FUNKY FRIDAY - with author Juliet Madison

Where do the weeks go?  Here we are at FUNKY FRIDAY again and I'm welcoming fellow author Juliet Madison for a chat about all things writer-ly!

Juliet, could you describe yourself as a writer in five words.

Creative, determined, passionate, grateful, sleep-deprived.

If someone offered you big money to write their chick lit story, could you do it?

It depends if it was a story/premise I connected strongly too. I’d have to enjoy it!

What are your top tips for writers' block?

Learn plotting and outlining techniques so you have a plan to guide you. Visualise the scene in your mind before you write it. Jot down a list of both terrible and exciting things that could happen to your character and pick one! Take a walk, have a shower or a bath, even have a nap. Inspiration often comes when you’re relaxed.

Dream time.  Ultimate dinner party? You can have anyone dead or alive there - who would you have and why?

Tough question!  I’d have to invite all my writing buddies (hope I'm on that list, Juliet!) because we have so much fun when we’re together, and I’d get them each to invite a person of their choosing. It could turn out quite interesting, and there might be a few celebrity clones I think!

How do you deal with the dreaded bad review - are you a sulker of a shrugger?

It always sucks, but looking at the good reviews balances it out!

If you were offered a squillion pounds to never write again, would you take it?

Nope. Hang on, how much is a squillion?? (kidding, not writing for me would mean not living).

QUICK FIRE ROUND

Planner or Winger?

Planner.

Night or Morning?

Night.

Doer or procrastinator?

Doer.

Writing/first draft or editing?

Writing.

Tea or coffee? 

Neither ;) 

Visit Juliet online:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Goodreads 

Buy:

FAST FORWARD - I DREAM OF JOHNNY - STARSTRUCK IN SEATTLE

or Juliet's Latest Releases:

THE JANUARY WISH - FEBRUARY OR FOREVER

  

* * * NEWSFLASH * * *

 'Lottie's Luck' - a romcom is currently FREE on Amazon.  Grab a copy in the UK here or the States here.  Please leave a review if you should happen to enjoy!

Fellow Indie, Anne Ullah is running a promotional competition to win a trendy mug of your choice over on her Facebook page or on Twitter @RigidBones.  Believe me, her books will deliver a giggle and you'll need a good mug of tea while you're reading so enter the competition and be in with a chance!  Check her out here.

My current work in progress is powering ahead after giving me massive headaches!  It's well over half way now and I can breathe a sigh of relief.

COMPETITION TIME!

As the London snow starts to melt and 'Blue Monday' has passed us by, I've decided to spread a little happiness on the blog this week.

January is a cruel and long month.  I personally like nothing better than curling up with a cup of tea, some chocolate biscuits and a good book.  Now I can't provide you with the tea and biscuits but I might be able to help you with your own reading material.

Would you like to win a Kindle compatible copy of one of my books to help pass some chilly hours?

I'll be running this competition until Tuesday 29th January 8pm (UK) and my son will pick the winner based on the answer he thinks is the best.

SO ... take a look at my books below and then tell me which one you'd like and why you feel you should win the prize.  You can leave your answers here, on Facebook, Twitter or by email.

The winner will be announced on next week's blog - and don't forget you don't need a Kindle.  You can read on  PCs, Smartphones or iPads with a free app from Amazon.

CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING:

Ever felt like you don't belong?

When Libby Marchant and husband Ned made the monumental decision to sacrifice luxuries and holidays to see their only son Max through private education, they hadn’t expected to meet so many unsavoury and dislikeable personalities along the way.

Happily, the cruel jibes of the pompous ‘Meemies’ are made more tolerable by the lasting and loyal friendship they strike up with the affluent Fenella & Josh.

Follow Libby’s journey as she discovers the chasm between the Haves and the Have-Nots in her mad new world of school committees, designer handbags, bitching and botox.

With Fenella by her side, Libby is able to maintain her sanity. But what happens when the credit crunch bites, you’re desperate for another baby and your Asian neighbour is trying to match-make you with her infatuated son?

 

 

 

THE SEQUEL TO 'DIARY OF A MUMMY MISFIT'

Think you knew Mummy Misfit?

Well, you might be in for a surprise.

After a year of struggling with school fees, trying to become pregnant and feeling like she didn’t belong amongst the prep-school ‘Meemies’, Libby is back.

Only this time, she’s got it all.

But how long can it last and will she ever be truly happy?

Join Libby on her hilarious, yet sensitive journey as loyalty, friendships and values are tested in
‘The Darker Side of Mummy Misfit’.  

 

Middle aged and middle-of-the-road, Fee Crawford has been drifting through life in a passionless marriage and hurtling towards the menopause.

With her twin boys grown up and needing her less, why does she still feel incomplete?

Coping with her elderly dad, increasingly distant husband and flighty best friend, Cordelia, her life seems to be spiralling out of control.

Will a chance meeting with a handsome vet be the missing link to make everything fall into place? A tale of families, love and mid-life crisis. 

 

 

 

All her life Persephone’s been branded a ‘Big Girl’.

Criticised by her outwardly perfect mother, dearly loved by her father, she’s the
‘Queen of Low Self-Esteem’.

Finding herself suddenly immersed in a world of glitz and glamour, where nothing is quite as it seems, will she finally realise ...

... ‘It’s what’s inside that counts’? 

THIS BOOK IS A SHORT READ OF ABOUT 21,000 WORDS AND ALSO FEATURES THE FIRST CHAPTER OF 'STILETTOS & STUBBLE'

It’s that time of year again and the Willoughby family think they’ve got everything wrapped up.

Each concealing their own issues, they return to widowed mum Maggie to play at happy families.

But an unexpected delivery challenges their perceptions of one other - and of themselves.

Grab a mulled wine, snuggle up by the fire and share a family Christmas with a difference.

Because Christmas doesn’t always deliver what you want - but sometimes it might be just what you need.

PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR:

‘Gems like this speak to your heart head and funny bone’
(The Darker Side of Mummy Misfit)

‘A good, well-written slice of British chicklit’
(Diary of a Mummy Misfit)

‘Essential reading for any mother at any stage of motherhood’
(Diary of a Mummy Misfit)

‘A superb knack of putting vivid images in your head with her fabulous writing style’
(Completing the Puzzle)

‘I feel her pain, I laugh when she laughs and I cry when she cries’
(The Darker Side of Mummy Misfit)

‘A story which is not only laugh-out-loud funny, it's also touching’
(Diary of a Mummy Misfit)