1. What is the working title of your next book?

Next  book? This made me smile and think Lesley has got me in way over my head here! There is the only oneÖ itís called ëWhat You Donít Know Wonít Hurtí.

2. Where did the idea come from for your book?

HmmÖ gosh not really sure. I remember being told once, ìwrite about what you donít know about what you know.î I didnít want to start doing historical research or learning about brain surgery so I knew I needed to write something contemporary. I know what itís like to be a daughter and a mother and I know what it feels like when life takes an unforeseen turn and suddenly nothing is how itís supposed to be. I donít know what itís like to be fifty-five and dealing with it ñ thatís where Francesca my main character came from.  So I thought along those lines and began to think what if, what if your life wasnít the life you thought it was and the people in it where not the people you thought they were and you realized all this in your mid-fifties. How do you cope with processing all of that and facing up to lifeís obstacles at a time in life when you should have more answers than questions. So that was the seed, I guess.

3. What genre does the book fall under?

Up-market womenís fiction (apparently). I like to call it ëa thinking womanís bookí.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Annette Bening would be fab as Francesca, Richard Gere as Tom and Anne Hathaway as Eva.

5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

This is never easy ñ here we goÖ

In the aftermath of her husbandís sudden death Francesca is thrown together with her eldest daughter Eva, for decades they have been locked in quiet struggle and now they must re-evaluate their relationship as untruths are revealed and secrets discovered.

6.Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

My agent Caroline Hardman from Hardman and Swainson Literary Agency in London is pulling together ëthe packageí (no idea what this actually is) as I type, for imminent submission to publishers. (Yikes!!)

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Three-ish years for the first draft ñ but am still working on it so four years and counting! This game is not for the faint hearted.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I adore Penelope Lively so anything of hers, Maggie OíFarrell the same and am a huge admirer of Siri Hutvedtís especially her book ëWhat I lovedí. 

9.Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Myself! And I think that is it with most writers ñ only you can actually sit and graft at a desk and grapple with words and fictional characters for hours a day and ultimately years ñ nobody else can do it for you! It is really, really hard. But I always said I was going to write a book one day and then suddenly out of nowhere I hit thirty and had a baby to deal with who was eating up huge amounts of my time and energy and suddenly all this future I had to write a book was disappearing so I thought I needed to bloody well get on with it! I joined the writerís group at the Crescent Arts Centre, under the wonderful tutorship of the poet Ruth Carr. I was inspired by everyone in the group and tentatively began to air my work in public for the first time. The advice and encouragement I got there was priceless and also the first ëindustry professionalí Susan Feldstein who kindly read a chapter a few of years ago gave me the courage to continue.

10. What else about the book might pique the readerís interest?

I think it has potential as a good one for book club people ñ there are lots of dysfunctional familial relationships and layers of emotional damage that are exposed after years of being hidden away. Older readers should hopefully be able to identify with Francesca as a mother who tries her best but somehow never manages to do right! While younger readers can empathize with Eva who has lost her adored father and now has to try and forge a new relationship with her mother while fretting over why her long-term boyfriend keeps stalling over the question of marriage! Oh ñ and there is a huge bombshell dropped towards the very end that will hopefully come as a surprise. All I can say is I am so glad my life is not as complicated as that of the characters in this book!

Now time for me to blog hop to some very talented friends. First up (and really I think he should have had a mention above as he was a real inspiration and support to me in early years!) is the lovely Richard Crawford. Richard started writing professionally in the early nineties, publishing two thriller novels FALL WHEN HIT and THE MINSTREL BOY, before moving into screenwriting.   He conceived and co-wrote the screenplay for THE ABDUCTION CLUB  (Pathe 2003) and since then has worked extensively on a number of UK and French film screenplays. His feature script RETRIBUTION is currently due to start production in early summer 2013, and is working on a series of historical short books, the first of which are already available through Irishriver.com. You can find him on storyjack.com

Gerard Brennan is a Northern Irish writer who recently graduated from

the MA in creative writing at Queenís University Belfast. He is the

author of the novels WEE ROCKETS and FIREPROOF and co-wrote the play

THE SWEETY BOTTLE with his father, Joe Brennan. You can find Gerard on his website www.gerardbrennan.co.uk and on twitter @gerardbrennan

Vittoria Cafolla is a playwright based in Belfast. As well as being a member of Agent160 (a writer-led theatre company that produces work from its female playwrights, based across the UK) , she has worked with Skewiff, Kabosh, and is a founder member of, and reader for  Lunchbox, a company that aims to help new writers, directors and actors get their foot in the performance door. You can find Vittoria on twitter @vittoriacafolla or blogging here http://lunchboxtheatrecompany.wordpress.com/

Lucy V. Hay is a Script Editor, Novelist, organiser of @londonswf and author of YA Novel GUT DECISION. Her screenwriting book, WRITING AND SELLING THRILLER SCREENPLAYS is available from Sept 2013. You can find her on www.bang2write.com or on twitter @bang2write

My Friend Lesley Richardson (read her blog at www.standingatabusstopnaked.com or find her on twitter @Lesley_Rich) asked me to take part in The Next Big Thing blog hop. It is kinda like a social media chain letter. A writer answers ten questions on the what they are currently working on and then they tag several others who then post answers to the same questions and so it goes on. I spend A LOT of time on my own so it is a pleasure to to get asked to converse - even if it is virtual - here goes...
 
1. What is the working title of your next book?

Next  book? This made me smile and think Lesley has got me in way over my head here! There is the only one… it’s called ‘What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt’.

 2. Where did the idea come from for your book?

 Hmm… gosh not really sure. I remember being told once, “write about what you don’t know about what you know.” I didn’t want to start doing historical research or learning about brain surgery so I knew I needed to write something contemporary. I know what it’s like to be a daughter and a mother and I know what it feels like when life takes an unforeseen turn and suddenly nothing is how it’s supposed to be. I don’t know what it’s like to be fifty-five and dealing with it – that’s where Francesca my main character came from.  So I thought along those lines and began to think what if, what if your life wasn’t the life you thought it was and the people in it where not the people you thought they were and you realized all this in your mid-fifties. How do you cope with processing all of that and facing up to life’s obstacles at a time in life when you should have more answers than questions. So that was the seed, I guess.

 3. What genre does the book fall under?

 Up-market women’s fiction (apparently). I like to call it ‘a thinking woman’s book’.

 4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

 Annette Bening would be fab as Francesca, Richard Gere as Tom and Anne Hathaway as Eva.

 5.What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
This is never easy – here we go…
In the aftermath of her husband’s sudden death Francesca is thrown together with her eldest daughter Eva, for decades they have been locked in quiet struggle and now they must re-evaluate their relationship as untruths are revealed and secrets discovered.

6.Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My agent Caroline Hardman from Hardman and Swainson Literary Agency in London is pulling together ‘the package’ (no idea what this actually is) as I type, for imminent submission to publishers. (Yikes!!)

7.How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Three-ish years for the first draft – but am still working on it so four years and counting! This game is not for the faint hearted.

8.What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I adore Penelope Lively so anything of hers, Maggie O’Farrell the same and am a huge admirer of Siri Hutvedt’s especially her book ‘What I loved’.

9.Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Myself! And I think that is it with most writers – only you can actually sit and graft at a desk and grapple with words and fictional characters for hours a day and ultimately years – nobody else can do it for you! It is really, really hard. But I always said I was going to write a book one day and then suddenly out of nowhere I hit thirty and had a baby to deal with who was eating up huge amounts of my time and energy and suddenly all this future I had to write a book was disappearing so I thought I needed to bloody well get on with it! I joined the writer’s group at the Crescent Arts Centre, under the wonderful tutorship of the poet Ruth Carr. I was inspired by everyone in the group and tentatively began to air my work in public for the first time. The advice and encouragement I got there was priceless and also the first ‘industry professional’ Susan Feldstein who kindly read a chapter a few of years ago gave me the courage to continue.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
I think it has potential as a good one for book club people – there are lots of dysfunctional familial relationships and layers of emotional damage that are exposed after years of being hidden away. Older readers should hopefully be able to identify with Francesca as a mother who tries her best but somehow never manages to do right! While younger readers can empathize with Eva who has lost her adored father and now has to try and forge a new relationship with her mother while fretting over why her long-term boyfriend keeps stalling over the question of marriage! Oh – and there is a huge bombshell dropped towards the very end that will hopefully come as a surprise. All I can say is I am so glad my life is not as complicated as that of the characters in this book!

Now time for me to blog hop to some very talented friends. First up (and really I think he should have had a mention above as he was a real inspiration and support to me in early years!) is the lovely Richard Crawford. Richard started writing professionally in the early nineties, publishing two thriller novels FALL WHEN HIT and THE MINSTREL BOY, before moving into screenwriting.   He conceived and co-wrote the screenplay for THE ABDUCTION CLUB  (Pathe 2003) and since then has worked extensively on a number of UK and French film screenplays. His feature script RETRIBUTION is currently due to start production in early summer 2013, and is working on a series of historical short books, the first of which are already available through Irishriver.com. You can find him on storyjack.com

 

Gerard Brennan is a Northern Irish writer who recently graduated from the MA in creative writing at Queen’s University Belfast. He is the author of the novels WEE ROCKETS and FIREPROOF and co-wrote the play THE SWEETY BOTTLE with his father, Joe Brennan. You can find Gerard on his website www.gerardbrennan.co.uk and on twitter @gerardbrennan

 

Vittoria Cafolla is a playwright based in Belfast. As well as being a member of Agent160 (a writer-led theatre company that produces work from its female playwrights, based across the UK) , she has worked with Skewiff, Kabosh, and is a founder member of, and reader for  Lunchbox, a company that aims to help new writers, directors and actors get their foot in the performance door. You can find Vittoria on twitter @vittoriacafolla or blogging here http://lunchboxtheatrecompany.wordpress.com/

 

Lucy V. Hay is a Script Editor, Novelist, organiser of @londonswf and author of YA Novel GUT DECISION. Her screenwriting book, WRITING AND SELLING THRILLER SCREENPLAYS is available from Sept 2013. You can find her on www.bang2write.com or on twitter @bang2write