Please welcome LISA JEWELL, author of AFTER THE PARTY to BookHounds today!
1.
Bookmarks or dog ears?
Dog ears! I will miss dog-earing pages when I start using my new kindle.
Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?
I keep it on, actually, completely contradicting my reply above, to use the flaps as bookmarks. But then, I probably only read one hardback a year.
What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?
I have no idea. I feel sure it must have been one of the Enid Blyton boarding school books though, as I spent most of my childhood years reading them and re-reading them.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading a book called This Perfect World by Suzanne Bugler which I chose because Amazon recommended it to me! It’s a real page turner about a woman with a seemingly perfect life which is turned upside down when a ghost from her past reappears.
Do you have a favorite author?
I love Nick Hornby, Maggie O’Farrell and Rachel Cusk but I’m pretty promiscuous and there isn’t really a writer who I read religiously. As a child, I read all of Agatha Christie’s novels so she would probably top my list.
Was there a book that inspired you to write?
Absolutely. At least a book that inspired me to stop thinking about writing and actually do it, and that was High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. It was the first time I’d read a book that was written in a voice that reflected my own life.
Do you have a favorite place to write?
Right now it’s at a bench in a café in my local shopping centre. It faces the revolving doors so I can watch everyone come and go but have my back to the other customers so I don’t feel self-conscious. I get more done there in an hour than I do in a whole day at my desk. In fact, maybe I should get rid of my desk!
How does your garden grow?
Literally? Figuratively? Literally my garden is a sore point. It’s the scruffiest on the road. I am ashamed of it. But I keep telling myself it's keeping burglars away. Figuratively, my life is a bed of roses. And honeysuckle. I am awash with blessings.
What is the last thing you Googled?
A new camera for my holidays. I have a massive SLR and wanted a smaller one that I can slip in my handbag for days out.
What makes you cringe?
Myself, usually, remembering things I've said or done in the past. Although I was watching a documentary the other night about young men who like (much) older women and they showed a thirty year old man sharing a shower with his seventy year old lover, naked and rubbing foam over each other. That made me cringe quite a lot.
Bookmarks or dog ears?
Dog ears! I will miss dog-earing pages when I start using my new kindle.
Dust jacket on or off when reading a hard back?
I keep it on, actually, completely contradicting my reply above, to use the flaps as bookmarks. But then, I probably only read one hardback a year.
What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?
I have no idea. I feel sure it must have been one of the Enid Blyton boarding school books though, as I spent most of my childhood years reading them and re-reading them.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading a book called This Perfect World by Suzanne Bugler which I chose because Amazon recommended it to me! It’s a real page turner about a woman with a seemingly perfect life which is turned upside down when a ghost from her past reappears.
Do you have a favorite author?
I love Nick Hornby, Maggie O’Farrell and Rachel Cusk but I’m pretty promiscuous and there isn’t really a writer who I read religiously. As a child, I read all of Agatha Christie’s novels so she would probably top my list.
Was there a book that inspired you to write?
Absolutely. At least a book that inspired me to stop thinking about writing and actually do it, and that was High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. It was the first time I’d read a book that was written in a voice that reflected my own life.
Do you have a favorite place to write?
Right now it’s at a bench in a café in my local shopping centre. It faces the revolving doors so I can watch everyone come and go but have my back to the other customers so I don’t feel self-conscious. I get more done there in an hour than I do in a whole day at my desk. In fact, maybe I should get rid of my desk!
How does your garden grow?
Literally? Figuratively? Literally my garden is a sore point. It’s the scruffiest on the road. I am ashamed of it. But I keep telling myself it's keeping burglars away. Figuratively, my life is a bed of roses. And honeysuckle. I am awash with blessings.
What is the last thing you Googled?
A new camera for my holidays. I have a massive SLR and wanted a smaller one that I can slip in my handbag for days out.
What makes you cringe?
Myself, usually, remembering things I've said or done in the past. Although I was watching a documentary the other night about young men who like (much) older women and they showed a thirty year old man sharing a shower with his seventy year old lover, naked and rubbing foam over each other. That made me cringe quite a lot.
Lisa, THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY!
Be sure to pick up Lisa's latest book, AFTER THE PARTY, which picks up after RALPH'S PARTY.
About Lisa:
Lisa Jewell (b. 19 July 1968, Middlesex Hospital, London) is a popular British author of chick lit fiction. Her books include Ralph's Party, Thirtynothing, After The Party, a sequel to Ralph's Party, and most recently The Making Of Us. She was educated at St. Michael's Catholic Grammar School in Finchley, north London, leaving school after one day in the sixth form to do an art foundation course at Barnet College followed by a diploma in fashion illustration at Epsom School of Art & Design. She worked in fashion retail for several years, namely Warehouse and Thomas Pink. After being made redundant, Jewell accepted a challenge from her friend to write three chapters of a novel in exchange for dinner at her favourite restaurant. Those three chapters were eventually developed into Jewell's debut novel Ralph's Party, which then became the UK's bestselling debut novel in 1999. (from Amazon)
About Lisa:
Lisa Jewell (b. 19 July 1968, Middlesex Hospital, London) is a popular British author of chick lit fiction. Her books include Ralph's Party, Thirtynothing, After The Party, a sequel to Ralph's Party, and most recently The Making Of Us. She was educated at St. Michael's Catholic Grammar School in Finchley, north London, leaving school after one day in the sixth form to do an art foundation course at Barnet College followed by a diploma in fashion illustration at Epsom School of Art & Design. She worked in fashion retail for several years, namely Warehouse and Thomas Pink. After being made redundant, Jewell accepted a challenge from her friend to write three chapters of a novel in exchange for dinner at her favourite restaurant. Those three chapters were eventually developed into Jewell's debut novel Ralph's Party, which then became the UK's bestselling debut novel in 1999. (from Amazon)
My Note: My husband is actually the one who introduced me to Lisa's work. He picked up One Hit Wonder since he reads pretty much anything about music or musicians and, well, he really liked it. One of his favorite authors is Nick Hornby and now everything makes sense after reading Lisa's answers to my questions. I never did have the heart to tell him that he was reading Chick Lit. I later went back and read all of Lisa's work and loved them all!
I loved reading Lisa's answers...I read Dream street n really enjoyed it..so i will surely pick up this book too. Thanks for the interview!:)
ReplyDeleteI loved your interview. It is great to get to know the author behind the book. Thanks for the giveaway too.
ReplyDeleteI will be putting this on my to read list.
musicalfrog at comcast.net
Great Q&A. I read lots of Agatha Christie as a kid too! And I love the note about your hubby Mary, so your love of rock n' roll must have brought you together!
ReplyDelete@Julia -- THAT is a whole nother story LOL
ReplyDelete