Here is an interview I did about Singles’ Holiday for writers’ website The Next Best Thing, having been tagged by Joanne C Hillhouse – see her interview at http://jhohadli.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/the-next-best-thing-.
Please enjoy!
TNBT: Where did the idea come from?
ES: From my experiences as a tour leader with a UK singles’ tour operator. While the characters are all from my imagination and the resort and company are also fictitious, I have been able to write convincingly about a singles’ holiday because I know how they operate, how people behave and the dynamics between them. Too often singles’ holidays are portrayed as being for “Billy No-Mates”, but I know that singles’ holidays work and I wanted to show the one in my book in a positive light, which is what I hope I’ve done. It’s very true to life.
TNBT: What genre does it fall under?
ES: Fiction – chic-lit (although I hate that term!) – humour and semi-erotic!
TNBT: What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
ES: Hmm! Well, the characters are English so I’m going to go with UK actors – Murray would be played by Peter Capaldi; Stewart by Peter Kay; Suzanne by Lisa Riley; Deano by Hugh Grant; Michael by Myron McKay; Natalie by Sheridan Smith; Frances by Brenda Blethyn and Eve by Emma Thompson. The others I can’t make my mind up about.
TNBT: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
ES: A group of complete strangers choose to go on holiday to the Caribbean and find out a lot about themselves as well as each other.
TNBT: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
ES: I don’t produce a complete manuscript, rather I write in sections – chapters – days of action – and edit each one separately and I don’t move on to the next one until I’m totally happy with the previous one. All in all the book took fifteen months from start to finish.
TNBT: Will the book be self-published or represented by an agency?
ES: Self published. That’s the way forward. It’s hard to promote yourself when you self-publish because you don’t have the backing of a publisher and all that that involves, but you don’t surrender control of your work either.
