Sophie Kinsella, LOVE YOUR LIFE

2020-10-30 · 33:57 · Sophie Kinsella · Podcast Audio

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[1:54]When I started this podcast I had a wish list of authors who I was like dreaming I could get

[1:59]to come on eventually and Sophie can sell it was one of them and now here she is. Sophie

[2:05]can sell it has sold over 40 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries and she has been

[2:09]translated into over 40 languages. Sophie first hit UK bestseller lists in September 2000 with her

[2:15]first novel in the Shopaholic series the secret dream world of a Shopaholic also published as

[2:21]Confessions of a Shopaholic which by the way is one of my favorite books so funny. The books heroine

[2:26]Becky Bloomwood a fun and feisty financial journalist who loves shopping but is hopeless with money

[2:31]captured the hearts of readers worldwide including mine. Becky has since been featured in seven

[2:36]further bestselling books. Shopaholic abroad which is also published as Shopaholic takes

[2:41]Manhattan. Shopaholic ties the knot, Shopaholic insister, Shopaholic and baby, mini Shopaholic

[2:46]Shopaholic to the stars and Shopaholic to the rescue. Becky Bloomwood came to the big screen in 2009

[2:52]with the hit Disney movie Confessions of a Shopaholic starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.

[2:58]Sophie has written nine standalone novels which have all been bestsellers in the UK, USA and other

[3:03]countries around the world including can you keep a secret? The undemested goddess remember me?

[3:08]20s girl I've got your number wedding night my not so perfect life which was a good

[3:13]read's choice awards finalist for best fiction in 2017 and surprise me. Sophie's latest novel

[3:19]I owe you one is a story of love empowerment and an IOU that changes everything. In 2014

[3:24]she published a young adult novel finding Audrey about a teenage girl with social anxiety in her

[3:29]madcap family and in January 2018 Sophie published the first illustrated book for young readers

[3:34]in her mummy fairy and me series about the charming adventures of a mother daughter fairy duo

[3:39]also published as fairy mom and me. Sophie wrote her first novel under her real name

[3:43]Madeline Wickham age 24 while she was working as a financial journalist. The tennis party

[3:49]was immediately hailed as a success by critics in the public alike and became a top 10 bestseller.

[3:54]She went on to publish six more novels as Madeline Wickham, a desirable residence, swimming full

[3:59]Sunday, the gatecrasher, the wedding girl, cocktails for three, and sleeping arrangements. Sophie

[4:04]was born in London. She studied music at new college Oxford but after a year switched to politics,

[4:09]philosophy and economics. She lives in the UK with her husband and family and actually her latest

[4:14]book is called Love Your Life and on the cover it says Opposites attract don't they?

[4:19]Welcome Sophie, thanks so much for coming on mom's don't have time to read books.

[4:23]Well thank you so much for having me it's such a joy to see you I love it when these things work

[4:28]out and we can see each other at it all kind of fell into place it's always just I don't know you

[4:33]like the universe works it's great sometimes it does you know you know where are you are you in

[4:38]the UK now I am I am in my sitting room which is the quiet room you will notice there are no

[4:44]children in this room because it's 7 p.m. here so I have to say this podcast has been the best thing

[4:53]ever because I've had children like for the last hour you know what it's like kind of

[4:58]in doing homework and piano and eat and trumpet practice and and oh I've got a cart and

[5:04]oh this and then it's even I was like I have to go now and do this with a really important podcast

[5:09]I'm really really sorry about that you know pushing so you know just see you later and

[5:17]can we do this every night this would be great I would love that experience to go and have a

[5:21]really essential chat right now so sorry to miss out on like the whole bedtime chaos yeah it's it's

[5:27]you know it's tear inducing it's true but you know sometimes we just have to soldier on through

[5:33]we just you know so I'm very happy here yeah it's good I'm so glad yes I've left the zoom

[5:41]school situation in the next room because we're still during the day obviously so that's also

[5:46]really fun and we are back at bricks and water school so we are not in that anymore that is

[5:53]quite the challenge it's just the afternoons they go in the mornings and then they come back

[5:57]and then there's more in the afternoons but of course it's on the iPad so they're like well let's

[6:01]just play with something fun on the iPad and I'm like yeah I'm obviously super motivated like

[6:06]we all are in the afternoon we're all yes exactly not too long shall we work is exactly what we

[6:11]want to do right then yeah of course yeah so that's nice that's all good enough anyway now

[6:22]that you know bedtime and Spanish are going on in separate rooms so we can have our adult conversation

[6:28]which is great I have been reading your books since I feel like you start writing them and I

[6:33]feel like I've like grown older as you've grown older and all these things all these major

[6:37]life events your characters have gone through in the shop while it looks serious and all the rest

[6:41]like it's just been great and now to be talking to you about it it's just like the perfect

[6:45]you know ending to this I love meeting someone who has read my words and enjoyed them and perhaps

[6:54]they've made you know made you smile or whatever so this is a real treat for me because I mean as you

[6:59]can imagine authors we kind of we're on our own most of the time and we send out our words and we

[7:04]just hope it's like this sack to face like I hope somebody likes it I hope somebody you know is

[7:09]like looking over the pages or they smile or they laugh so this is really quite a treat for me

[7:14]just to hear that but I feel like someone like you who said so much success in the literary

[7:18]world and bestseller after bestseller like would it need that validation or wouldn't even appreciate

[7:23]it anywhere oh no it's the opposite I mean it's like you know what however long you've been doing it

[7:29]you start to think well you know people still like what I do and how can I put that to the test

[7:34]and I think especially this year when I haven't been out and about you know it's just really

[7:39]important to connect in every sense as humans you know as family members and as an author

[7:47]with your readers we've all missed out on so much connection this year that I think we're all

[7:51]craving you know interaction of all different kinds so for me that you know it's lovely you know

[7:57]hi reader I feel a bit proud of contact I might get from media in a minute yes I'm wondering if

[8:07]I'll be able to actually close this laptop for if you're gonna be in there every time I open it

[8:12]I will you know it yeah oh my gosh so funny well let's talk a little bit about your latest book

[8:20]tell listeners what it's about what inspired you to write it this hilarious writing retreat that

[8:25]you have your main character gone which is just so funny with your characteristics sense of humor

[8:30]I think that's part of why I was so excited to talk to you because I'm just like this is completely

[8:34]like what I find funny is what you find funny you don't always do you think oh no it's just me

[8:41]is this like really well really kind of looking at the difference I suppose between like you know

[8:48]instinct and practicalities of love so my heroine is super romantic and we all go through like a

[8:56]journey with a loved one we meet them and we kind of take in details about them or maybe these days

[9:02]we've met them online and I think this is what makes it really interesting so you build up a

[9:05]picture and we kind of fantasize then we fill in the gaps so you maybe do you text them where

[9:11]you go on that first date and you've got so many good impressions but you don't quite know the

[9:16]rest of it and you kind of fill in the gaps and then gradually you get to know the real deal

[9:21]and for most people this is quite a sort of slow process you're taking in information you're

[9:26]thinking okay does this person match up to what I originally imagined and you have kind of

[9:32]reality checks okay so I thought well what's the kind of most extreme version of the kind of

[9:37]reality check so I set up this heroine who is a deluded romantic and she just believes in instinct

[9:45]and then it happens that she's at this writing retreat where nobody uses their name

[9:50]nobody gives out any personal details and I have to say this was so slightly inspired by

[9:55]I have a friend who went on a yoga retreat and nobody said a word all week

[10:00]So you're just taking in impressions of people.

[10:04]And she falls in love with this guy.

[10:07]She doesn't know what his name is or his job

[10:10]or anything about him except kind of how he looks,

[10:14]his demeanor, what he says about writing,

[10:17]but nothing else, they don't divulge any details.

[10:20]And she falls in love and takes it to the max.

[10:23]I mean, they kind of commit to each other,

[10:25]they pledge to each other.

[10:26]It's like your most extreme version of your holiday romance.

[10:29]And then boom, come home reality.

[10:32]And it's like the most extreme version of, wait, what?

[10:36]Wait, wait, this isn't what I imagine.

[10:38]What, this is how you live, this is your job.

[10:41]She's imagined that he's like an artisan carpenter

[10:45]based on very little evidence.

[10:46]But she's just got it in her head that this is who he is.

[10:49]This is what, you know, she's got the idea

[10:51]that he has a particular name.

[10:52]And none of this is the case.

[10:54]And so then she's faced with, okay,

[10:56]so this is the guy in my head.

[10:58]This is what I've presented with in real life.

[11:01]He, by the way, is exactly the same.

[11:03]He had all kinds of ideas what she might be like.

[11:06]He comes to the end, he gets to the airport,

[11:09]and reality is there.

[11:12]And they both get met by,

[11:15]she gets met by her crazy dog and her crazy friends.

[11:18]And he gets met by Mr. corporate driver.

[11:21]And they look at each other in absolute shock.

[11:25]Like, wait, who are you?

[11:27]You know, I love you, but I have no idea who you are.

[11:30]And now I'm gonna have to find out.

[11:32]And part of the inspiration was that saying

[11:34]that you read and it's around the place,

[11:37]love me, love my dog.

[11:39]There's a dog in this book.

[11:40]And I thought, well, I'm gonna extend this

[11:42]to love me, love my life,

[11:44]because they get to know each other's lives

[11:47]from the dog, to the friends, to weird habits,

[11:51]to things which seem small,

[11:54]but are actually become quite a sort of,

[11:57]you know, like there's a moment where he runs her above.

[12:00]And he's a little run, you'll love he won't bother.

[12:03]He draws her above.

[12:04]This is gonna be the kind of healing moment.

[12:06]And she gets in.

[12:08]And she's like, what is this?

[12:10]This is not a warm bath.

[12:11]Then this is tapping.

[12:12]I'm freezing.

[12:13]And he's staring at her in Oxford, in comprehension.

[12:16]Like, this is a really warm bath.

[12:18]And it just kind of signifies

[12:19]how they're on completely different pages.

[12:22]They better get used to this.

[12:24]And I suppose the book explores,

[12:25]what do you get used to?

[12:27]What can you put up with?

[12:29]At the beginning of the book, she is adamant.

[12:31]She is not a deal-breaker's kind of a person.

[12:34]She doesn't believe in them.

[12:35]She thinks they're the work of the devil.

[12:37]She kind of lectures her friends,

[12:38]who are a bit more pragmatic and dating online

[12:41]and having to create profiles.

[12:43]And she's like, I can't engage with this.

[12:46]I could just love any man.

[12:47]I have no parameters.

[12:49]I'd never have a deal-breaker.

[12:51]And then she's looking at this guy,

[12:53]okay, I don't like this.

[12:55]I don't like that.

[12:56]I can't really do this.

[12:57]Your family has these weird customs.

[13:00]And so the question throughout the book is,

[13:02]what can they get used to?

[13:04]What can they not get used to?

[13:06]What could change?

[13:07]How could they compromise?

[13:08]And hopefully finding the comedy in all of it

[13:12]because that's what I like to do.

[13:14]I like to kind of slightly torture my characters.

[13:18]It's really terrible, embarrassing, cringy moments

[13:23]at all times.

[13:24]And they certainly do go through a few of those.

[13:27]Why do you like to do that to your characters?

[13:29]Because by the way, then your reader is similarly

[13:32]cringing and holding their breath and covering their face

[13:35]as well.

[13:36]What is that about?

[13:37]Why do you like to do that?

[13:38]I just find it so entertaining.

[13:41]And I love to love.

[13:42]And I love to push it.

[13:44]What I feel is just enough to make you laugh

[13:47]and go, no way.

[13:48]And also kind of be obsessed by turning the page

[13:51]to see how are you going to get out of this?

[13:52]And hopefully not take it so extreme that it's painful.

[13:56]Although I do think that sometimes I do torture my readers.

[14:01]Well, I just can't help seeing the potential

[14:05]for the extreme version.

[14:07]Like everybody doesn't get on with some aspect

[14:10]of their partner's life.

[14:12]And I just thought, well, I'm going to just take this

[14:14]to the max.

[14:16]So her flat, he can't get on with her furniture.

[14:20]I mean, you know, so many things about their life.

[14:23]But at the same time, I do feel like comedy

[14:26]has to come out of reality.

[14:29]So they're kind of a real kind of contemporary thread

[14:34]to all this.

[14:34]And I read an awful lot online about kind of online dating

[14:37]and what are people's real deal breakers?

[14:40]And how do they go about this?

[14:42]And you know, it does cause pain as well as comedy.

[14:46]And it does cause, you know, some thoughtful processes

[14:51]going on and some development and kind of their characters

[14:54]have to go somewhere in the light of all this.

[14:56]So hopefully it's kind of there's a mix of those comedy,

[14:59]but there's real stuff.

[15:01]And I hope there's love in this book too.

[15:04]You know, it's got no, it's great.

[15:06]I love how you set it up in the beginning

[15:07]when her roommates are online.

[15:09]And she's like, how can you do that?

[15:11]Like how can you search 10 miles from where you live?

[15:14]What if you live 11 miles away?

[15:16]And they're like, no, no, no, it's fine.

[15:17]He'll lie about that part.

[15:18]But she's like horrified, you know, because it's true.

[15:20]Like what if you just, and that I think it like speaks

[15:23]to this whole crazy, falling in love thing in general,

[15:27]which seems completely random.

[15:28]What if you just missed by your parameters,

[15:31]the guy of your dreams?

[15:32]Like what if you just walked out of the restaurant

[15:34]before he walked in?

[15:35]Like what if you never met?

[15:37]Like, and if it's your fault, right?

[15:39]It's like this whole like nothing really makes sense.

[15:43]So you have to just roll with it.

[15:44]Anyway, you agree.

[15:46]And I think that we have a kind of an added pressure on us

[15:49]when we have to create a profile and define it in advance.

[15:52]Because sometimes you don't know what you're looking for.

[15:55]I mean, it's a bit like shopping.

[15:56]And one of my characters don't actually like a bit

[15:59]to choosing a white shirt on a website

[16:01]that has so many white shirts you're bewildered.

[16:04]And then, and actually I was slightly inspired.

[16:06]I created a fictitious website with a million filters.

[16:10]And I was slightly inspired by shopping websites

[16:12]where in order to make any sense of it at all,

[16:14]you just have to filter, you know.

[16:16]Okay, this size, this kind of color, this sleeve length.

[16:20]Well, you know, apply that to a live partner.

[16:22]But then you start to think that even with clothes,

[16:25]you think, wait, I don't really know.

[16:27]I mean, what if I saw a great shirt

[16:29]and it did have a longer sleeve, but I loved it.

[16:32]I'm stressed.

[16:33]How about I'm stressed?

[16:35]What do I want?

[16:36]And I can't do a thousand shirts.

[16:38]And then you add that to a man.

[16:40]I mean, I do.

[16:41]You know, just the hair color, oh, I don't know.

[16:43]I mean, you know, once you start looking at it,

[16:46]it is quite funny, but it is also quite painful

[16:50]if this is what you're having to do.

[16:52]As you say, it's so arbitrary.

[16:54]Yes, so arbitrary, yeah.

[16:57]And then because what it really comes down to is that

[17:00]it's completely out of your control.

[17:02]And I think that's what all the filters are designed to,

[17:06]you know, fool you into believing

[17:07]that you have some control over your search

[17:10]when really it's like completely random

[17:12]and out of your control.

[17:13]So anyway, yeah, yeah.

[17:16]So how did you come up?

[17:17]So I know you came up with this,

[17:18]but you've been like consistently sort of innovating

[17:21]and coming up with new ideas

[17:23]and taking your character through all these times.

[17:25]Like tell me about how you decide what books

[17:28]you're gonna write, like what you're doing

[17:29]with your characters.

[17:30]Like does it always come from life?

[17:32]Just like how is it,

[17:33]how is the progression of your characters evolved?

[17:36]That's interesting.

[17:37]I mean, I think that each book has a slightly different

[17:40]genesis.

[17:40]So sometimes I'll start with a character.

[17:42]So like with the Shabbalik series,

[17:44]it was very much, I can see this character

[17:46]and now I want to put her in different situations.

[17:50]Sometimes stuff just happens in life.

[17:53]I kind of, I'm aware of what we're all talking about.

[17:56]Like, you know, with this kind of social media

[17:59]that became an interest to me

[18:00]because I was just a bit all talking about this.

[18:02]So I tend to sort of plug into the conversations

[18:05]that I'm hearing or I wrote a young adult book

[18:08]about anxiety and computer games.

[18:10]And that was very much kind of picking up

[18:11]on like the conversation of the day.

[18:13]And then sometimes, so when I was writing I owe you one,

[18:16]I knew I wanted to get two people together

[18:19]and that they would exchange favorites with each other.

[18:22]And I didn't know what the mechanism would be.

[18:23]We were to bring these two people about.

[18:24]And I'm sitting in a coffee shop

[18:25]and this really happened.

[18:26]And by the way, people are always saying to me,

[18:29]oh, I bet you pick up things from real life, don't you?

[18:32]I bet you just listen in on conversations and use them all.

[18:34]And I'm always like, I really wish

[18:36]that people would just act out a whole novel

[18:38]about the next table in the cafe.

[18:39]And I think it's quite dictation.

[18:42]And I'm like, I could write it all down.

[18:43]That would be handy, but it's never happened yet.

[18:45]Anyway, the miracle happened.

[18:47]I'm sitting in this coffee shop.

[18:50]And this guy, and I have to say

[18:51]he was very handsome in America,

[18:53]which kind of added a bit of sparkle to the event.

[18:56]He looked at me and he just went,

[18:58]oh, I have to step outside.

[18:59]Could you mind my laptop for a minute?

[19:02]I was like, this is it.

[19:03]This is how my cat needs.

[19:05]The coffee shop gods have given me

[19:07]my beginning.

[19:08]So that was absolutely given to me as a gift.

[19:13]So as I say, each book is different.

[19:15]And in this book, there's a very naughty dog

[19:19]who is the bone of contention

[19:21]between our lovely couple.

[19:22]And I was also in a similar way.

[19:25]I was sort of looking for a dog.

[19:26]I was thinking I need, I need a dog.

[19:28]I want a really character of a dog.

[19:29]And I sort of met, I had a dog and I met dogs,

[19:32]but they weren't quite.

[19:34]And then I stayed with some friends

[19:36]and I met this eagle.

[19:37]and he was such a character.

[19:40]And I was like, that's it.

[19:42]Okay, you're going in my book.

[19:44]So, you know, you get inspiration all around.

[19:46]That's great, I love it.

[19:48]And when did you know you wanted to write?

[19:50]Did you always know?

[19:51]Did you know from when you were a child

[19:53]or did it come later?

[19:54]It wasn't my childhood ambition.

[19:57]You know, I wasn't the child walking around saying,

[19:59]oh, I'm gonna write a novel.

[20:00]I love to read. I mean, I read obsessively and I read books over and over and over again,

[20:05]which I, looking back, I think it kind of gives you a real sense of story. How stories work,

[20:10]if you practically know book or quite hard. Whether it's a classical, whether it's just,

[20:15]you know, it kind of run on the mill, but you know, knocking around your house. So I love stories

[20:20]and words, but I didn't really even plan to write until I was in my 20s working as a journalist,

[20:28]you know, even at that stage, I thought, well, this is, you know, what I'm going to do.

[20:31]And it was really going on the tube to work and reading every day in the days before we

[20:37]were all on our phones. You read books. So I read books the whole time and I just had this

[20:41]chord of recognition like, wait, you know, I know I'm writing financial articles and that's my job,

[20:47]but this is, this is what I want to do that I want to, I want to make it up. I've never been any good

[20:52]at facts. I still am, no good at facts. I'm far better if it's all invented. So I just started in my spare

[20:59]time, you know, I kind of sat on the train, waiting till I got an idea. And the minute I started,

[21:06]I just felt like, yes, okay. Now I feel at home, I was lucky enough to get that one published and,

[21:13]you know, that's all I've done ever since I'm fit for nothing else. Except, obviously,

[21:19]my children, I can do that. Yes, that's a skill we all somehow seem to magically acquire.

[21:27]Not so much writing the Chaparlic here. Was that your first book, Chaparlic?

[21:32]No, I'm changing. If I used to write before that under the name Madeline Wickum, which is actually

[21:37]my book. Oh, that's right. I knew that. I'm sorry. Yeah. I switched style and the first one was

[21:42]Confessions of a Chaparlic. And that's where I really found comedy and realized how much I like

[21:48]writing comedy. So that felt like a new beginning. And it was kind of really exciting because it was

[21:54]just a new voice. And it felt like I was starting my career all over again, which is a great advantage

[22:00]that you have as a writer. You can kind of rebrand, you know, take a new name, start again,

[22:06]and it's kind of quite liberating. But is that, that is your actual name though, right? So

[22:11]if you can sell it, it's not. No, no, I must not. No, I know. It's soapy for so long. And I also do

[22:20]that. So what's your real name? Madeline, your real name is Madeline. No way. Okay.

[22:24]No, sorry. I should have somehow realized that. No, no, no, no, no. She shows how good my

[22:29]discus is. No, I answered the Sophie now. I mean, I practically feel like Sophie because I live

[22:35]so much in my life and Sophie and all my children know I'm Sophie. And so, and it's actually quite

[22:40]nice because I can still, you know, I'm anonymous day to day. I go, am I, you know, do my staff

[22:47]maybe even twigs? They sometimes twig, but you know, I feel quite under the radar, which is,

[22:52]you know, quite nice. And it's good for being a writer because you can use dropping coffee shops

[22:56]as previously mentioned. Yes. And come up with all your ideas. Wow. I'm sorry. I think I did

[23:01]know that at some point and I forgot and I'm sorry. Anyway, we see lost in the next time.

[23:09]So do you always have your next thing? Like, do you know what your next book is already? Or are

[23:13]you just sort of going, I always have a few things on my sleeve. And I find with an idea for

[23:20]you need to give it a bit of time. So I'm working on something at the moment, which I've had

[23:25]like the shell kind of outline for a while. And you know, I have all kinds of ideas. And I don't

[23:33]think you know instantly if it's going to have legs or if it's really your book or if it's, you know,

[23:38]is there enough to it? So I like to think ahead and have them in like different stages of

[23:43]development. And right now I'm at the nice stage where you're kind of fleshing out an idea. And I

[23:47]think, you know, this actually will work. So that's nice. The bad moment is when you think, yeah,

[23:52]that seemed like such a great idea in the cocktail bar. I was super excited. And I wrote all these

[23:57]excited mates in lip liner because I didn't have a pen. And it makes no sense. It's gibberish. It's

[24:03]not a book. So how far we have far down you have to go. Like, how many pages or how much time do you

[24:10]invest before you decide whether it's working or not? Oh, for me, I won't have written an awful lot.

[24:16]It's more like in the planning stages because I obsessively plan. So it's when I'm

[24:23]sketching out all my plan and the details and all of that, that's when I know I've got a book.

[24:30]And I won't start it unless I feel confident in that. I mean, I have friends who they just start,

[24:37]you know, they just start writing. And I am in such admiration of that. I would love to be that

[24:41]kind of free flow, see where you go, let it grow. But I'm not that I want to know that I have

[24:48]an ending, even if it's not the ending. And I want to feel that there's a sort of solid plan

[24:53]for me to follow. So do you have an index cards or do you just like write it out? How does it look?

[24:58]I have a big board with index cards, but I always get kind of impatient with that because

[25:06]I can't put all the detail I would like on the index cards. So at some stage along the way,

[25:10]they're abandoned that and that starts to look a bit sad and unloved. And I start to wear things

[25:14]on the computer. And then I write them on bits of paper. And then I have posters. I have like

[25:19]a million different systems. Then I start, my new thing is dictating to the phone, which is just great.

[25:24]So you know, you have a line of dial or pops into your head and you just sort of randomly say it

[25:30]into your phone, looking slightly deranged as you do say. So if you walk in through London ever and

[25:36]seeing someone in far square talking into her phone with a blazed expression, that's me. But

[25:42]you know, but then I forget what I put wear. So I have to do this kind of go around like, okay,

[25:47]I had one idea on my phone and I had some other scene that I wrote on my laptop and trying,

[25:52]you know, put it all together into a book. And I sometimes, you know, forget bits. It's a bit like

[25:57]when you, you know, you're doing a dinner party and you've got this thing, you know, you had this

[26:02]source and you had this side dish, I think, I mean, you get to the end and you're collapsed

[26:07]and you open the oven. And there's that bread you had heating the whole time and you forgot to

[26:15]love it. Yeah, just even your mentioning dinner parties makes me sad. I am missing that time of life

[26:20]when we get entertained and see friends and all the rest. And it's so weird, isn't it? I just can't

[26:27]believe we're still here. I know. I kind of, I saw it as a summer thing. I kind of just felt

[26:32]psychologically that the new school year would begin and we'd all go, right, well, that was the

[26:37]summer, that was weird and all we go. And so now, don't you know, very strange. So has it affected

[26:44]your like work or creativity or all that? I mean, it must. I mean, it was weird. I knew during our

[26:50]kind of extreme lockdown. I was actually really glad. I mean, by absolute luck, I finished writing

[26:57]Love Your Life pretty much two days before lockdown when, well, and then the whole, you know,

[27:03]family was here and we had to kind of do, as you say, the homeschool and all of it. And so

[27:09]during lockdown, I edited it. And that's a really different process from writing. It's, you know,

[27:14]it's changing what you've already done. And I'm so glad because I think that against this sort of

[27:20]apocalyptic backdrop, I don't know how I would have written those final scenes, whereas to edit them

[27:26]was fine. There they were. There's like, I could change them and I could amend and I could put myself

[27:30]and I believe it was a wonderful escape for me to go back into that world. It was, it felt quite

[27:36]indulgent to kind of go back, especially writing the Italy. It's like, I'm not here. I mean, COVID-free

[27:44]Italy right now, you know, and I'm on the beach and I'm in this amazing monastery and I'm in love

[27:50]and the food and it felt like a really lovely place to escape to. And then since then, I suppose,

[27:56]you know, that kind of obsessive following of the news and every development, I have been unable

[28:03]to keep up with that. I don't have the stamina to be following every development. I just do what

[28:08]I'm told, you know, trying to follow the rules, which I'll quite confusing. I will say they keep

[28:12]changing. Yes, basically, I think sizzle the sofa is about it. And I'm sort of, you know, able,

[28:20]I think now to go into another world. My brain isn't constantly being kind of drawn back into

[28:27]weight. What can do it? You know, which it was for a while. But what I did actually during lockdown

[28:32]is I wrote shopaholic lockdown diaries, just as a little fun thing for my readers because a lot of

[28:40]readers, you know, I'm in touch with them on social media and they would say, oh, you know, what would

[28:44]Becky do? And we had tremendous problems in the UK with like stop climbing and shopping and you

[28:50]couldn't get this and that. And I mean, shopping was like topic A for a while. And I just couldn't

[28:55]resist it. And I thought, well, this might cheer everybody up. So I wrote what Becky was up to. And

[29:01]you know, it was a tonic for me. And I hope it cheered up some people, you know, it was kind of, you know,

[29:06]very of its moment that it was kind of therapy as well for me. I have to go back and read those.

[29:11]I somehow missed that as well in my own, you know, it was very tiny. It was just like her diary

[29:16]of a few days. And I put it up on, on, you know, on the internet. I mean, it was just a sort of,

[29:22]you know, a gift really to my readers like, here's something to entertain you today.

[29:25]Is it on your Instagram or is it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Install the back and that, you know,

[29:30]that was, that was really nice. Because you got it, you know, I'm someone who I just try and find

[29:36]something to laugh at, even in like the worst lockdown situation. I mean, it took a while. I couldn't

[29:42]do it instantly, but there were, you know, after a few weeks I was like, okay, come on, let's, you know,

[29:46]cheer the troops up here. Let's find something to laugh at. That's great. I mean, so needed, so necessary

[29:54]to find those outlets. Yeah, just like, you know, the end of the world mentality. So that's great.

[30:00]Thank you for them.

[30:02]What advice would you have for aspiring authors?

[30:05]Oh, well, I'm someone who has had to find their voice.

[30:10]You know, I started with one kind of writing.

[30:12]I've changed into another kind of writing.

[30:15]I mean, it's sort of similar, but quite different.

[30:17]And so I would say, you know, be true to what you want to write.

[30:21]Don't try and second guess.

[30:24]Right, right, what is right for you at the moment,

[30:26]but be prepared to experiment,

[30:28]because there might be different versions of you.

[30:30]You know, you may not hit on the right voice straight away,

[30:33]just so don't worry about that.

[30:34]Just keep trying.

[30:36]I mean, I've written comedy now, because I really enjoy it.

[30:39]And I think that you can tell writers who love what they do,

[30:42]whether it's crafting an excruciating thrill of plot.

[30:46]You know, that's just so intricate,

[30:48]or whether it's making people laugh,

[30:49]or whether it's wonderful love scenes.

[30:52]So write something that is going to light your fire,

[30:54]because believe me, you're going to beam with this book

[30:57]for a long time in a better night, your fire.

[31:00]And, you know, if you read it nowhere to begin,

[31:02]something I sometimes say is,

[31:03]imagine you're going to a bookshop

[31:05]and you see the perfect book, you know,

[31:08]it's like a visualization.

[31:10]Imagine walking and you're like,

[31:12]that's the book I need to buy.

[31:13]You know, there are some books you walk in,

[31:15]and it's a no brainer, like, I have to buy this.

[31:17]Of course, I am going to read this.

[31:19]Well, whatever that is, whatever speaks to you,

[31:22]that's the book you need to write.

[31:24]It's, you know, that's the book that you would pick up,

[31:26]and if you would pick it up then,

[31:27]lots of other people would pick it up,

[31:29]and it'll be different for everybody.

[31:31]It might be the plot, it might be the premise,

[31:33]it might be a character or a style,

[31:36]you know, it could be anything,

[31:37]but make it something really strong,

[31:40]that is going to be still exciting in six months time

[31:43]when you're at chapter 10,

[31:45]and you hate the whole book,

[31:47]and you forgot why you started

[31:49]thinking I'm giving up.

[31:51]You know, you need to have,

[31:52]like, that initial inspiration to come back to,

[31:54]to keep you going.

[31:55]Excellent advice.

[31:56]Love it.

[31:57]So is Chapaholic, is Becky going to make another appearance

[32:00]in a real book?

[32:01]Do you think, or you think neither?

[32:02]What's the plan?

[32:03]Oh, yeah, I mean, I can never say goodbye to Becky.

[32:06]The book I'm working on at the moment is not a Becky book,

[32:09]but she's always, she's always in my mind and in my heart.

[32:13]So I don't think we've said goodbye.

[32:15]But, you know, I never know when,

[32:17]and I'm someone who, you know,

[32:19]I have different ideas floating around,

[32:20]but then I always act on instinct,

[32:22]much like Eva.

[32:23]I agree with, like, I have to write this book right now.

[32:26]So I can't always predict

[32:27]which one is kind of going to grab me,

[32:29]but Becky's not going anywhere.

[32:31]Excellent.

[32:32]Few.

[32:33]Well, thank you.

[32:35]Now, I don't know what to call you, Madeline.

[32:37]I started calling you Sophie now,

[32:38]and I'm so happy.

[32:39]I go weeks of my life to time being Sophie.

[32:41]I feel like Sophie is my middle name.

[32:43]It is who I am, really.

[32:45]Okay, so.

[32:46]So, as well, whoever you are,

[32:47]thank you for coming on my podcast.

[32:49]Oh, it's such a funny.

[32:51]I'm sorry to have to say goodbye

[32:53]and release you to your kids, but maybe you can tell.

[32:54]I know, I'm just going to be an early on talking

[32:56]to the lab talk.

[33:00]Right, that's a very long question.

[33:01]Yeah, I bet it was a great length.

[33:06]I know.

[33:07]I know, we have to go.

[33:08]This has been absolutely lovely.

[33:10]So, that is really cute too.

[33:11]It's been great.

[33:12]Thank you for this comic interlude in my crazy day.

[33:15]So, thanks.

[33:19]Thanks again to today's sponsor,

[33:21]SugarWish, send a surprise SugarWish to somebody you love

[33:25]and check it out yourself, sugarwish.com.

[33:28]Thanks for listening to this episode

[33:30]of Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.

[33:32]Don't forget to follow me on Instagram,

[33:34]at ZB-O-N's and at Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.

[33:37]Also, sign up for my newsletter at ZB-O-N's.com

[33:39]and sign up for my virtual book club

[33:41]and meet lots of authors on Zoom every other week.

[33:43]Thanks so much to Steve and Ryan at TextureSound

[33:46]for the sound editing.

[33:47]And thank you to Morning Moon Productions

[33:49]for providing this fantastic intro and out trim music.