – I like to play dreams over too whilst I’m waking up under the blast (if I remember them) and I also do a whole lot of ‘I wonder if…’s and ‘what would happen if….’s. And strangely enough, it’s the only room I actually LOCK myself in. In. So maybe there’s the freedom of thought without distractions.

Independent bookshop or Amazon?

Love the indies and wish our Waterstone’s in town had a coffee/seating area. I went to a bookshop once that had both once and I felt like a child in a sweet shop. If I could have, I’d have moved in. Forever.
But I’m an Amazon-addict and spend all my pocket money there. After I’ve read extracts on the LoveReading.com site first, to make sure I’m going to like it.

You really must read...

‘Bet Me’ by Jenny Crusie. Not just because it starts with “Once upon a time” and ends with “happily ever after” but because the bit in between is just Ssssooo delicious!
And Lisa Jewell's 'Vince and Joy' which is just perfect too.

Left on a cliff-hanger or told all?

I get (yawn, yawn) irritated by cliff-hangers. I go a little bit Tony Hancock with his “missing last page” sketch (Lady Don’t Fall Backwards). Such a laugh – and so true. I’d end up wrapping myself up in knots and stalking the author to FORCE them to finish it properly!

My biggest Writing tip is…

Join a Group. I don’t mean AA or Girls Aloud. A writing group. Where you can talk words. People you work with will listen and nod, but they’ll never really ‘get’ it like another writer does.

Which fictional character would it be great to be?

Oh, definitely Minerva Dobbs in ‘Bet Me’. She’s so sassy, wickedly funny, loves her food and gets her man.

My journey to publication was...

“Is….” Ongoing. I hope.

Favourite book from childhood…

‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ by Enid Blyton. I had a bit of a crush on Moonface, I have to admit.

Oh! Is that IT? And I was having such fun...

Della Says: OMG! Author Interview with Keris Stainton

I feel like a very proud mother. Or at least a very proud sister who has an amazing, younger, groovier sister who has her very first book out on 6th May last week!
Last week, people, book sellers the world (well, UK definitely) over became much the richer for stocking copies of the gorgeous, fabulous "Della Says: OMG!" and here's what the equally gorgeous and fabulous author, Keris Stainton, had to say about... well, lots of things....starting with...

Strictly or X-Factor?

Until last year I would have been Strictly all the way. I've always been mad about Strictly and had never seen X Factor, but then everyone was tweeting about it and I felt left out so I watched it just so I could join in the tweeting (yes, I know I'm sad) and ended up having a great time. Jedward's performance of Oops I Did It Again aside, the tweeting was far more entertaining than the show though.

Where did you get your inspiration for “Della Says: OMG!”?

When I was a teenager, my sister had a party while the rest of the family was away and she was supposed to be staying at a friend's house. When I got home, I couldn't find my diary. It wasn't missing for long and I found it under my mattress (with a very unpleasant message scrawled across one of the pages), but while it was lost I was a nervous wreck, wondering who might be reading it. If, back then, someone had taken my diary the worst they could probably have done was read it out at school or, at a push, photocopy the odd bit. But now with all the social networking? Potential for huge embarrassment.

Which part of “Della Says:” is your favourite and why?

Blimey. Good question. I like the beginning when Della and Maddy are getting ready for the party - I like the sense of anticipation. And I like the part when they go to the beach with their boys because Dan is so scrummy (yes, even though I made him up).

How did you get into the head of a teenager?

Ha. By not growing up? I just think back to when I was that age and it seems ridiculously close. Especially all the injustices and humiliations. I remember them very well.

What books do you like reading?

I absolutely love teen books. My favourite author is Meg Cabot (so you can imagine how excited I was when she gave me a quote for my book), but I also love E Lockhart and Maureen Johnson. Adult-wise, I love Marian Keyes, Lisa Jewell and Jennifer Weiner.

Are you writing another book, if so what’s it about and when will we get to read it?

I got a two book deal and my next book should be out next summer. It's about a girl from Manchester who goes to New York for the summer and a New York boy who's in love with his best friend's girlfriend. The working title is "Jessie *hearts* NYC".  I've also finished another YA book and an adult book, which hopefully you'll also get to read at some point!

So, when the movie rights are all sorted, who would you choose to play Della and her man?

Ha! Well a friend of mine dreamed she saw a movie poster for Della with Emma Roberts in the lead. I think Emma Roberts might be a bit old now. I think Penn Badgeley would be gorgeous for Dan, but he's too old too. Pah.

And what sort of movies do YOU like to watch?

My husband laughs at me because whenever we think of watching a film, I say "Can it be a comedy?" But why would I choose to watch something stressful or scary? Having said that, one of my favourite films of all time is The Sixth Sense, which frightened the life out of me and made me cry like a loon. I also love Singin' in the Rain and When Harry Met Sally.

When did you know you wanted to write?

I'm not sure. I always wrote, but it didn't occur to me to write a novel until I was in my mid-twenties. And as soon as I thought of it, I couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to me sooner. But then it took me 10 years to actually finish a novel.

What advice would you give to anyone who wants to write a book?

Read lots. Read the genre you want to write, but read other stuff too. And then just write it. You can get really worked up about it - I spent years researching writing and looking for a "secret" but the fact is, there isn't a secret. You just need to sit down and write. And don't put too much pressure on yourself - it's just a book.

Where can everyone get a copy of “Della Says:OMG!” signed and meet you in person?

You can come to my house if you like! Apart from that, check my blog where I'll certainly mention any appearances.

http://dellasays.wordpress.com

OMG! I've read Keris's book!

Friends and followers of this blog know that I know some p-r-e-t-t-y fabulous author-type people.
And they don't come any prettier or fabulouser than Keris Stainton.
And even though we've 'known' each other for six or so years (we met on the WWWriting site Write Words when she was the effervescent host of the Chicklit Group) we've never actually met in the flesh - so's to speak.  Which will  be remedied a week on Saturday when the Girl and I are joining a happy throng of others at the launch of her first published book "Della Says: OMG!"
(She wasn't allowed to say WTF in the end)
And -OMG! I read it - in three days flat.  And I didn't want it to end - which is always the sign of a really, really good book.  That, and the fact that I get so attached to the characters that I'm offended when they don't keep in touch after the last page, but I'm thinking that's maybe more to do with paranoia on my part and less the intention of the book itself.
Anyway - here's my review of Keris's fantastic debut which I put on Amazon - oh, and while you're there, why don't you just click on 'place order' - you'll be very happy you did and you'll make another pretty fabulous author person very happy too!

OMG! What can I say? This book was absolutely the best 2 nights I've spent in bed recently! Meg Cabot is right when she affirms: "It's a delicious treat you'll want to eat up in a single bite!". 

 
The eponymous Della is a wonderfully rounded, engaging, believable girl with all the dreams and anxieties that accompany any teenager. With her liberal-minded parents (her Dad is a scream) and her older sister jetting off to the States, Della is delighted when the gorgeous Dan, whom she has lusted after since he gave her some crayons aged four, finally asks her out.

But that's when the madness starts. During her sister's going away party - somewhere between the bit where her sister's boyfriend sticks his tongue down her throat, and the bit when she decides to kiss Dan for the first time, Della's Diary goes missing. And even though she's now got the delightful Dan to take her mind off of it's whereabouts, it's not until pages... extremely embarrassing pages... of it start turning up on Facebook and other places that she really begins to worry who's got it. And why. And she starts to doubt everyone. Even her best friend, Maddy and the perfectly wonderful Dan.

"Della Says: OMG!" Is a rollercoaster ride from start to end. I seriously didn't want it to finish. The writing is sparkling, upbeat, very, very funny and the conversations between the characters is just so convincing it makes you want to read them over and over again and wish you were right there with them.

Keris Stainton is a name to watch out for - a bright, new voice in teenage fiction and if you like your characters believable, familiar and refreshingly honest, then you HAVE to read "Della Says:OMG!" You won't be disappointed. 

Oh, and the pretty fabulous Keris Stainton will be appearing HERE - yes, here - as a part of her Blog tour and subsequent world domination - on Tuesday 4th May - that's next Tuesday - answering some quick fire questions and telling us a bit more about herself and her writing, and about "Della Says: OMG!" 

So, it's a date, okay?