Wednesday, 18 March 2015

Guest Post: 10 Q & As with author Amelia Slocombe About Me Blackberry Fool, You Apple Tart

I have author Amelia Slocombe with me on the blog today giving us a little bit of insight into her debut novel Me Blackberry Fool, You Apple Tart


10 questions about Me Blackberry Fool, You Apple Tart:


Why the title?

The book is told entirely by email between two best friends. And they both have serious phone addictions.

Describe the book in three words.

Funny. Different. Addictive.

Describe the story in one sentence.

City lawyer gets carried away (in more ways than one) when she meets a premiership footballer.

Why did you write it?

Because I hated my job as a lawyer and wanted to rant about it without getting sued. And my best friend did genuinely go out with the best friend of a premiership footballer. Her experiences inspired the story. She is just about still talking to me.

Is there any truth to the story?

Yes. A bit too much. Every character is based on someone I know and all of the stories are based on real-life events. 

What's the first line of the book?

"I am currently sat on my bed, writing this email, dressed in what can only be described as an adult baby-grow."

Why should people read the book?

Because I think it's something a bit different. Yes it's essentially a chick-lit novel, but the email dialogue makes it unusual and also every plot line and character is based on real events and actual people and that makes it authentic. And almost every amusing anecdote I've ever heard from friends has been woven into the story as well. Basically, if it isn't funny, I've failed in what I set out to do.

What's your favourite quote from the book and why?

"Can you tell me why magnifying mirrors were ever invented, other than to reduce the world's population by encouraging any woman who looks in one to want to kill herself? Surely they serve no useful purpose? As far as I can see, they only serve to magnify the bits of your face that you already know are large and unattractive, acting as a ghastly illumination of all that you hate about your face, but five times the size."

I like this quote because I have a very firmly held belief that magnifying mirrors (and toilet brushes - which feature later in the book) should be eradicated.  And it illustrates what the book is really about: observations on life.

Who is your favourite character?

Probably Rachel's mum. She's Malaysian and has an Internet shopping addiction. She's also completely crazy. I have two very good friends whose mothers are Malaysian and Taiwanese respectively and her character is based on all their observations and complaints about their own mothers.

If your book was made into a Hollywood movie, who would you cast as Isla and Rachel?

Easy. Natalie Portman as Isla and Mila Kunis as Rachel.  Mainly because I have girl crushes on both. 

About The Book


Best friends Isla Butterfield and Rachel Ku are inseparable. Inseparable, that is, thanks to the wonders of modern technology and the humble smart phone.
 
Isla is a lawyer in a cutthroat city law firm, working 90-hour weeks in a job she hates. The rest of her time is spent dealing with her recently divorced father, worrying about premature ageing, wishing she'd followed her dream of becoming an actress and hiding her designer clothes' receipts from her long-term boyfriend, Toby - a biologist with mild OCD. 

Rachel is stuck in a dead-end 9-5 marketing job for a manufacturer of commercial sink units. Her life is troubled by her crazy thoroughbred horse Aristotle (who she can't afford), her eccentric Malaysian mother with an internet shopping addiction, and her emotionally detached boyfriend, Spencer. Spencer never calls, is always late and prefers to spend his time at the beck and call of his best friend Alex Robertson, a well known and extremely good looking premiership footballer. 

After a chance encounter with the notorious Alex Robertson, Isla is given a glimpse of a very different existence. But does she really want a life of money, celebrity hangouts and Harvey Nicholls' stylists? And if she does, how much is she willing to sacrifice to get it?



No comments:

Post a Comment