Envisage yourself as a butterfly, which colour would it be and why?
I’d have deep violet wings with red patches and pink edging.

Describe your writing style in one sentence
A way to tell stories that’s unique to me.

Describe your typical writing day.
At the end stages of a book, I’m usually up all night, writing until the birds start singing and then crawling to bed for a few hours before I comeback to my computer.

Which book character are you most like and why?
Do you mean my book characters? If yes, then I’m probably most like Ceri from The Cupid Effect. Actually, no, there are shades of Amber from The Chocolate Run in me. And, a bit of Kamryn from My Best Friend’s Girl. If you mean other book characters, then I can’t think of anyone I’m like. I read so many books and whilst I get involved with the characters and care about them, can’t say any one I’ve read is like me.Apart from maybe Charlie in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Describe your road to a publishing deal
Looong road. Lots of disappointments and rejections. Had the idea for The Cupid Effect in 2001, sent the first three chapters off to agents, got rejections. Then finished the book because I really believed in the story – if I hadn’t I might have been put off by all that was said to me by the agents.
Then sent the first few chapters to a publisher who was interested. And then I sent the rest and they took about three months to get back to me in 2002. I’ll never forget the day. I was so disheartened by not getting published yet and was contemplating giving it all up and ended up asking God/The Universe for a sign as to whether I should keep going. A few minutes later thepostman buzzed and had a letter from my first publisher offering me a deal. So that was my “sign”. I got an agent after I got the publishing deal. I left that agent in 2003, a few months before my second book, The Chocolate Run, was published. Then I left my publisher in 2004 – not long after my second book was published because I wanted to be with a bigger publisher for my next books. And, most importantly, my agent believed I could be published by a bigger house. I found a new publishing home at Time Warner who have been incredible. I just love being with them. So that was my road. Not as long as it could have been, but considering I wrote my first novel when I was 13, and wrote my first ‘grown-up’ novel in 1993 – but didn’t try to get it published - it has been a long time.

The last book you borrowed from the library?
Now that’s a question. I haven’t borrowed a book from a library since 1993, when I finished college. I like to buy books and keep them. Mainly because it takes me a while to read books, I often stop and start, and I like to re-read them.

Describe your fantasy writing retreat…
Okay, it’d be by the sea, on the beach. Huge windows that let in lots of light, a huge computer screen. A television in one corner – I need the background noise – and a nice corner desk near one of my window walls so I can look out over the ocean. But it’d also be near enough to town so I wouldn’t have to walk very far to the shops and so I can walk and think – for some reason, pounding the pavements helps me to work out the finer details of my stories.

Your fantasy screen kiss would be with…?
A year ago I would’ve said David Boreanaz (Angel and now in Bones) without thinking about it. Now… I seriously don’t know. There aren’t any celebs out there that float my boat enough for me to wanna pash (that’s what we say in Oz) them on screen… Actually, this is a fantasy so I’d love to kiss Nate and Luke from My Best Friend’s Girl – they seem like guys I’d want to pash…

One piece of advice to any aspiring authors…
It’s hard to give just one piece of advice so when people ask, I always tell them to do lots of research (ie read a lot), to write something they believe in so that when you get rejections – and you will – you’ll keep going and won’t start writing something just because you or someone else thinks it’ll sell, and finally write. Just sit down and write.

And the best thing about being a writer is…?
I get to tell made-up stories to lots of people.

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© Lola Jaye