Interview With Rosie Blake
Today, I'm really excited to welcome the lovely Rosie Blake to the site. We had a chat about her debut novel How To Get A (Love) Life and this is what we spoke about...
How To Get A (Love) Life is your debut novel. Can you tell us a bit about it? What can we expect?
At its heart, I want the novel to make people LOL. Big. Time. The story focuses on Nicola Brown, an uptight and introverted young woman who has never had a date on Valentine’s Day. Following a bet with a work colleague, Nicola has to put aside her hang ups to go on as many dates as she possibly can in order to find the perfect man in time for February 14th. As you can imagine, lots and lots of hilarious things ensue.
What made you decide to start writing novels?
It just happened. I started writing a book – as a lot of freelance people do – and then I got a bit hooked. It was just so challenging and I found myself thinking, I want to be better at this, I want to nail this. And so I kept writing. Then realised I'd written two novels (the first one is in a drawer, obviously).
How long did HTGALL take you to write?
I wrote 60,000 words in about a year and then, when I found out Novelicious wanted it, wrote 20k more in three weeks. Then we edited it for just under a year, so a couple of years in total.
Have you been sneaky and based any characters on people you know?
Actually no, honestly. I have probably merged various people and moments, but there is no one person there that I can identify as anyone in my life. Weird. I need to hold more grudges.
Who is your biggest writing inspiration?
Kirsty Greenwood at Novelicious – after having her novel turned down, she went on to do a kick-ass job marketing and putting out her debut, which has now sold 100,000 copies. Plus, she has landed a three book deal and has set up an imprint. How can I not?
Are you working on another novel at the moment?
Deffo! I am loving it. It's a girl's global search for a man she married in the school playground when she was eight years old. Her search takes her all over the world and puts her in some bizarre scenarios. It's silly and fun.
What would be your number one tip for aspiring authors?
Stop tinkering with the first draft. Finish it and then tinker with it.
Quick Fire:
What is your favourite ...
Colour: Yellow, of course!
Song: The Beach Boys instantly puts me in a good mood.
Book: The Harry Potter series.
Word: Scintillating.
Food: A roast dinner.
Season: Summer. Standard.
TV Show: Charmed. WHAT?
Author: Jilly Cooper.
Animal: I do love a goldfish.
Day of the week: Sunday. Obv.
Huge thanks to Rosie for dropping by! You can read my review of How To Get A (Love) Life here and you can buy a copy from Amazon!
How To Get A (Love) Life is your debut novel. Can you tell us a bit about it? What can we expect?
At its heart, I want the novel to make people LOL. Big. Time. The story focuses on Nicola Brown, an uptight and introverted young woman who has never had a date on Valentine’s Day. Following a bet with a work colleague, Nicola has to put aside her hang ups to go on as many dates as she possibly can in order to find the perfect man in time for February 14th. As you can imagine, lots and lots of hilarious things ensue.
What made you decide to start writing novels?
It just happened. I started writing a book – as a lot of freelance people do – and then I got a bit hooked. It was just so challenging and I found myself thinking, I want to be better at this, I want to nail this. And so I kept writing. Then realised I'd written two novels (the first one is in a drawer, obviously).
How long did HTGALL take you to write?
I wrote 60,000 words in about a year and then, when I found out Novelicious wanted it, wrote 20k more in three weeks. Then we edited it for just under a year, so a couple of years in total.
Have you been sneaky and based any characters on people you know?
Actually no, honestly. I have probably merged various people and moments, but there is no one person there that I can identify as anyone in my life. Weird. I need to hold more grudges.
Who is your biggest writing inspiration?
Kirsty Greenwood at Novelicious – after having her novel turned down, she went on to do a kick-ass job marketing and putting out her debut, which has now sold 100,000 copies. Plus, she has landed a three book deal and has set up an imprint. How can I not?
Are you working on another novel at the moment?
Deffo! I am loving it. It's a girl's global search for a man she married in the school playground when she was eight years old. Her search takes her all over the world and puts her in some bizarre scenarios. It's silly and fun.
What would be your number one tip for aspiring authors?
Stop tinkering with the first draft. Finish it and then tinker with it.
Quick Fire:
What is your favourite ...
Colour: Yellow, of course!
Song: The Beach Boys instantly puts me in a good mood.
Book: The Harry Potter series.
Word: Scintillating.
Food: A roast dinner.
Season: Summer. Standard.
TV Show: Charmed. WHAT?
Author: Jilly Cooper.
Animal: I do love a goldfish.
Day of the week: Sunday. Obv.
Huge thanks to Rosie for dropping by! You can read my review of How To Get A (Love) Life here and you can buy a copy from Amazon!