Fanfare
please as I welcome Twitter buddy and fellow Indie, Anne Ullah, the fabulously
funny author of the Toff
Tower books. If you
haven't read them - DO IT!
Anne and I
settled with a bottle of bubbly and some olives by her stunning pool in Cyprus.
Here's what she revealed.
Anne,
describe yourself as a writer in five words.
I can't
help but write.
Your
writing is very funny - how important is humour to you and do you like to read
books which make you giggle?
Humour is
extremely important to me and I have been known to find it even in the blackest
situations. Yes, I do love a funny book but, conversely, I love a grisly murder
too.
Tell
us about your ideal writing day.
Ideally I
like to get up early and start the day with some form of exercise - it always
seems to inspire me. If I go to the gym I'm almost guaranteed to come up with
an idea or two whilst riding the stationary bike; I've even been tempted to
prop up a notepad on it and jot ideas down as I pedal. If I'm at my yoga class
it can be a little embarrassing if I think of something funny and fail to stop
myself laughing (this happens quite often actually and I have included a yoga
scenario in my comedy novel "Trouble At Toff Towers II: Another Heap"
which is based on actual events). I consider myself very lucky to be living in Cyprus where I
have a pool in the garden and, if I go for an early morning swim, I never fail
to get a flash of inspiration whilst I'm in the water. Obviously I can't take a
notepad into the pool with me so I end up dripping through the house to my
laptop to get my thoughts down quickly.
Once my
exercise is done I like to be alone in the house so I can tap away undisturbed
but by the time six o'clock comes around I'm happy to chill out on the terrace
with my partner and a cold glass of Pinot.
You're
invited on a chat show to discuss your books. Whose would it be and why?
Can I
please appear on two chat shows because I can't decide between Alan Carr and
Paul O'Grady? Why Alan Carr? He's camp, he's irreverent and he's cheesy; what's
not to love? Plus he usually plies his guests with alcohol which would help
with the whole TV trauma. Doing a show in front of a live studio audience would
terrify me. Paul O'Grady is also a firm favourite. I'm a great fan of Lily
Savage and I love the Liverpool sense of
humour. Mr O'Grady has a unique blend of warmth and comedy crossness which he
has honed to a fine art. I've recently read both these stars' autobiographies
and you can hear their voices loud and clear throughout each. Amazing
autobiographies from amazing entertainers.
Dream
time. Ultimate dinner party? You can have anyone dead or alive there -
who would you have and why?
I'm going
to have to set myself a limit here or things could get out of hand. OK, I'll be
practical; my dining table seats six so I have space for myself and five
guests. Sorry Mike (my partner) you're not invited to this particular soiree.
Here's my guest list:
Al Pacino -
My favourite actor of all time; the man who brought the character of Michael
Corleone to life. I have lost count of the times I have watched the Godfather movies.
I could probably recite most of the script. The Corleones were, of course, the
inspiration for the Codleone family in Trouble At Toff Towers.
The late
great Peter O'Toole - Another actor I have always admired; absolutely amazing on
film and I also managed to catch him live on stage in Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell
by Keith Waterhouse. Perhaps Mr Waterhouse could join us for after dinner
drinks? The parts of his book, Soho, which were written in Yorkshire dialect were the inspiration for me to do
similar for my character, Edna Bucket. Anyway, I believe Mr O'Toole has raised
a fair bit of hell in his time so he will be good company for guest number
three ...
Keith
Richards - Hellraiser extraordinaire (I do like a bad boy). I hope he'll bring
his guitar along and entertain us but if he just wants to tell tales of his
trials and triumphs that's fine by me. His is another autobiography I would
highly recommend.
Peter Kay -
We're back to the northern sense of humour again. I'm a huge fan. I've just
finished watching the box set of Phoenix Nights and haven't laughed so much for
ages.
Victoria
Wood - British institution and comedy genius. The soup sketch is one of the
funniest things I have ever seen in my life. I'll be seating her right next to
me in the vain hope that some of her genius might rub off.
Catering
will be by Nigel Slater and entertainment will be provided by Margarita
Pracatan (I'm hoping she'll do a duet with Keith)!
If
you were offered a squillion pounds to never write again, would you take it?
Absolutely
not. I don't need a squillion pounds; I feel as if I have won the
lottery already. I'm lucky enough to be able to travel between Cyprus and the UK so I have the best of both worlds.
I have time to write and time to read. I'm not rich financially but I'm
definitely rich in lots of other ways. Plus you could say I'm addicted to
writing and addicts can't easily quit. What if I said I'd take half a squillion
quid and try to cut down a bit?
A
cheeky answer and one I wish I'd thought of myself!
QUICK FIRE ROUND
Planner
or Winger?
Planner
Night
or Morning?
Morning
Doer
or procrastinator?
Procrastinator
right up until the minute I begin to actually do then obsessive doer!
Writing/first
draft or editing?
Write edit
repeat, write edit repeat until the end then edit again and again.
Tea
or coffee?
Coffee
please. White, no sugar.
* * * *
Get into
Trouble at Toff Towers here.
Follow some
of the characters from Trouble At Toff Towers on Twitter:
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"TROUBLE AT TOFF TOWERS II: ANOTHER
HEAP" WAS PUBLISHED IN AUTUMN 2013 AND THE PLOT COULDN'T GET MUCH
THICKER! WATCH OUT FOR BOOK THREE IN THE TROUBLE AT TOFF TOWERS TRILOGY IN
2014!
* * * NEWSFLASH * * *
The 'Stilettos & Stubble' three day
freebie went exceptionally well and saw me at #3 and #11 in various categories
here and in the States. Sales have most definitely been on the rise since
then and I'm, once again, delighted with the decision I made to run this
promotion.
The teen
came up with an excellent idea as a way of keeping the momentum going with
sales and I will be hitting the desk next week to see if I can put it in to
action. Watch this space ...
Happy New
Year to all Mummy Misfit readers and to those who follow FUNKY FRIDAY.
Please let me know if you'd like to feature as a writer, reader or reviewer -
or if you have news for the NEWSFLASH section.
Remember
all of my chicklit books can be bought here for less than the price of a
coffee.
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